Futuristic dystopian novel with a message about humanity
Read for Barnes and Noble Book Club June meeting
The Ones We’re Meant To Find by Joan He is a tough book to review. Is it an enjoyable feel good read? No. Are the characters relatable and likable? Also no. BUT. It’s well written, smart and works on a lot of levels. They just aren’t necessarily fun levels. It’s not even disturbing or dark enough to be juicy. It’s just kind of gloomy.
On the surface this is a futuristic novel of two sisters separated by the sea in a dystopian futuristic world. The earth is polluted by generations past (probably us in 2021) and citizens are either living in risky lives on the land or are part of a lucky group of pre-screened people living in sky cities. Ce is stuck on an island alone with only vague memories of who she was before and completely color-blind. Her days are spent building a boat and talking to a robot until the day a naked young man washes ashore and promptly tries to kill her.
Kasey has waited for three months for her sister Celia to return after leaving their sky city home in a boat to escape the stifling restrictions and the false lifestyle of using holograms. Eager to find out the truth Kasey approaches the mysterious Actinium to help her figure out Celia’s last hours leading up to her escape from the city. The investigation into Celia’s disappearance will lead Kasey into a world beset by extreme climate change, toxic air and the safety of privilege.
The author trusts the reader to figure a lot of the plot as they read along so there is no giant info dump (which I always find amateurish) in the beginning but this also meant that I didn’t know what the hell was happening much of the time. Plus many of the things you assume as a reader turn out to be wrong. The timeline and where each character is time-wise is (purposely) confusing. Although the sisters are supposed to be complete opposites I didn’t see enough Celia pre-escape to really find her that different from Kacey or enough of their bond or connection to explain their behavior.
I give this one a knee-jerk 4 stars but I’m going to probably think on it for a while. There is a lot of food for thought about our responsibility to future generations, what it means to be alive and the love between sisters.
The Ones We’re Meant To Find by Joan He is a tough book to review. Is it an enjoyable feel good read? No. Are the characters relatable and likable? Also no. BUT. It’s well written, smart and works on a lot of levels. They just aren’t necessarily fun levels. It’s not even disturbing or dark enough to be juicy. It’s just kind of gloomy.
On the surface this is a futuristic novel of two sisters separated by the sea in a dystopian futuristic world. The earth is polluted by generations past (probably us in 2021) and citizens are either living in risky lives on the land or are part of a lucky group of pre-screened people living in sky cities. Ce is stuck on an island alone with only vague memories of who she was before and completely color-blind. Her days are spent building a boat and talking to a robot until the day a naked young man washes ashore and promptly tries to kill her.
Kasey has waited for three months for her sister Celia to return after leaving their sky city home in a boat to escape the stifling restrictions and the false lifestyle of using holograms. Eager to find out the truth Kasey approaches the mysterious Actinium to help her figure out Celia’s last hours leading up to her escape from the city. The investigation into Celia’s disappearance will lead Kasey into a world beset by extreme climate change, toxic air and the safety of privilege.
The author trusts the reader to figure a lot of the plot as they read along so there is no giant info dump (which I always find amateurish) in the beginning but this also meant that I didn’t know what the hell was happening much of the time. Plus many of the things you assume as a reader turn out to be wrong. The timeline and where each character is time-wise is (purposely) confusing. Although the sisters are supposed to be complete opposites I didn’t see enough Celia pre-escape to really find her that different from Kacey or enough of their bond or connection to explain their behavior.
I give this one a knee-jerk 4 stars but I’m going to probably think on it for a while. There is a lot of food for thought about our responsibility to future generations, what it means to be alive and the love between sisters.