Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of vacation. I really needed to get away. We had fun in the sun, took kids tubing, and ate out a few times. It was so relaxing.
But enough about that. Today I want to talk about a book that I read before my vacation. It was an incredible story by one of my favorite authors. The book is “Our Missing Hearts,” by Celeste Ng. The cover and blurb are below.
An instant New York Times bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 • Named a Best Book of 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more • A Reese’s Book Club Pick
From the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes the inspiring new novel about a mother’s unshakeable love.
“It’s impossible not to be moved.” —Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review
“Riveting, tender, and timely.” —People, Book of the Week
“Thought-provoking, heart-wrenching . . . I was so invested in the future of this mother and son, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of this deeply suspenseful story!” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him.
Then one day, Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of heroic librarians, and finally to New York City, where he will finally learn the truth about what happened to his mother, and what the future holds for them both.
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s about the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and the power of art to create change.
My Thoughts:
This was a beautifully written story, and it has all the feels. It’s the story of a young boy, Bird, whose mother leaves without a trace when he’s nine years old. She’s a young poet who writes incredibly moving poems. They’re interpreted as against the establishment although she never intended for her poems to be interpreted in this way.
In the story, people who are considered against the establishment get their children taken away from them. It’s for their own good. To prevent this from happening to her own family, Margaret (the mother of Bird) just one day vanishes. Bird’s father tells him she just left them one day. He tells the same story to anyone who asks about her.
They fool the authorities and Bird is allowed to stay with his father, but his mother makes contact through a drawing sent to Bird. So, Bird decides to leave and find her. This is the story of their reunion, and the price Margaret pays for all the children who’ve been taken from their families because of her poems. She feels responsible.
I loved this story. I loved how intricately the author weaves this story. It tugs at your heartstrings. In the beginning, I didn’t like Margaret very much. How could she leave her family like that? But when you realize she did it to protect her son and keep him with his father, you understand. You understand what a price she paid to protect her child. What mother wouldn’t do that? It’s an amazing story, so if you’re looking for an awesome summer read, this is it.