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cannibalgender's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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
3.25
SPOILERS- This book made me cry, and not in a good way. A big topic in the novel seems to be the nature of people- if we are inherently selfish, if we deserve to continue as a species, and most importantly, who counts as a person and who doesn’t. This is where the book fell apart for me, because the narrative repeatedly falls back on comparing passionate, spontaneous, AI/Robot Cee, who is not human, but “seems” human, with her “sister” Kasey. In many places the book itself seems to be arguing that Kasey, despite being biologically human, is not. Because she is autistic. Kasey is heavily coded as being on the autism spectrum through her social difficulties, muted emotional responses and cognitive empathy, and black and white, goal driven thinking. This book made me feel /bad/ about myself, it made me feel like less of a person as an autistic person, reading the way Kasey was portrayed. Kasey isn’t perfect, and I’m not saying she should be- her views even briefly slide into ecofascism, which I can never condone, but the way Cee then justifies almost murdering Kasey, the way other characters treat her, the way she thinks of herself- it all comes off as a deeply ableist portrayal of an outdated Theory of Mind portrayal of a young autistic woman. The plot has potential, the twists are amazing, but I could barely make it through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Drug use
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness
Minor: Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Medical content
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
courtneyfalling's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'll start by saying science fiction isn't normally my thing. I picked this book up because it's been near-universally loved on BookTube, I liked the climate justice concept, and admittedly the cover was gorgeous. But it was... underwhelming. Some of the pacing felt off: I wanted more reveals about Kasey's background in particular earlier, since so many of her actions and motivations didn't make sense without fuller context. On a deeper level, some of the book's entire framing felt off: I found myself agreeing with Meridian a lot that Kasey, Actinium, and P2C/the officials in the eco-cities were elitist gatekeepers with no real authority to rank the climate footprint of those in the territories, especially not when withholding supplies and offshoring the ickier parts of lifestyle maintenance to them. The idea that "it's every individual's responsibility to live greenly and they and their descendants deserve significant punishment if they do not" submerges the fact that someone is subjectively offering that punishment and totally ignores the political economy that makes green footprints much more easily available to a select few. And on reflection after finishing the book I realized the main reason I'm sticking on this moral part is that at its core it reads as eco-fascist.
Even without that huge sticking point, I struggled relating to any of the main characters. Kasey is so science-focused to a fault, where it almost felt like Joan He was trying as hard as possible to make Kasey bot-like and unlikeable (and part of what rubbed me really wrong about this was that it ended up with Kasey feeling autism-coded and her most autism-coded traits being the 'worst' parts of her representation). By comparison, Cee seemed so much more human, and I feel like that was an obvious point. The twist happened, I was like what for maybe a chapter or two, and then it just sunk in, like duh.
Also... idk. I like enemies-to-lovers sometimes but the whole plot line between Cee and Hero was hard to connect with."Girl programmed to find her sister and boy programmed by the sister's former-partner-turned-archenemy to stop the girl at whatever cost" was much more of a heavy-handed, symbolic device than an actual relationship or space for character development. Hero's murder attempts got old quickly and really made the whole thing unromantic and frustrating.
Even without that huge sticking point, I struggled relating to any of the main characters. Kasey is so science-focused to a fault, where it almost felt like Joan He was trying as hard as possible to make Kasey bot-like and unlikeable (and part of what rubbed me really wrong about this was that it ended up with Kasey feeling autism-coded and her most autism-coded traits being the 'worst' parts of her representation). By comparison, Cee seemed so much more human, and I feel like that was an obvious point. The twist happened, I was like what for maybe a chapter or two, and then it just sunk in, like duh.
Also... idk. I like enemies-to-lovers sometimes but the whole plot line between Cee and Hero was hard to connect with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Genocide, Murder, and Suicide
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
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
mitone_winona's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book absolutely destroyed me in the most welcoming way and I adore it for that. To break it down real quick, this book is about two sisters trying to find one another while trying to understand themselves and observing the world and environment surrounding them in a very self-aware manner.
Both sisters are captivating in their own way. Cee is a charmer, resilient, lively, sweet, and loyal to her sister Kasey. Kasey is observant, cool, mind quick as a whip, determined, and self-aware of the city and the type of people and lifestyle that are within it.
While they both are very different, you find yourself cheering them on and hoping for the best. Kasey is very much allowed her grief and she expresses it in a way I think a lot of us would criticize her for, yet it's her way to grieve. Joan He does Kasey justice by not having Kasey completely transform into this person whose upbeat, the life of the party, or turn into Cee who she looked up to for being life personified. Kasey remained the same but did grow and understand herself and the world better. She is realistic in her hope, always logical but she is logical about her heart as well in knowing what it really wants.
This book essentially is grim in a way that you realize that Kasey and Cee have had to struggle continuously with their mind and emotions while trying to figure out the situations that they both are in; Kasey with her grief over her sister and tracing her last steps and Cee whose on a abandoned island while trying to keep Kasey alive in her mind and trying to remember more memories of her sister. Outside of the sisters, humanity itself is still struggling with climate change/environmental disasters/Class differences/etc. and still trying to find a solution to saving the environment as well as themselves.
If you want a book that leaves nothing unsolved, futurism that addresses environmental issues, two sisters that very much love one another trying to find each other, mystery, and tension? This book is for you and Joan He does a beautiful job writing the story and the book is truly worth it.
Both sisters are captivating in their own way. Cee is a charmer, resilient, lively, sweet, and loyal to her sister Kasey. Kasey is observant, cool, mind quick as a whip, determined, and self-aware of the city and the type of people and lifestyle that are within it.
While they both are very different, you find yourself cheering them on and hoping for the best. Kasey is very much allowed her grief and she expresses it in a way I think a lot of us would criticize her for, yet it's her way to grieve. Joan He does Kasey justice by not having Kasey completely transform into this person whose upbeat, the life of the party, or turn into Cee who she looked up to for being life personified. Kasey remained the same but did grow and understand herself and the world better. She is realistic in her hope, always logical but she is logical about her heart as well in knowing what it really wants.
This book essentially is grim in a way that you realize that Kasey and Cee have had to struggle continuously with their mind and emotions while trying to figure out the situations that they both are in; Kasey with her grief over her sister and tracing her last steps and Cee whose on a abandoned island while trying to keep Kasey alive in her mind and trying to remember more memories of her sister. Outside of the sisters, humanity itself is still struggling with climate change/environmental disasters/Class differences/etc. and still trying to find a solution to saving the environment as well as themselves.
If you want a book that leaves nothing unsolved, futurism that addresses environmental issues, two sisters that very much love one another trying to find each other, mystery, and tension? This book is for you and Joan He does a beautiful job writing the story and the book is truly worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
chaptersonapage's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He takes place in a world where climate change has gotten to a critical state. Megaquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters occur all around the Earth, with each disaster killing vast numbers of humans.
Those who have what is deemed a high rank, meaning they were the ones who helped the Earth more, or who were not ones who caused so much of the destruction of it, have the opportunity to live in places called Eco Cities. They’re cities in the sky where humans are safer than on the ground.
In the city lived two sisters, Celia and Kasey. While both sisters are opposites in many ways, they still love one another. Then, one day, Celia goes for a boat ride on the sea and never comes back.
The book picks up after this has happened. In alternating timelines, we see the perspectives of Kasey, taking place 3 months after Celia went missing, and Cee, taking place 3 years after she wakes up on the shore of an island with almost no memories.
The science in this book is a little jarring at first, but it’s also really interesting. We get sort of thrown into it, having to learn about the society as things happen rather than having it described in detail early on, but as I read the book I understood this choice stylistically.
Though this book takes place in such a scientific time in the world, the science comes secondary to the characters. It’s still important to the story, but I felt like this was more of a character study of the two sisters. Who they are, who they were, and who they are going to become. As they learn about themselves and each other, we learn too.
Cee is on an abandoned island, alone for years with only a bot for company. She spends her days building a boat, hoping she can eventually make her way off the island and find her sister, Kay. It’s the thing that keeps her going, day in and day out. She’s a very determined character, driven by her fleeting memories. She’s hardy, having learned to take care of herself since she has no one else to rely on. As her story progresses, you learn more about who she is, and you see how she changes and grows into herself.
Kasey on the other hand is still in the eco city, living life several months after her sister’s disappearance. She’s a very introverted character, one who prefers science over the company of others. She struggles with how she feels towards things, how she reacts differently then other people, but she’s also unapologetically herself. Though she operates differently from others, I feel like she still cared about things, it just came through differently than it would a “normal” person. I found her perspective really interesting to read, she’s different from a lot of characters in books. She’s not instantly likable, but I think that’s what made me like her. She is who she is.
At some points this book was a little confusing to me, especially earlier on. Some of the science stuff went a little over my head, but eventually I got a grasp on it as I learned more about the world and what happened. The beginning can feel a little slow, but some things start to dawn on you as you get closer to the midpoint where everything changes. Once this happens, the story becomes a lot more clear, and I feel like the pace picks up.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and Joan He’s writing. The ending was a little too open ended for my liking, I prefer a more concrete ending, but I also understand why it was left the way it was. It makes you think and reflect on the story and the characters even after reading. This was definitely a unique book, and I think it was a great read.
Those who have what is deemed a high rank, meaning they were the ones who helped the Earth more, or who were not ones who caused so much of the destruction of it, have the opportunity to live in places called Eco Cities. They’re cities in the sky where humans are safer than on the ground.
In the city lived two sisters, Celia and Kasey. While both sisters are opposites in many ways, they still love one another. Then, one day, Celia goes for a boat ride on the sea and never comes back.
The book picks up after this has happened. In alternating timelines, we see the perspectives of Kasey, taking place 3 months after Celia went missing, and Cee, taking place 3 years after she wakes up on the shore of an island with almost no memories.
The science in this book is a little jarring at first, but it’s also really interesting. We get sort of thrown into it, having to learn about the society as things happen rather than having it described in detail early on, but as I read the book I understood this choice stylistically.
Though this book takes place in such a scientific time in the world, the science comes secondary to the characters. It’s still important to the story, but I felt like this was more of a character study of the two sisters. Who they are, who they were, and who they are going to become. As they learn about themselves and each other, we learn too.
Cee is on an abandoned island, alone for years with only a bot for company. She spends her days building a boat, hoping she can eventually make her way off the island and find her sister, Kay. It’s the thing that keeps her going, day in and day out. She’s a very determined character, driven by her fleeting memories. She’s hardy, having learned to take care of herself since she has no one else to rely on. As her story progresses, you learn more about who she is, and you see how she changes and grows into herself.
Kasey on the other hand is still in the eco city, living life several months after her sister’s disappearance. She’s a very introverted character, one who prefers science over the company of others. She struggles with how she feels towards things, how she reacts differently then other people, but she’s also unapologetically herself. Though she operates differently from others, I feel like she still cared about things, it just came through differently than it would a “normal” person. I found her perspective really interesting to read, she’s different from a lot of characters in books. She’s not instantly likable, but I think that’s what made me like her. She is who she is.
At some points this book was a little confusing to me, especially earlier on. Some of the science stuff went a little over my head, but eventually I got a grasp on it as I learned more about the world and what happened. The beginning can feel a little slow, but some things start to dawn on you as you get closer to the midpoint where everything changes. Once this happens, the story becomes a lot more clear, and I feel like the pace picks up.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and Joan He’s writing. The ending was a little too open ended for my liking, I prefer a more concrete ending, but I also understand why it was left the way it was. It makes you think and reflect on the story and the characters even after reading. This was definitely a unique book, and I think it was a great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
mirandavictoria's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Murder, Terminal illness, and Death
chl0e's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Terminal illness
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really ended up enjoying this book at the end! The beginning did start kind of slow for me, and while I liked the characters, I wasn't super invested for a good chunk of the book. About 60% in things took a turn and I was HERE for it. The twists were great and I loved the way the ending turned out! Great book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Suicide, and Ableism