Our Missing Hearts

This is a modern day fairytale that sees biracial 12 year old Noah Gardener receive a letter with nothing inside but a single sheet of paper covered edge to edge in drawings of cats. It's addressed to Bird, a name he hasn't used in years. It's the first in a string of clues that will set him on the path to his mother who disappeared over 3 years ago. He'll be helped in no small part by a network of librarians as he navigates unfamiliar territory. Total bookish catnip.

His hero's journey is set in a near future where a nation reeling from an economic meltdown enacts something called PACT. Preserving American Culture and Traditions ensures God-fearing Americans are protected from subversive forces seeking to sow dissent and outrage. It can quickly remove children from harmful, unAmerican environments and “re-place” them with distant foster families. Turns out these “re-placements” tend to target People of Asian Origins (PAOs or Kung-PAOs as they are often referred - because of course) The thing is, this post-Crisis world is prey to rampant Sinophobia as China is blamed for manipulating markets, imposing tariffs and otherwise trying to bring a once powerful nation to its knees.

So another unevenly distributed dystopia set seconds into the future. A small minority vilified and targeted so that the rest of the nation can blithely go about their day to day. It happens all the time, but the beautiful thing about this book is how it shows that even within a long established, seemingly implacable system, the actions of a single individual can have impact.

Celeste Ng has been consistently good but this is easily my favorite of her books.