Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng tells the story of a near dystopian future in the United States from two different perspectives. The first half is told from young Bird's perspective as he deals with life where the United States has put into place PACT to promote patriotism and put a stop to anti-Americans, particularly Asian Americans. There are so many lines pushed and crossed with this that it has spilled out of control. It is during this chaos that Bird's mom, an Asian American, has left, suddenly one night years before with no explanation. Then one day he receives a letter in the mail from his mom that seems to be just a picture of cats. However, Bird from this, Bird remembers a story and starts to follow the obscure clues she has left behind. I got big Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (which I loved) vibes from this part of the book. He's following clues and the journey in itself makes him feel closer to his mother.
The second part of the book is his mother's story. It feels secretive, yet she is giving us her whole story. I found the writing in this part to be beautiful and heart breaking. It is a love story from mother to son.
Two of my favorite parts were related to the power of books and stories. The librarians in this book are the heroes. They are the ones who understand the value of information- how to gather it, keep it and share it, and this becomes so very vital in the book. The other part I really love was the folk story she tells about the cats. The author gives the back story to this in the author's notes, but the way it worked in the story was so beautiful and important and was something I kept thinking about it after the book was done. It was this story that bonded the mom and son together, and helped them find each other in the end.
The thing about this book is that it is chilling because it is so-close-to-home-it-could-happen-tomorrow, but it is also beautiful as the author finds and describes beauty in the small, mundane ordinary life. I highly recommend it. It is one of those books where every idea, every word, every detail matters and is thoughtfully crafted.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng is a political novel dealing with anti-Asian attitudes and removing children from their families, no doubt a reflection on this country’s recent history as civic disruptions are taking place in the book, people are out of jobs, shortages of everything are occurring, mobs are looting stores, and riots take place in the streets. Coming out in October, Our Missing Hearts refers to a line in a poem by an Asian-American poet, who has gone into hiding because of such unrest in America at an unnamed time in the future other than after “the Crisis.”

Margaret Miu, the poet, left behind her husband Ethan Gardner and son Noah called Bird, to protect from having the son removed by the government. Ethan is broken-hearted, and Bird has a very small world in which he can function: he is not allowed too many questions, to stand out too much, or to wander very far. “Our Missing Hearts” has been made the battle cry by those opposed to the current government as they use it in banners and posters.

In this futuristic novel, everyone is governed by laws that preserve the American Culture after having experienced years of economic instability and escalated violence. These laws allow the government to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin. In addition, books are being scrutinized for patriotism, and any books hinting of sedition are removed from libraries.

The plot of the story involves Bird receiving a cryptic drawing in a letter from an unknown source. He explores the drawing, which ignites memories of the many folktales his mother told him before she decided to disappear to protect her family. As a 12-year-old, he decides to follow the postmark from New York City to find his mother and get answers to the forbidden questions. Meanwhile, Margaret is making a stand against the current government that may not yield the results she wants.

Celeste Ng’s previous works include Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, which was made into a mini-series for Hulu. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting June 22, 2022.

I would like to thank Penguin Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Incredible! Emotional family drama with a huge heart and social conscience. A dark but very necessary read!

This was completely different than what I was expecting from a new Celeste Ng novel, but is so well done and full of the heart and depth of emotion in family relationships she always manages to capture so brilliantly in her writing. I think a lot of people will feel uncomfortable with the subject matter as we have lived the past few years weathering crisis after crisis on a political and global scale, but the themes of hope, love, courage, and resistance make it a really meaningful and moving read. In particular, I appreciated the vision that art and libraries played in activism in this dark version of the future. I would recommend to readers who enjoy realistic dystopian fiction with political themes, stories about parent and child relationships, and readers who are looking to process the pandemic and political crises in their fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was the Celeste Ng we know and love. I appreciated this book so so much. I’ve been following Celeste Ng since reading her previous books and of course - this was nothing short of brilliance we know of. I loved this and it’s probably now my favourite Celeste Ng book. 5 out of 5 brilliant stars!

Incredible! This book was so so so good. It’s sorta dystopian, but in a very believable way. It’s sorta like reading Station Eleven while a few waves into a crazy new pandemic. It’s unnerving and rips your heart out, but feels very
important at this time in history to be reading and pondering. The writing is beautiful and I loved every minute of it. I can't wait for it to come out so I can recommend it to everyone.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was SO close to getting 5 stars for me. I’d say the first 3/4 would get a 5 stars, the last quarter dropped it to a 4. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was a little difficult to read because this future world is not one that’s out of the realm of possibility for the US. Basically, no one is allowed to discuss anything un-American or look too far into issues that are considered un-American. Asian Americans of all kinds are widely vilified and reviled. Children of “unpatriotic” parents are taken from their homes to be placed elsewhere. I mean, it rings a little familiar, does it not?

I loved Bird, Margaret, Ethan, and Sadie. I wanted to hear more about Domi and about Sadie. As a librarian, I LOVE LOVE LOVED the plot point of librarians acting as underground messengers - how awesome! The loss of a star came from my disappointment in the ending. I was hoping for more closure, and while the ending was satisfying and interesting, it was a lot of build-up for something that I don’t feel like completely paid off. But I loved the writing and the characters were beautifully done.

I pray to go this book is fiction and not a precursor. The book takes place in a dystopia America where Asian people are targeted for imprisonment. It's brutal subject matter, but Celeste Ng writes about it wonderfully. It is one of those books that makes you appreciate again and again how precious our freedom is and how vulnerable we are to lose it in moments of crisis. a sobering but tremendous book.

I received a free egalley of the book in return for this honest review.