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lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I absolutely loved 2/3 of the book. It had everything I enjoy, and I didn't expect any of it to be honest. But then, the last third and especially the ending left me a little disappointed. But the more I think about this last third... the more I like aspects of it. And the more I think about the ending, the more I understand what it did... I think I actually like it now. I still think there are some things that could have been handled better to make it perfect for me.
But first, what I really really loved about this book:
The structure of the book, the two perspective, the way they related to each other. This was fantastic. Even up to the chapter numbers that were different for the two perspectives you follow and fit the story perfectly.
That being said, the first 2/3 of the book were totally confusing, and I LOVED it. I just loooove how I had to piece everything together on my own because the author definitely doesn't take you by the hand and lead you. Every time you think you know what is going on, another details is revealed the next chapter, and you have to adjust your thoughts and theories and your understanding of the world and the story. I think it is remarkable that everything makes sense in the end. That details you were confused about were actually hints you just didn't have enough information to decipher yet.
Then we have the setting, the world building and the atmosphere that I really liked. And here again, you are thrown into the world and have to piece it together from the information scattered throughout the chapters. This I found a little bit more difficult than piecing together the story. There were a lot of things about the world that were only hinted at, and I just had to accept this and hope it would be explained at some point or not be that important. And I personally enjoyed the moments when I understood an aspect of the world by connecting two dots. The two locations, the island and the city, were really great contrasts.
Lastly, the discussions about climate change, responsibilities of the individual but also of society as a whole, were super interesting and very much relevant. In addition to that, there were also discussions about what makes you you. Are your needs more important than the needs of others? Or what are you willing to sacrifice to save someone else? And who should be involved in this decision? So so so many interesting thoughts.
What I didn't like this much:
I think my main critique is the characters. Although I loved the premise, the two separated sisters and I loved the discussions about different relationships among the characters... I had a hard time understanding them. I spent a lot of time in their heads, witnessed their thoughts and struggles, but they still stayed distant. And so in the last third when most of the plot was revealed, the mysteries were uncovered, and it came down to the characters making decisions... I didn't relate to or feel for them. This could have been really emotional, but it wasn't. Which is kind of sad. This was mainly due to the way dialogues and thoughts were written in the last third. Even more than at the beginning, they were very vague and abstract, so I had a hard time following what was actually being said. There were these big ideas and questions about morality and identity. But for this, the small things that make you fall in love with characters were sacrificed along the way.
But I still enjoyed the reading process a lot and loved the majority of the book. And I think the story won't leave me that quickly because there is so much to think about. Which is really impressive and doesn't happen often.
But also, how beautiful is this cover and the end pages?!?!?!
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer and Sexual content
mo345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
nyoom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Racism, and Excrement
maple_dove's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Not sure why I wanted to read this? Probably because this book was written by Joan He. Despite the fact that I don't like Sci-Fi....
This was so emotional, VERY dark, and I fell into a pit of darkness for a little bit. The reason why I'm not rating this higher is because I rate based on enjoyment. I didn't type down all the important information for a while, resulting in me getting very confused. 😅
IF YOU'RE GOING TO READ THIS BOOK, write or type all the important information! It will help!
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Racism
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Body horror, Racism, and Sexual content
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don't really know how to summarize this book. It's about sisters. It's about humanity. It's about the climate disaster that will eventually befall Earth. It's all these things and more. The ending and how everything tied together had me shocked and questioning. The ending is more of an open ended one and I am still unsure how I feel about it, but I don't think anything different would've worked here.
The Ones We're Meant to Find follows Cee and Kay/Kasey. Cee is trapped on a deserted island and trying to figure out a way off of it so she can find her sister. Kasey is grieving her sister, Celia, and her disappearance/death. When Kasey finds Celia's chip (basically stores all your info and memories), she is determined to understand what happened to her sister.
Cee's POV felt a lot like watching someone playing Sim's Castaway. It was very easy to get bored and I wasn't really invested in her POV until about halfway through. Kasey on the other hand was fascinating from the beginning. There were so many things going on and I kept wanting to know more. Kasey is a genius and there was something she did in the past she wasn't allowed to remember. But in her pursuit of her sister, she finds them again and with them the possible solution to the climate crisis.
There isn't any clear cut villain to me in this story. There are humans who've made bad decisions, and ones that made the best decision they could given the circumstances. I really liked how this whole book operates in the gray area of right and wrong. The overlying mystery of what the fuck was exactly happening kept my interest and helped with Cee's POV being slower at first.
The only thing I wish was different was that there were no queer characters. Kasey really struck me as someone on the Aspec, but none of that is canon so I am sad. Also look at that cover!!! Does that not scream sapphic vibes!? Because it does to me.
Rep: Asian coded female MCs, one MC seems autistic coded but I am not certain.
CWs: Abandonment, confinement, death, presumed death of sister, grief, attempted murder, racism, sexual content, suicide/suicide attempt--character is immortal, terminal illness--poisoning, toxic friendship, violence.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Racism
escapinginpaper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a very futuristic world, where the Earth is ravaged from climate change, making the backdrop for two sisters with a close bond – one of whom is stuck on a desert island, and the other is trying to cope with the the idea her sister is missing, presumed dead. There is a really killer twist at around the 60% mark – I enjoyed that. I had difficulty with the writing style, mostly. Throughout it I kept finding myself thinking "what the heck is going on???" and had to read several passages multiple times to fully understand. A lot of the plot is revealed as you go – very little is "told" to you, you have to glean as you read.
Overall I'm glad I read it. Despite being difficult, it was interesting and had a very Black Mirror vibe – in fact I think it would translate over really well to film.
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
caidyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND is a beautiful, big sci-fi story about family and humanity that went places I didn't expect and took turns I didn't see coming.
- I can't discuss too many details without giving things away, but it's one of those books where when the perspective switches you're both not ready to leave the character you're with and excited to get back to the other one. Cee and Kay are both so compelling in diametrically opposed ways.
- The author wrote such an incredible sense of unease into every page, and yet I could not stop reading.
- Basically, I need everyone to read this and to report back to me when things get twisty.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
emerynmader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Review:
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, and Murder