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. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Although I enjoyed it, it felt more like a thought experiment than an emotional read.įrom 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. Unlike her other books ( Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere), Ng’s latest is very literary and flatter, with less depth to the story as a whole. You know that quote about the Holocaust from Martin Niemöller: “Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me.” Our Missing Hearts embodies this sentiment where a pro-American values bill has resulted in any murmur of protest being listed as anti-American and heavily punished. When he receives a drawing in the mail, Bird sets out on a quest to search for his missing mother, leading him to an underground network in New York and a new act of defiance. For years, Bird has disavowed the work of his mother, a banned Chinese American who left years ago. In a dystopian America, libraries are heavily censored and authorities can relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian descent. Audiobook Length: 11 hours and 30 minutes

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