Our Missing Hearts
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- Create Date：2022-10-08 10:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Celeste Ng
- ISBN：0735245347
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Summary
From the number one bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere， a deeply suspenseful and heartrending novel about the unbreakable love between a mother and child in a society consumed by fear
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father， a former linguist who now shelves books in Harvard University’s library。 Bird knows to not ask too many questions， stand out too much， or stray too far。 For a decade， their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence。 To keep the peace and restore prosperity， the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents， especially those of Asian origin， and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother， Margaret， a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old。
Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her， and he knows he shouldn’t wonder。 But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing， he is drawn into a quest to find her。 His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child， through the ranks of an underground network of librarians， into the lives of the children who have been taken， and finally to New York City， where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change。
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new， of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice。 It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change， the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children， and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact。
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father， a former linguist who now shelves books in Harvard University’s library。 Bird knows to not ask too many questions， stand out too much， or stray too far。 For a decade， their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence。 To keep the peace and restore prosperity， the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents， especially those of Asian origin， and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother， Margaret， a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old。
Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her， and he knows he shouldn’t wonder。 But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing， he is drawn into a quest to find her。 His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child， through the ranks of an underground network of librarians， into the lives of the children who have been taken， and finally to New York City， where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change。
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new， of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice。 It’s a story about the power—and limitations—of art to create change， the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children， and how any of us can survive a broken world with our hearts intact。
Reviews
Emily
，
I don’t usually love dystopian books and this one was no different to me。 I did appreciate it more than others because of the parallels of separating children from parents that we see today and historically。 Despite this， the first 3/4 of the book was setting the stage and I wasn’t sold on the plot （almost put it down）。 The action didn’t kick in until the last 25%。 While that last chunk was good， I don’t think it redeemed the slower first parts。
Beth
，
Very sad to read。 Sometimes painful， sometimes tedious， sometimes plodding。 I understand some of the reviews that comment the characters are flat。 It seems appropriate to the mood of the book though。 I kind of wanted to distance myself from the whole thing。 Lastly， very scary。
Daria | dariasbookstagram
，
Hmmm… have to think about this one
Christiane Fischer
，
Unsre verschwundenen HerzenCeleste Ng，aus dem amerikanischen Englisch von Brigitte JakobeitIn ihrem Vorwort schreibt Celeste Ng， dass sie eigentlich einen Roman über eine Mutter mit ihrem heranwachsenden Sohn schreiben wollte， doch aktuelle Auseinandersetzungen veränderten ihre Geschichte。Worum geht es？Bird war 9 Jahre alt， als er vor 3 Jahren von seiner Mutter Margaret， einer amerikanisch-chinesischen Lyrikerin， verlassen wurde。 Seitdem reden sein Vater und er nicht mehr über sie。 Sie ist eine Unsre verschwundenen HerzenCeleste Ng，aus dem amerikanischen Englisch von Brigitte JakobeitIn ihrem Vorwort schreibt Celeste Ng， dass sie eigentlich einen Roman über eine Mutter mit ihrem heranwachsenden Sohn schreiben wollte， doch aktuelle Auseinandersetzungen veränderten ihre Geschichte。Worum geht es？Bird war 9 Jahre alt， als er vor 3 Jahren von seiner Mutter Margaret， einer amerikanisch-chinesischen Lyrikerin， verlassen wurde。 Seitdem reden sein Vater und er nicht mehr über sie。 Sie ist eine persona non grata。 Leute sagen， sie sei eine Aufwieglerin， eine， die Demonstranten angeführt hat。 Sie ist eine PAOs - Person of Origin - und die Asiaten sind schliesslich an allem Schuld， sagt die PACT。Damals in Amerika， bevor Bird geboren wurde， gab es goldene Jahre， aber dann kam es zur Krise。 Immer öfter konnten Menschen die hohen Mietpreise nicht zahlen。 Zwangsräumungen waren an der Tagesordnung。 Die Vermieter setzten diese， zusammen mit ihren Möbel， auf die Strasse。 Ganze Wohnblöcke waren verlassen。 Krankenhausrechnungen konnten nicht mehr bezahlt werden。 Die Menschen plünderten。 Läden und Fabriken schlossen。 Die Strassen waren für keinen mehr sicher。 Dann kamen die Pandemien hinzu。Erst PACT - Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act - stellten wieder Ordnung her。 Allerdings mit einem schlimmen Unterdrückungsinstrument: das Herausnehmen von Kindern aus vermeintlich subversiven Familien。 PACT versprachen amerikanische Werte zu schützen， doch mit ihnen zogen Misstrauen， Bespitzelung und Rassismus im Land ein。 Eines Tages findet Bird eine mysteriöse Zeichnung im Briefkasten， die seine Mutter angefertigt hat。 Zusätzlich sieht er immer öfter den Schriftzug „All our missing hearts“ an Mauern gesprüht， ein Gedicht， das seine Mutter einst verfasst hat。 Bird beschliesst die Wahrheit über seine Mutter herauszufinden。Wow， dieses Buch regt zum Nachdenken an。 Ng hat hier eine Dystopie geschrieben， aber so viele Elemente sind aus der Realität。 Hat die USA nicht vor kurzem China bezichtigt， Schuld an einem Virus zu haben？ Und der Iran wirft heuer der USA Protestunterstützung vor。 Und was ist mit unseren hohen Strom- und Gaspreisen？ Wo soll das hinführen？Ng hat hier ein brisantes Buch geschrieben。 Ein Buch was trotz kleineren Längen bei mir nachwirken wird。4½/ 5 Sterne 。。。more
Spencer
，
2。5 stars rounded up。 The idea behind this was really promising and after enjoying Celeste Ng's previous two works， I was quite excited to get into this; but I just didn't get on with it。Celeste Ng's strength in her previous 2 novels have been character building and familial relationships。 You're able to relate to the characters - however old they may be - both the good and bad side of them。 I never got that with this。 I wouldn't describe the characters as 'lifeless' per say， but they were hardl 2。5 stars rounded up。 The idea behind this was really promising and after enjoying Celeste Ng's previous two works， I was quite excited to get into this; but I just didn't get on with it。Celeste Ng's strength in her previous 2 novels have been character building and familial relationships。 You're able to relate to the characters - however old they may be - both the good and bad side of them。 I never got that with this。 I wouldn't describe the characters as 'lifeless' per say， but they were hardly fleshed out and the rather dry/emotionless dialogue made it much harder to sympathize。 My main gripe with this wasn't so much the subject matter， it was how it was tackled。 Dystopian fiction is an extremely saturated genre right now， you really need to do something special to stand out and this wasn't that。 Instead， this felt like a highly politized fiction that uses key points people are interested in， in an attempt to claim #1 on a bestsellers list。 Not that there's anything wrong with starting conversation about these topics - I highly encourage it - but there are better ways of doing it。 I'm glad Celeste Ng is stepping out of her comfort zone and usual writing style。 Authors growing， adapting and experimenting is the only way they're going to improve; so this won't deter me from reading Celeste Ng's ensuing works - I just wish it was something more unique and original。 。。。more
Rae
，
In Our Missing Hearts， author Celeste Ng detours from suburbia-set drama and takes a stab at dystopian fiction。 As a fan of Ng’s past works Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere， I was eager to see how she would continue to explore race and family themes in an alternate America。Noah “Bird” Gardner， a biracial 12-year-old boy， lives with his academic-turned-librarian father in Cambridge， Massachusetts。 His mother， a Chinese-American poet， left the family under mysterious circums In Our Missing Hearts， author Celeste Ng detours from suburbia-set drama and takes a stab at dystopian fiction。 As a fan of Ng’s past works Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere， I was eager to see how she would continue to explore race and family themes in an alternate America。Noah “Bird” Gardner， a biracial 12-year-old boy， lives with his academic-turned-librarian father in Cambridge， Massachusetts。 His mother， a Chinese-American poet， left the family under mysterious circumstances a few years ago， but what is immediately clear to both him and the reader is that the extreme anti-Asian sentiment of his environment played a role in her departure。 All Bird has left of the absent Margaret are fading memories and some physical resemblance to her， enough of a similarity that he gets bullied at school and his father regularly warns him to stay out of and away from trouble as much as possible for his safety。 So Bird lives responsibly， quietly， stoically。 He largely plays by the rules and keeps to himself… until one day， he receives a coded message and decides to seek out answers。The premise of Our Missing Hearts is intriguing and the issues it wants to tackle are important。 Like in her other novels， Ng writes beautifully—almost poetically—about family， love， loneliness， disappointment， and suffering。 She shines the strongest when she describes the day-to-day events of Bird’s life in the first chapters， or when she flashes back to the early years of the Gardners。But the novel struggles because， unfortunately， world-building does not appear to be Ng’s forte。 Yes， the setting of Our Missing Hearts is obviously like ours， sharing a recent history up until an unspecified point so that the fictional world and our real world have similar cultural practices， institutional structures， technologies and so on。 So that anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crime and the practice of separating children and parents are recognizable。 And yes， Ng spends many pages describing the bleakness and hopelessness of the fictional America’s economic crisis， the casting of Chinese people as the scapegoat， the passing of the PACT （Preserving American Culture and Traditions） bill， and the rising prejudice， paranoia， and injustices against Asian-Americans。Yet I found the alternate America of Our Missing Hearts somewhat flat and lacking。 As beautiful as Ng’s words are at times， the details of the setting aren’t rich enough to make the novel truly immersive and engaging。 What can make a dystopian book great is that the world in it feels real and possible， and therefore the story becomes both frightening and captivating。 With this novel， however， it seems like the audience is given a lot of exposition， but not a lot of depth。 Ng excels in writing the little moments， not so much painting the broad pictures。Despite this， I still think this book is worth a read。 As I said before， Ng is a great writer—she has an amazing ability to write about family life in an intimate， vulnerable way。 And ultimately， I think Our Missing Hearts would make a good book club selection or buddy read option。 With its timely and thought-provoking storyline， it can start valuable discussions about parenting， race relations， political participation， and the importance of books and information dissemination。 。。。more
Emily Baranski
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Couldn’t put this down。 Drank coffee at 9pm so that I could finish in one sitting ！！
Theresa
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4。5
Scott Baird （Gunpowder Fiction and Plot）
，
Not her best work， falls into the Dystopian trap of focusing too much on the world and not enough on everything else。 In the author notes Ng said lots of this was taken from the real world and lots from her imagination， but that lots of the things she imagined were real by the time it was published， maybe this contributed to the lack of imagination - but ultimately it just isn't as powerful as Little Fires， which is an amazing book， read that one if you haven't。 Not her best work， falls into the Dystopian trap of focusing too much on the world and not enough on everything else。 In the author notes Ng said lots of this was taken from the real world and lots from her imagination， but that lots of the things she imagined were real by the time it was published， maybe this contributed to the lack of imagination - but ultimately it just isn't as powerful as Little Fires， which is an amazing book， read that one if you haven't。 。。。more
Liz Bode
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This is AMAZING！ She is such a wonderful writer。
Katie Katieneedsabiggerbookshelf
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Bird is 12 years old and living with his father。 The two have disowned his mother， and never speak of her。 He has never understood why， but when he finds a mysterious note， he decides he has to follow it and find out what happened to her。I don’t even know how to review this book。 Whew。 Talk about heavy。 This is one of those books that really leaves you thinking and a bit unable to form thoughts。 The world was just beyond scary to think about， but it was hard not to compare it to what we are faci Bird is 12 years old and living with his father。 The two have disowned his mother， and never speak of her。 He has never understood why， but when he finds a mysterious note， he decides he has to follow it and find out what happened to her。I don’t even know how to review this book。 Whew。 Talk about heavy。 This is one of those books that really leaves you thinking and a bit unable to form thoughts。 The world was just beyond scary to think about， but it was hard not to compare it to what we are facing today in our country。 This story was so fascinating and kept me wondering what was going to happen and what had happened to lead to where they were current day。 Celeste Ng has such a beautiful way of writing， and this one did not disappoint。 。。。more
Jazmin Castro
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Nothing can make him understand it but living through it， and she would give her life to make sure that never happens。 Thanks to Penguin Press for this eARC！Our Missing Hearts is the story of Bird， this 12-years-old whose mother has abandoned him in strange circumstances。 He doesn't know the whole truth about her disappearance， until one day， in which he receives a strange letter who has to come from her mother， because in real life nobody calls him Bird anymore。 So he goes following some small Nothing can make him understand it but living through it， and she would give her life to make sure that never happens。 Thanks to Penguin Press for this eARC！Our Missing Hearts is the story of Bird， this 12-years-old whose mother has abandoned him in strange circumstances。 He doesn't know the whole truth about her disappearance， until one day， in which he receives a strange letter who has to come from her mother， because in real life nobody calls him Bird anymore。 So he goes following some small clues with a lot of hope and fear and expectation of things getting better。 Set in a near-dystopian world， where things are very similar to our 2022 real life， we get a book about losing and remembering， about love and family， and finding the way to change the world with what we have in our hands。This is my first book by Celeste Ng， and I have to say that I found the writing to be outstanding。 I adore this type of writing， where you can actually say the difference between the two narrators we find in the story， but also where you can get to know their hearts and their minds so well。 It hooked me from the very beginning because of how fast-paced and well developed this book is。 You always want to know more， you get nervous for the things about to happen， and you can easily keep reading and not think twice about how much you are reading because you just forget。 That shows how easily this book holds you and pulls you into the story。 Bird as a character is impressive。 He's a child， yes， but he has already been through a lot， and I felt a hollow in my heart， to see a child having to face all the cruelty this world had， it was a lot。 It was scary。 The rest of the characters get more development while we go deeper into the story， and I swear each of them got a piece of my heart。This is a book with a message， with a lot of criticism about racism and the way the world treats a group of people just because it's told to do so。 There are some clear real-life references in this story that can be triggering， so please check the trigger warning before reading it！ It also has a developing of the idea of parenthood in many ways， through the good and bad， and that's a great perspective to read。 You know these words were made with the heart， and it makes the story so beautiful。The ending was missing something for me， but that didn't make this book any less impactful than it was。 I loved it and deeply recommend it。 。。。more
Ri （colourmeread）
，
RTC
Amandale
，
They’ll see your face and that’s all the provocation they need。
Susan
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There is a saying: ignorance is bliss。 That might be applicable when reading this book。 If you don't recognize the correlations between parts of the story and what is going on in our world today， it makes for a light dystopian novel。 However， recognizing many of the events and activities that the author used for inspiration makes for a much heavier read。 Likewise， if you haven't read Ms。 Ng before， you won't start the book expecting a domestic thriller and are therefore not thrown for a loop whe There is a saying: ignorance is bliss。 That might be applicable when reading this book。 If you don't recognize the correlations between parts of the story and what is going on in our world today， it makes for a light dystopian novel。 However， recognizing many of the events and activities that the author used for inspiration makes for a much heavier read。 Likewise， if you haven't read Ms。 Ng before， you won't start the book expecting a domestic thriller and are therefore not thrown for a loop when you realize this isn't one。 Children being taken from their families， racism wrapped in the flag of patriotism， and once again the 1% holding down the rest of society。 "You have no idea， do you， she says。 How could you？ They don't teach you any of this。 Too unpatriotic， right， to tell you the horrible things our country's done before。 The camps at Manzanar， or what happens at the border。 they probably teach you that most plantation owners were kind to their slaves and that Columbus discovered America， don't they？ Because telling you what really happened would be espousing un-American views， and we certainly wouldn't want that。" （huh， sounds more like real life than fiction， doesn't it？）The story is very plot driven with characters providing the means for the the points of the story to be made。 This novel is such a departure from Ms。 Ng's previous work it feels almost like it is from a different author。 That is a testament to how personal the subject was for her and the quality of her writing skill。 。。。more
Susan Ott
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This would be a great book for a book club。 So many mixed emotions about this book。 3。5， so I rounded up。
Claudia Reder
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Such a timely book。 I couldn't stop reading about the family，Bird， the son， his father， and missing mother who is out trying to save missing children。 She collects stories。 What she does with them is the crux of the book and maybe it's what we all need to be doing now what with book banning， etc。 tell and listen to each other's stories。 Keep our stories alive so they don't get lost。 Such a timely book。 I couldn't stop reading about the family，Bird， the son， his father， and missing mother who is out trying to save missing children。 She collects stories。 What she does with them is the crux of the book and maybe it's what we all need to be doing now what with book banning， etc。 tell and listen to each other's stories。 Keep our stories alive so they don't get lost。 。。。more
Marsha Rafalski
，
I am starting to review my year-to-date reading for selections for my “Best of…” list。 This one is certainly going to be on that list。Noah （“Bird”） Gardner is 12 years old。 He lives with his father in a dorm suite at the University where his father is employed as a book shelver in the Library。 Bird’s mother （“Margaret”） left them 3 years ago and hasn’t been seen or heard of since。 Margaret Gardner is a Chinese-American poet who has written a poem which has become a catchphrase for a resistance e I am starting to review my year-to-date reading for selections for my “Best of…” list。 This one is certainly going to be on that list。Noah （“Bird”） Gardner is 12 years old。 He lives with his father in a dorm suite at the University where his father is employed as a book shelver in the Library。 Bird’s mother （“Margaret”） left them 3 years ago and hasn’t been seen or heard of since。 Margaret Gardner is a Chinese-American poet who has written a poem which has become a catchphrase for a resistance element who are fighting against PACT （Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act）。 PACT is a law that allows citizens to report on each other when something is a challenge to what is considered a patriotic， past glory。 It leads to mistrust， repression of any diversity including that in people， art， books and music。 Margaret’s poem （“Our Missing Hearts”） about people who have been “removed” but it results in her fleeing the PACT supporters。 When Bird’s best friend， Sadie， who had been removed from her family and shuffled through a series of foster homes， goes missing and he receives a page filled with the drawings of cats that he believes is from his mother， Bird is sure it is up to him to rescue them both。 This is the first of Ng’s books I have read but it will definitely not be the last。 This book echos some of the problems of our society。 Attacks on persons based on their ethnicity， books removed from school classrooms and removing children from any kind of controversy ring like headlines。 Ng has taken the worst of some recent events and interwoven them with Science Fiction， Mysteries， and Dystopian literary genres。 The plot is mesmerizing。 The main characters are likable and sympathetic。 The writing is pleasing when appropriate and chilly when needed。 I highly recommend and look forward to reading more of her work。 。。。more
Lauren Read Rover
，
Pages 1-142: Bird the boy longing for his mother， where did his mother go， how could his mother leave him， why are certain books banned， WOE IS MEPages 143-331: anticlimactic garbage with zero quotation marks （emphasis on anticlimactic）The characters？Bird: suckedBird’s father: sucked x 2Bird’s mother Margaret: like honestly idc Sadie: the only character I gave half of a hoot aboutTHIS BOOK IS THE PWMOV OF 2022！ GIVE US A SPEECH， CELESTE！ SPEECH， SPEECH， SPEECH！I literally do not recommend th Pages 1-142: Bird the boy longing for his mother， where did his mother go， how could his mother leave him， why are certain books banned， WOE IS MEPages 143-331: anticlimactic garbage with zero quotation marks （emphasis on anticlimactic）The characters？Bird: suckedBird’s father: sucked x 2Bird’s mother Margaret: like honestly idc Sadie: the only character I gave half of a hoot aboutTHIS BOOK IS THE PWMOV OF 2022！ GIVE US A SPEECH， CELESTE！ SPEECH， SPEECH， SPEECH！I literally do not recommend this book to anyone。 If you are breathing， do not read this book， just trust me on this， okay？ Off to go drown in my bookish tears。 Toodaloo。 。。。more
Megan
，
I give the book a 4 not because of the plot but because I wanted more character development。 I know hate crimes are a real thing; I see them in the news all the time。 Racist hate crimes are disgusting， but just don't stop。 BUT I'd rather read about changes being made for the underrepresented than reading constantly about January 6。 Can we move on and focus on something that will make a difference？ Something that will fix the past。Anyway， Bird - how do you handle your mom leaving？ I don't underst I give the book a 4 not because of the plot but because I wanted more character development。 I know hate crimes are a real thing; I see them in the news all the time。 Racist hate crimes are disgusting， but just don't stop。 BUT I'd rather read about changes being made for the underrepresented than reading constantly about January 6。 Can we move on and focus on something that will make a difference？ Something that will fix the past。Anyway， Bird - how do you handle your mom leaving？ I don't understand it。 But having lived in Asia for 4 years， I know that children often deal with their parents being gone to other cities to work， and a grandmother or ayi taking care of them。 It is lonely， but maybe it is culture。 And Maragaret - I will never understand leaving a child。 I have seen people die for their country and beliefs， sometimes at the risk of killing many others。 Like suicide bombers。 But could Margaret have made a difference while living with Bird？ Moved out to that 47 acres and done something there， as a family？ 。。。more
Jessica McSweeney
，
This book is without question in my top 5 favorites of the year。 Heartbreaking， poetic， terrifying， and jolting - Celeste Ng has written a story that feels both dystopian and incredibly grounded in reality， as maybe all the best dystopian novels do。 In some version of the current United States， a law called PACT has been enacted to protect "American culture" from outside （read: foreign， Chinese， Asian） influence。 We've all seen protests throughout Western civilization that want to push immigrant This book is without question in my top 5 favorites of the year。 Heartbreaking， poetic， terrifying， and jolting - Celeste Ng has written a story that feels both dystopian and incredibly grounded in reality， as maybe all the best dystopian novels do。 In some version of the current United States， a law called PACT has been enacted to protect "American culture" from outside （read: foreign， Chinese， Asian） influence。 We've all seen protests throughout Western civilization that want to push immigrant culture out of the existing （white） "mainstream，" and the violence seen in this book against Asian Americans and non-white individuals is ripped straight out of the headlines， too。 Everything feels maybe one degree from our current reality， with the notable difference really being something Margaret （the protagonist's mother） touches on time and again - "now it is happening to us。"It is so easy to become complacent under oppression when you're escaping the worst consequences by virtue of your privilege。 The recent overturning of Roe v。 Wade showed how we come awake when it finally affects us （namely white women）， but as headlines change and stories move on things become our new normal - injustice creeps up on us， and we wave it away and pretend not to see if that's more convenient （it always is）。 Families who were separated at the border in 2018 are still not back together， all these years later （and the way we treat immigrants and asylum seekers is not anything we should be proud of as a country， now and in our history）。 Black people are still irreparably harmed and/or killed by police who face no consequences。 Undocumented immigrants can't seek government aid to rebuild their lives after a hurricane， despite contributing to our society in immeasurable ways。 And yet we go on - I love that this book reminded me that someone always has to keep these stories alive。 Art is powerful in this regard - books and libraries play a huge role in this story - but we need to keep talking about them and risking ourselves， too， because we owe that to one another。 Complacency is complicity。 I could not recommend this book more - I loved Little Fires Everywhere， but I think this one will stay with me in a wholly different way。 Also Lucy Liu is an incredible audiobook narrator！ 。。。more
Alona
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I wanted to remove one star for the lack of dialogues markings but this book is so important that this lack is irrelevant。 Such a sad and important story about the race， people being judged by those who think they are somehow superior， children being torn apart from their parents， lives ruined。 This list unfortunately can go on and on。The same happens today in Ukraine - children are taken to Russia to erase their identity。 And after that Russians call Ukrainians nationalists？
Donna Beiderman
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I was so excited to see this was released this week and I devoured this book。 Not my usual genre but wow it was compelling， though provoking and will stay with me for a very long time！！！
kat。loves。books_
，
Das Cover ist eher schlicht und ruhig gehalten - trotzdem mag nich die Farbverläufe recht gerne。 Man kann jetzt aber nicht unbedingt behaupten， dass es zum Inhalt passt， aber das ist völlig ok。Ich habe vorher noch nie ein Buch von Celeste Ng gelesen， aber das werde ich nach diesem Buch auf jeden Fall ändern， denn ich liebe ihren Schreibstil einfach。 Ihr Schreibstil ist flüssig， nicht immer leicht zu lesen， eigentlich eher ein bisschen ruhig und doch konnte ich das Buch an keiner Stelle mehr aus Das Cover ist eher schlicht und ruhig gehalten - trotzdem mag nich die Farbverläufe recht gerne。 Man kann jetzt aber nicht unbedingt behaupten， dass es zum Inhalt passt， aber das ist völlig ok。Ich habe vorher noch nie ein Buch von Celeste Ng gelesen， aber das werde ich nach diesem Buch auf jeden Fall ändern， denn ich liebe ihren Schreibstil einfach。 Ihr Schreibstil ist flüssig， nicht immer leicht zu lesen， eigentlich eher ein bisschen ruhig und doch konnte ich das Buch an keiner Stelle mehr aus den Händen legen und das passiert eher selten。 Ich habe also das gesamte Buch am Stück gelesen und sofort nachgeschaut， was die Autorin noch so geschrieben hat。 In die Geschichte bin ich unglaublich schnell und gut reingekommen und fand die Beschreibungen der Charaktere wirklich total interessant。Besonders Bird als Protagonisten fand ich toll beschrieben， seine inneren Konflikte， Ziele und Wünsche。 Aber auch die anderen Charaktere， wie seine Mutter， die eine unglaublich wichtige Rolle spielt， aber auch seinen Vater fand ich gut beschrieben。 Sie und all die anderen Charaktere haben ihre eigenen Gründe für ihre Handlungen und setzen alles für ihre Ziele auf Spiel。 Dann wäre da auch noch dieses Setting， dass der jetzigen Reakität gar nicht mal so unähnlich ist - was ein bisschen gruselig ist， wenn man mal genauer darüber nachdenkt。Insgesamt also ein wirklich tolles Buch， an das ich ziemlich hohe Erwartungen hatte， weil ich bisher nur Gutes über Celeste Ng gehört hatte。 Diese doch ziemlich hohen Erwartungen hat es aber auch erfüllt， wenn nicht sogar übertroffen。 Ich bin dann mal dabei， die anderen Bücher der Autorin auch noch zu lesen und freue mich schon auf alle kommenden Bücher von ihr。 。。。more
Summer
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Review to come
Michelle Curie
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If our world was just a bit worse， we'd end up where Our Missing Hearts is set。 An uncomfortable and dark exploration of themes like racism， family and where to find hope when there really is nothing left to believe in。 So – the protagonist of Our Missing Hearts is the 12-year old Chinese-American Noah Gardner， who likes being called Bird。 He lives alone with his father in Cambridge， Mass， as his mother has run away after writing a government-criticising poem。 The world they inhabit is ruled by If our world was just a bit worse， we'd end up where Our Missing Hearts is set。 An uncomfortable and dark exploration of themes like racism， family and where to find hope when there really is nothing left to believe in。 So – the protagonist of Our Missing Hearts is the 12-year old Chinese-American Noah Gardner， who likes being called Bird。 He lives alone with his father in Cambridge， Mass， as his mother has run away after writing a government-criticising poem。 The world they inhabit is ruled by a law referred to as PACT （short for the Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act）， which leads to children whose parents are considered politically subversive to be moved to foster families。 Early in the story， Bird received a hint to where his mother could be and so we begin the search for her alongside him。 The racism that weighs everything down is saddening and infuriatingly realistic。 History has grossly taught us that scapegoating is a mechanism that works and so in this novel， it's people who either are or look Asian that are blamed for the ongoing crisis that haunts Ng's version of America。 Ng has such a serene and unexcited way of delivering her story that her account of racism is particularly poignant and hard-hitting。 Her characters are so helpless and accepting of their reality on the one hand and at the same time so willing to fight and so strong in their morals that it's really hard not to be touched by this。 It's interesting， because while there's no pandemic here， you can feel the isolation on its pages。 There's just this sadness underlying everything， a sort of anxious sombreness。 While very different in setting and general plot， this explored similar themes to Everything I Never Told You， but took everything into even darker areas。 It's great and it works， but the one thing I personally have to say is that there are a lot of similar feeling novels around at the moment， which lead me to occasionally put this down and wonder why everything felt so familiar。 Yet， while bans， scapegoating and censorship aren't new things to explore in literature， they're explored here carefully with a lot of emotion and skill。Thanks to libro。fm and the publisher for letting me enjoy this ahead of its release！ 。。。more
Jessica （thebluestocking）
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Beautiful and heartbreaking。 I love Ng’s writing and the way she crafts family interactions。
Jenna hall
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Celeste Ng is a beautiful writer。 Lots of apt comparisons to our society。 I like the way that this novel isn’t “outsiders take over America” it’s literally “America takes over America。” Feels pretty real。
Christina
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Of course I loved this book。 Celeste Ng is my favorite。 Outstanding。 You know your heart is going to break， you see it coming， but it’s worth it。 What an original story。 I’ll be thinking about this for awhile。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Our Missing Hearts
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Our Missing Hearts&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Our Missing Hearts&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0