Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

33 reviews

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Immediately pulled in! I loved Ng’s two other books and she’s definitely an auto buy author now.

I did have to get used to the lack of quotation marks. I also found that  the chapters could be a little long for my personal taste, but sometimes the story held my focus that they went by quickly. The story itself is Heartbreaking and inspiring! I loved the complex characters and getting to know them throughout the novel. I also loved Ng’s prose as always; there were plenty of lines I was struck by, reread, and wanted to highlight (but couldn’t because I read a library copy)!

Although the events of the book are fiction, there were a lot of parallels to what we have seen both in the past and the present. I highly recommend Our Missing Hearts if you enjoy dystopian novels, literary prose, and/or complex characters! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Hate crime, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Police brutality, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, and Grief

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Xenophobia, Deportation, Grief, Abandonment, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Colonisation

gondorgirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Grief, and Hate crime

clalaure's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual assault

chelseylb1988's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Colonisation, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Violence, Xenophobia, and Grief

machenn's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, and Death

brdietz08's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Hate crime, Racism, Abandonment, Grief, and Racial slurs

kappafrog's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

How eerie reading this in between seeing headlines about book bans in Florida. This was a compelling dystopian novel. I agree with other reviewers that the second half struggled at times compared to the first half.

The conceit of Margaret narrating her whole life to Bird didn't always work when she was going into intimate details which were great for the reader but made less sense as dialogue with her son. I was also disappointed in the lack of information about the aftermath of Margaret's plan. We got a few flashforward glimpses but no information on the political fallout.

The writing was really beautiful. I liked seeing the world through Bird's eyes, a child's perspective in a novel aimed at adults. I enjoyed the use of folktales, etymology, and gardening through out. There were many horrifying bits in the book. I can tell it will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, and Deportation

Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Medical content, Rape, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Islamophobia, and Slavery

theblushbookworm's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Wow this book really struck me. I grew up on dystopian novels, and Ng pulls all the best parts of the genre to give a message on Asian American hate, children being taken as a means of control, and the dangers of bystander culture. This novel is powerful, well-written, and a worthy read for anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Trafficking, and Xenophobia