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merle_bookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I read this book because it's one of two books I will write my MA thesis about. This was only my first read and I'm sure I will expand on an actual review once I have more insight.
So far I can tell that this is definitely a challenging book but I enjoyed the challenge! I must admit that I was confused for a long time of like *what was actually going on* behind all the mysterious events and statements but I think that is the point of the book. I also feel like I wouldn't have been near as invested if I knew the *plot twist* from the very beginning. This way I was SO curious of what was the explanation and I was truly shook because I did not see ANY of this coming. The book definitely did not end like I thought it would when I started reading.
At the moment I won't go into plot/spoilers but that will surely follow!
So far I can tell that this is definitely a challenging book but I enjoyed the challenge! I must admit that I was confused for a long time of like *what was actually going on* behind all the mysterious events and statements but I think that is the point of the book. I also feel like I wouldn't have been near as invested if I knew the *plot twist* from the very beginning. This way I was SO curious of what was the explanation and I was truly shook because I did not see ANY of this coming. The book definitely did not end like I thought it would when I started reading.
At the moment I won't go into plot/spoilers but that will surely follow!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
f18's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Child death, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
emily_mh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Okay this book hit me quite hard which is the main reason why I've rated it so highly. It was confronting and haunting; whenever I finished a reading stint I had to stare into space for a bit and process what I had just read. It raised so many challenging questions, like how much personal freedom we can morally have in an environmental crisis, and who gets to decide who survives such a crisis. I was fascinated by how He envisioned the future of humanity, especially the solutions people made to reduce their carbon footprint. I also loved the sister relationship in this. They had such deep connection and love for one another.
I docked my rating half a star for two reasons. The first is that the writing could be very confusing from Kasey's perspective, both in terms of world-building and interpreting her personality. The pacing in this perspective also grew to be quite erratic. The second reason was the romance.I wish that Cee and Hero's relationship had been platonic. Or at least if it had to be romantic/sexual, I wish that their physical intimacy wasn't the reason why Cee's happiness spiked so high. Emotional connection provides happiness too, and more stable happiness that I feel that Kasey would have programmed for. In all honesty though, when a book impacts me the way this one did, reasons such as those aforementioned aren't enough to significantly affect the overall star rating, hence only a half-star dock.
I docked my rating half a star for two reasons. The first is that the writing could be very confusing from Kasey's perspective, both in terms of world-building and interpreting her personality. The pacing in this perspective also grew to be quite erratic. The second reason was the romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Body horror, Blood, and Self harm
Minor: Drug use, Excrement, Vomit, Racism, Sexual content, Confinement, Child death, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Sexual violence
mchllchng's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Reading from Kasey's perspective in the first half of the book was challenging for me ngl simply because there's so much technical language that makes sense for her character but I just found it difficult to understand. And again, that makes complete sense once you get to know her.
The book really picks up after you manage to get through the beginning. I read the majority of this book in the last few days, that's how enraptured I was.
This book is definitely something I feel like I should read again in the future because some parts, in the first reading, flew over my head and I feel like I'd understand it better during a 2nd reading.
Sometimes I felt a bit too dumb to be reading parts of the book but I managed. Or there were parts of the world building that I couldn't find myself imagining or creating a proper image for in my head but that's okay, it didn't ruin the experience for me all that much.
The book really picks up after you manage to get through the beginning. I read the majority of this book in the last few days, that's how enraptured I was.
This book is definitely something I feel like I should read again in the future because some parts, in the first reading, flew over my head and I feel like I'd understand it better during a 2nd reading.
Sometimes I felt a bit too dumb to be reading parts of the book but I managed. Or there were parts of the world building that I couldn't find myself imagining or creating a proper image for in my head but that's okay, it didn't ruin the experience for me all that much.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
n_asyikin_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW: some depictions of violence, ableism (read in review)
Cee woke up one day, on an island all alone, with little memory. Any memory she had centred around her sister, Kasey. Relying on the materials she discovered in an abandoned house on the seemingly uninhabited island, Cee wanted to find her way home, at a floating city, she vaguely remembered.
Kasey's sister Celia (Cee) went missing. While she struggled to process the secrets about Cee she discovered along the way, Kasey was intent on finding her & bringing her back home.
All the while, the Earth is slowly breaking apart as the result of climate change. Kasey was pulled between wanting to find her sister and finding solutions that could prevent human extinction.
Initially, I struggled to get into the story. Told from dual perspectives, changing between the two sisters, the narration vacillated between being rather mechanical (i.e. talking about the technologies factually) to inconsequential (e.g. Cee's daily every day routine). Furthermore, the development to Cee & Hero's story at the start felt out-of-place; the sudden attraction left me cringing. But about a hundred pages in, the two sisters storyline begun to converge, significant details provided context to the reader; that got me engaged in speculating about what had happened, even Cee & Hero's relationship begun to develop more organically.
The element of natural disasters & possible human extinction plus the way the eco-cities were run created a dystopian world. Personally, I'd love to discuss about the many moral dilemmas dotted throughout the stories: from the right to autonomy within a community, to limitations in the freedom of choice, and the ableist root to one's "usefulness" in society; The One We're Meant To Find would definitely leave you contemplating.
I also thought that the book heavily depicted internalized ableism. Kasey struggled with social interactions, implying that she was neurodivergent.Unfortunately, Kasey had always see herself as being lesser for it, even considering to create ways to "fix-the-problem". I was definitely uncomfortable by the notion that Kasey's apathy & morally questionable views seemed to be tied upon her neurodiversity: a stigma often faced by neurodiverse individuals, seemingly implied that they're incapable of appreciating and/or respecting other people's feelings.
To be fair, in a short quip, Kasey did eventually recognized how wrong that view was - although, it was never fully addressed. Characters like Art also shared many morally questionable judgment despite not being neurodivergent. And perhaps, it was He's intention to show the injustices in a society that functions based on meritocracy. Although never explicitly stated, Kasey's neurodivergence had certainly left me on the fence; I thought He did not address it enough (e.g. the danger of it; the consequences to its victims; how dehumanizing those ableist view was).
Another aspect to the story I liked to reflect upon is the belief in the absolutism of science. Science is a tool wielded by people. And people are prejudiced. For that reason, science is never completely objectives. The failure to recognise how science have always been a tool of oppressions (read: Saini's Superior; McKrittick's Dear Science) irked me. Though I liked to point out, this book was never meant to address that really. If anything, it was just a belief held by Kasey; reflecting a contrast between the two sisters. Still, thought I shared my thought on it.
At the gist of it, The One We're Meant To Find depicted the extremes of following your heart vs. your mind. It's a book that invites critical thinking as we followed our MCs & their struggle with moral decisions. The world He created was fascinating, though deprived of some key elements (e.g. sociopolitical & power dynamics) that would've made it a more astute depiction.
Regardless, if you're looking for a book with morally gray characters facing multiple moral dilemmas set in a dystopia, The One We're Meant To Find will be perfect for you.
Cee woke up one day, on an island all alone, with little memory. Any memory she had centred around her sister, Kasey. Relying on the materials she discovered in an abandoned house on the seemingly uninhabited island, Cee wanted to find her way home, at a floating city, she vaguely remembered.
Kasey's sister Celia (Cee) went missing. While she struggled to process the secrets about Cee she discovered along the way, Kasey was intent on finding her & bringing her back home.
All the while, the Earth is slowly breaking apart as the result of climate change. Kasey was pulled between wanting to find her sister and finding solutions that could prevent human extinction.
Initially, I struggled to get into the story. Told from dual perspectives, changing between the two sisters, the narration vacillated between being rather mechanical (i.e. talking about the technologies factually) to inconsequential (e.g. Cee's daily every day routine).
The element of natural disasters & possible human extinction plus the way the eco-cities were run created a dystopian world. Personally, I'd love to discuss about the many moral dilemmas dotted throughout the stories: from the right to autonomy within a community, to limitations in the freedom of choice, and the ableist root to one's "usefulness" in society; The One We're Meant To Find would definitely leave you contemplating.
I also thought that the book heavily depicted internalized ableism. Kasey struggled with social interactions, implying that she was neurodivergent.
At the gist of it, The One We're Meant To Find depicted the extremes of following your heart vs. your mind. It's a book that invites critical thinking as we followed our MCs & their struggle with moral decisions. The world He created was fascinating, though deprived of some key elements (e.g. sociopolitical & power dynamics) that would've made it a more astute depiction.
Regardless, if you're looking for a book with morally gray characters facing multiple moral dilemmas set in a dystopia, The One We're Meant To Find will be perfect for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Ableism
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Uff, this is difficult.
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?!?!?!
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?!?!?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Cancer
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
Though the premise of and considerable hype surrounding this book had captured my attention, the book itself couldn’t hold it. I want to read, but I don’t want to read this. So, as disappointing as it is to say, I’ve decided this just isn’t my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
Violence - choking Parent death - prior to the story (This is only representative of the portion of the book I read.)nyoom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Excrement, and Racism
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Violence