OUR MISSING HEARTS

by Celeste Ng

I want to warn you first thing that this book is incredibly disturbing but also extremely good. Ng sets it in a not-so-distant, dystopian future that seems to be transpiring in many ways even since Ng published in 2022. She observes history and social change with a keen eye. Her predictions feel terrifying but are just a hair's breadth away from the current administration's agenda at this moment.

Our Missing Hearts begins with twelve-year-old Bird Gardner, who lives with his depressed, librarian dad in a campus apartment. His mother has been gone for three years and they do not speak about her, though Bird isn’t entirely certain why. But certain clues start to come together and he starts digging to uncover the truth. In school, where there are almost no books left on the shelves and websites are strictly limited, he has learned about PACT, The Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act, which was passed after a period of political and social upheaval in the United States. Anyone who is deemed “un-American” is targeted, and the focus is primarily on Asian Americans. To Bird, PACT is part of the everyday fabric of life, but for those who hope to shed light on its issues through protest or media, the punishment is swift and harsh–the removal and “re-placement” of all children in the household.

Bird’s search for his mother uncovers even deeper and harsher truths as this page-turner unfolds. Ng fills Our Missing Hearts with moving stories and complex characters who are struggling to find a life that is moral as well as safe. I urge you to read this book, but be prepared: Our Missing Hearts portrays an upsetting picture of the horrors of which governments and society are capable. (Lily)