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betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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
So this is one of those books where you're dropped into this new world without much context and you get the details the further you get into the story. Let me just say that this works extremely well for this story, particularly for the driving mystery between the two sisters.
I desperately want someone I know to finish this book because I want to discuss it with someone! Much of this dystopian world that He has created is based on climate change and the fact that humanity is to blame for the destruction of the planet. This could have gotten too heavy handed, but I think it blended well with Kasey and Cee's own storylines. It's because of the state of the world that they're in the situation they're in, and while you think you might know what's going on, you probably don't. Or, you at least don't know the whole story.
Fair warning, this book might also break your heart. That ending! I'll definitely be thinking about this book for a long time, and it's also a book that would benefit from a re-read because I'm sure there's stuff I missed. I didn't want to put this book down the further I got into it because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
I know this book is hit or miss for some people, but it was definitely a hit for me. Now I just need to find someone else to read it and discuss! Maybe I'll suggest it at my next book club.
I desperately want someone I know to finish this book because I want to discuss it with someone! Much of this dystopian world that He has created is based on climate change and the fact that humanity is to blame for the destruction of the planet. This could have gotten too heavy handed, but I think it blended well with Kasey and Cee's own storylines. It's because of the state of the world that they're in the situation they're in, and while you think you might know what's going on, you probably don't. Or, you at least don't know the whole story.
Fair warning, this book might also break your heart. That ending! I'll definitely be thinking about this book for a long time, and it's also a book that would benefit from a re-read because I'm sure there's stuff I missed. I didn't want to put this book down the further I got into it because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
I know this book is hit or miss for some people, but it was definitely a hit for me. Now I just need to find someone else to read it and discuss! Maybe I'll suggest it at my next book club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Violence
starccato's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Vomit
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
Thanks to Books Forward PR for the free advance copy of this book.
- 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.
- 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence
erinsbookshelves's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Violence, Grief, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Vomit and Medical content
kaseybereading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Terminal illness
krystalg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Death, Grief, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Physical abuse
bi_n_large's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Death, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
emerynmader's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
When Joan He (Author of Descendant of the Crane, 2019) announced her second novel, I was incredibly excited. I had loved her first book and was very curious to discover what else she had in store, how her writing would potentially have evolved in the meantime and with another project. The more details came out, the more my excitement grew: science-fiction (new genre!), seperated siblings (I had loved the sibling relationships in DotC!), climate change, a beautiful cover, great and intriguing quotes... Time went on and on and I could wait less and less to finally get my hands on this story and read it. Needless to say, my expectations were high.
Spoiler alert: This book really did NOT disappoint.
Review:
Review:
TOWMTF is told from two perspectives, Cee and Kasey. Before reading the book, I expected to have a strong preference for either of them, since this is what happened with previous books which had this sort of structure. Now that I have actually finished the story, however, I can say that I love both Kasey and Cee. They are a perfect fit to the story without feeling mechanical (which often makes me stop reading and instead think about different ways the author could have approached or resolved a certain plot point). In this case, however, they come across as organic to their place in the story, being affected by and in return affecting the plot in a way I cannot imagine how it could have been done differently, both while reading and in hindsight. With this book and its cast, He managed to create not only characters, but people.
Both the protagonists and all the secondary/supporting characters are perfect for this story and add something necessary to it. Even the ones that are missing are missing in the right place, filling the emptiness with the negative space of their absence.
Thanks to the fantastic groundwork laid by the existence of these fantastic characters, the relationships between everyone takes this book to a new level. Even when the two sisters are separated, the reader (or at least I) gets a clear image of what the relationship between them is like and even the minor dynamics with and between characters that get less page time are clear and really add to the story. It is difficult to create the image of a full history and its evolution in a single book, especially considering the hurdles set up by the premise and the plot alone. TOWMTF passes this test (if one wants to call it that) with flying colours and allows both the story and everything related to it to come alive in the process.
For those who have already read He's first book Descendant of the Crane, it might come as no surprise that TOWMTF also has at least one big plot twist - which might or might not take you aback when it is finally revealed. To me personally, it was not unexpected, I actually guessed it rather early on, but the beauty of the book lies not in the surprise, but in the anticipation of how the story develops and evolves from the beginning to reach said twist. To me, this only added to the reading experience. However, if one doesn't guess the plot twists or revelations, I expect they're in for a pretty wild ride - and might want to re-read the book immediately to see what they first missed and it will absolutely be worth it.
Last but not least, He manages to touch upon and address important and heavy topics in TOWMTF, the most striking likely climate change and its grave and lasting consequences. It does this without offering either an eternal solution or a total doomsday vision but instead functions like a warning of the consequences our current path will have on a global scale, while not shying away from the role and relevance of social classes, privileges and the role communities, self-perception and habits very much ingrained in our current daily lives (could) play in such a scenario. Some things are too large to be resolved or really tackled in a single book (even if it is such a dense one as TOWMTF) but that doesn't mean they're not there or can be ignored and He managed to hit just the right balance of addressing these topics without letting them take over the central story, instead weaving them into the tapestry of the plot as needed to bring the story forward and not afraid to leave some things for the reader to ponder over after they've read the last page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Medical content, Murder, Racism, and Sexual content
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Disclaimer: I received the e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The ones We’re Meant to Find
Author: Joan He
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Asian main characters and side characters
Recommended For...: ya readers, sci-fi lovers, dystopian readers, thrill seekers
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Recommended Age: 16+ (suicide TW, grief, terminal illness, violence, gore, drowning, choking to death, sex mention)
Publisher: Roaring Book
Pages: 384
Synopsis: Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay. Determined to find her, Cee devotes her days to building a boat from junk parts scavenged inland, doing everything in her power to survive until the day she gets off the island and reunites with her sister.
In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara is also living a life of isolation. The eco-city she calls home is one of eight levitating around the world, built for people who protected the planet―and now need protecting from it. With natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco-cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. While Kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister Celia hated it. Popular and lovable, Celia much preferred the outside world. But no one could have predicted that Celia would take a boat out to sea, never to return.
Now it’s been three months since Celia’s disappearance, and Kasey has given up hope. Logic says that her sister must be dead. But as the public decries her stance, she starts to second guess herself and decides to retrace Celia’s last steps. Where they’ll lead her, she does not know. Her sister was full of secrets. But Kasey has a secret of her own.
In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara is also living a life of isolation. The eco-city she calls home is one of eight levitating around the world, built for people who protected the planet―and now need protecting from it. With natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco-cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. While Kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister Celia hated it. Popular and lovable, Celia much preferred the outside world. But no one could have predicted that Celia would take a boat out to sea, never to return.
Now it’s been three months since Celia’s disappearance, and Kasey has given up hope. Logic says that her sister must be dead. But as the public decries her stance, she starts to second guess herself and decides to retrace Celia’s last steps. Where they’ll lead her, she does not know. Her sister was full of secrets. But Kasey has a secret of her own.
Review: This book. Oh my goodness. This book is my favorite read of April! I absolutely loved the characters, the world building, and everything about this book. The book is a perfect mix of thriller and sci-fi and dystopian and it makes my heart so so happy! The characters were so well developed as was the world building. The book also had a great plot and it kept me reading the book until the very end.
The only issue I had (and I’m only saying this because I have to put one) is that some moments were a bit slowed down and I felt that the book focused too much on the sci-fi elements and not the thriller ones, but other than that it was absolutely perfect for me.
Verdict: Highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness and Gore
Minor: Vomit
ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence