⟾ 4.5 stars / 5 stars

⟾ cw: death of loved ones, parent death, violence, chocking, suicide, terminal illness, gore, large scale natural disasters and mass casualties.

the ones we're meant to find is a heartbreaking story set in a world on the verge of destruction. it's an exploration of family, especially sisterhood, but it also follows humanity and the loss of morals when faced with disaster.

i loved both sisters, but i resonated more with kacey. she's highly logical and very, very smart, but struggles with both her emotions and the emotions of others. i did, however, enjoy celia's story. her setting, the island that she was stranded on, created a very nice atmosphere and i liked the descriptions of it. i also lived how the sea was incorporated in the story. the two sisters had different voices and you can clearly tell who is who.

the other two important characters, hero and actinium, were well thought out, but i liked hero more. he's so endearing and soft. i felt like actinium's actions weren't explained well enough, but i can definitely see why he's the way he is.

the pacing was slow at first, but it picks up after the first 50ish pages. nonetheless, it works with the whole story. it's a nice set-up to the twists and turns that come next. i definitely didn't see the plot twists coming and the ending left me speechless.

overall, this is one of those novels that will stay with me for a long time, because it's an unforgettable story.

thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Set in a not-so-unrealistic future, rife with global disasters and a world that has been near destroyed, life goes on. Two sisters are working hard to find each other after, with Celia living on an isolated island with no memories of her past life besides the existence of her sister, and Kasey investigating the mystery behind Celia's disappearance.

The world-building was easy to digest while informative and interesting, with a lot of social commentary on things such as climate change and green consumerism while still remaining engaging and unique. I thought the world that the Author had created was a very realistic interpretation of a possible future, while still remaining modern enough to be relatable.

Everything you learn as the story goes on, is there for a reason, and the stories of the characters are woven together to perfectly that I couldn't help but be in awe of how everything came together. Without spoling it I will just say that for the first 50% of the book, I was very much enjoying it as a mystery sci-fi moment. Then from the half way point onwards I became obsessed with this story.

The character & relationship development was done beautifully, you feel like you really get to know the characters in the context of the present and the future.

Not to mention - The cover?? Stunning.

I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley. Although the premise of this book is clever, the dual point of view in this futuristic novel about sisters was at times confusing. Not sure I would have finished it if it had not been an ARC.

I will preface this by saying that if it wasn’t for this being an arc I would have dnfed it around 25%.

I haven’t read a book by this author before so I can’t compare this book to her other. For me, her writing style isn’t for me. It felt very fragmented and not enjoyable to read. This made it harder for me to get into the book and unfortunately, that never happened.

Another issue I had with this book is that the world-building or the way things were explained could be very confusing. I would have to reread sentences a few times to try and understand. It would also happen where something was said and I would think it meant one thing but then it would be further explained that what I thought that thing was actually wasn’t what that thing was. Maybe this is just a me thing. 🤷‍♀️

The plot deals with a lot of futuristic aspects such as what happens when climate change has changed the earth and everyone lives in ecocities, unless you have a low ranking then you are screwed. I do wish that there was more talk about the ecocities or even the way those still on land survived. Some parts of the plot and world-building just felt glossed over.

When it came to the characters, the book is told in the perspective of two who are sisters: Kasey and Cee. I definitely preferred Cee’s point-of-view over Kasey’s as Cee felt more emotional about things where as Kasey’s point-of-view felt bogged down by all of the technical stuff. Because of that, I just didn’t care for her and felt her emotions to be lacking as well.

There are other characters but honestly I didn’t care for any of them. I also never felt attached to either of the sisters. One was just more entertaining to read.

I think my big issue with this book is that I didn’t feel anything because the more emotional part of the plot was bogged down by everything else. It is an interesting setting and idea but to me it just wasn’t executed right.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me and that’s okay. I still love the cover and I am sure others will like this book.

The overall idea of this story is incredibly creative and compelling. A future where the Earth is so polluted that people have moved into Ecocities and have developed incredible technology is a really cool idea. However, there was so much info dumping about said technology and the way the system worked that I often had a hard time concentrating and understanding what was going on. Mostly this was when I was reading in Kasey's POV. I also seriously didn't enjoy Kasey's side of the story at all. She's dull and near emotionless and I couldn't find myself to like her. I really did enjoy Cee's parts of the book though. I loved her character, her strength, her determination and how alive she really was. I loved the little lost island in the middle of nowhere with U-me the bot and MM's house. I also really came to enjoy Hero and his relationship with Cee. This definitely was a 4 star read for me from Cee's perspective but a 3 from Kasey's. I just didn't like the way these two stories meshed together. I think science fiction fans are going to love this book though. It really was a creative and cool idea!

Two sisters, a futuristic world, and a mystery that haunts them both. Celia and Kasey are sisters, Celia- a fun extrovert who mysteriously disappears one day, and Kasey- a more detached introvert who is obsessed with science and trying to find where her sister went. They both live in eco-city, a place floating above earth that is meant to be a sanctuary for people. Cee wakes up one day on the shores of an abandoned island with barely any memories and a little robot to keep her company until a mysterious boy shows up and tries to kill her, i.e. meet Hero. He also has no memories and blacks out when he tries to kill her. Kasey is trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her sister and where she went, all the while a mysterious boy named Actinium shows up and seems to be the missing piece to finding where her sister went. Throw in a whole lot of future tech, eco-planet stuff, and a big mystery with a little bit of romance and this is what you get. The overall story is interesting and the world setting is definitely unique. I found myself getting confused at some parts but in the end it made sense, sort of haha. Overall, a interesting read and great for anyone who is interested in a futuristic mystery.

*Thanks Netgalley and Text Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I have been looking forward to this book ever since I saw that stunning cover, and it did not disappoint.

The Ones We're Meant To Find is so clever and shocking and utterly devastating. It packs so much nuance and grey morality that I'm still not even sure how I feel about it, because the choices Kasey and Celia had to make were so tough that there was truly no right answer ever, and my heart ached for their struggles. While I was reading I said it felt like the book picked me up and started running at about the halfway point, and that was certainly true: if you are looking for a read to get swept away in, this is it.

I knocked off a star for purely subjective reasons. I felt the romance subplot was a little too hollow (which makes perfect sense come the revelations near the end, but still. I struggled to love Hero because of it) and I don't love the open ending. I understand it completely, but I don't enjoy it, I would have loved just one page more to give me a definitive answer, because without it this will be haunting me forever.

But there are far worse books to be haunted by, so ultimately: The Ones We're Meant To Find is incredible, I would recommend it to anyone, and thank you so, so much to Netgalley for the ARC.

When I saw the cover and read the description, I immediately wanted to read "the ones we're meant to find" by Joan He. Thanks to the eArc from Netgalley, I was able to do that, because the book doesn't come out until May.
We follow two sisters, Cee and Kasey. Cee wakes up one day on a abandoned island and slowly but surely loses her memory. They both try to find each other.
Sadly, I stopped reading the book after 70 pages. I hardly felt that I understood what I was reading. The writing style is sometimes very fragmented and jumps from thought to thought. Unfortunately, I found the two sisters rather uninteresting. The few secondary characters I got to know did not contribute anything to the story. The world was hardly explained, so I couldn't imagine anything either.

This book is hard to review. The writing is very atmospheric and the dual POV was engaging. We have Cee's first person POV and Kasey's third person POV that alternate and set up the story. There's some really masterful plot twists that I frankly didn't see coming. But with all that said, the plot was at times confusing, and I think the ending might've needed a little more.

However, overall, this is a unique gem that focuses on sisterhood and the people you find in life when you least expect to. It's more than meets the eye, and it's amazing how many twists are packed into this novel.

The plot follows Cee, a girl deserted on an island with vague memories. The clearest one is of her sister Kasey and the desire to reunite. And Kasey, the sister left in a dystopian world. Kasey is seeking to move on after her sister disappeared/died.

This was one of the more unique dystopian I have read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the e-ARC. I really appreciated the opportunity to read this gem.

Joan He has created a thought provoking character driven story that lingers long after the last page. I find myself thinking about the environment and what it means to be human even after the story finished.

THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND constantly challenged my expectations -- of sisters, of what the future could look like, of how we find meaning in conditions that aren't ideal. It's the type of book that constantly makes you want to guess what's going to happen.

One of the things that most stuck with me about He's debut, DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE, was how it took me to places I never could've guessed. THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND does this as well in such an incredibly masterful way.

This is a story that would be so easily to spoil by saying too much so I'll leave you with this -- be patient with this story. It took a while to hook me but once it did, it was absolutely worth it. I'm looking forward to release day so I can have more people to discuss this with!

The Ones We're Meant to Find was one of my most anticipated releases of the year so I was very excited when I had the chance to read an eArc.

This book did not disappoint. It was a gripping, beautiful, and sad story about two sisters at different points in their lives. I adored all the characters in this book. The growth they went through (specially Cee) was really good. In the beginning, it might seem like things are confusing but it all ends up falling into place beautifully.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, not just sci-fi fans. I believe everyone will find a character to connect with.

Stayed up late with THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND & it was every bit as brilliant as I expected. A lethally powerful story about sisterhood, a masterfully-crafted sci-fi landscape, & layered characters all conveyed via Joan’s gorgeous writing. This was one of those RARE books that stays with you with you for a long time after you’re done. Even the opening lines are the work of a master, & the ending is just jaw-dropping. A must-read.

A page turning,Dystopian Thriller with an all too believable premise which serves as an allegory of identity, society and morality;a stark warning of the dangers posed by Climate Change.

Set in a dystopian future, Cee has been stuck on an abandoned island she woke up on for three years, with a rickety shack and no one but an old android for company. Her only memory is of her sister, who she desperately needs to find.

Kay lives in a floating “Eco-City”, the last truly unpolluted place on earth.Its been years since the disappearance of her sister, who’s presumed dead. As Kay searches for the truth about her sister , she has to make a choice- whether to use her STEM background to help solve the Earth’s global crisis,even though they’ve failed those who matter the most.

This was a heart wrenchingly thrilling tale of love and survival,words simply cannot do it justice. It primarily focuses on both sisters who have very different view points-one sister emotional, the other logical. This is also made apparent by their environments (the sterility of the city vs. the primitive nature of the island).

The setting was incredibly atmospheric and made for the perfect backdrop to the emotional rollercoaster of twists and revelations made throughout by both characters.I was genuinely an emotional wreck by the end but my goodness was it a great one.The pace was slow to begin however, it did pick up and the climatic ending was well worth it.

I thought I’d also mention that It’s labelled as YA but I’d say it’s at older end of the YA genre, due to some of the content (violence,etc). Recommended to fans of Sci-fi and Dystopian fiction or anyone into Mystery Thrillers.

I also just want to give a huge thank you Text Publishing and Net Galley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find is Joan He’s up-and-coming YA sci-fi/dystopian novel. It’s a story of love, humanity, and how much one is willing to sacrifice without giving up their sense of self. It’s also a novel that I really enjoyed.

What stood out to me from the start was the overall tone of the book. It sort of reminded me of a Studio Ghibli film, with its whimsical yet almost somber atmosphere. This is part could be attributed to the light and beautiful writing style that He uses. It never felt stilted or forced and was rather funny at times, which worked well to juxtapose the more melancholy story.

Another thing that worked well in contrast were the two main characters, Cee and Kasey. Cee, an outgoing socialite, finds herself in isolation on a deserted island. And Kasey, reserved and naturally reclusive, has the weight of the dying world on her shoulders. Both of these girls are such fantastic MCs that I enjoyed following.

I did find myself slightly more engaged in Cee's storyline, only because I am usually more drawn to the more energetic and outgoing characters. However, Kasey is definitely one I can relate to (and can imagine many others relating to her, as well), so I appreciate He writing her the way that she did.

If you’re someone who is as into twists and turns as I am, this is certainly the book for you. While I was never particularly shocked by any turn of events, I still think they worked nicely to convey the themes that He was trying to portray here.

I think they only drawbacks I have with this book are its world-building and pacing. I found the world-building to be a bit confusing in the beginning and I’m not quite sure I got it all sorted by the end. This could certainly be a me problem, though, considering sci-fi not being my genre of choice despite being a science nerd. And the pacing in the middle I found to be a bit slow. It took me longer to read this than I usually would for a 300 page book.

As far as romance is concerned, I think it is well done. I think it’s one that some people may dismiss as insta-love but, without going into detail as to not spoil anything, given the circumstances and what is revealed thoughout the story, the way it’s written makes sense. Plus, Hero is so stinking endearing, I’d be instantly drawn to him too! So, yes, I enjoyed the romance.

All-in-all, I think The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a unique and engaging story that I think most people will latch onto. It’s mature and thought-provoking and despite falling under the young adult label, definitely feels different than your typical young adult novel. I think if you are on the fence about reading this, you should give it a try once it comes out!

The bones of this book were brilliant. An amnesiac girl marooned on an island; a child prodigy struggling to connect with the world around her. A dying earth, and eco-cities floating in the clouds where people live a holographic existence from inside stasis pods. The first third of this book was approaching five stars for me, but as I read further, plot holes and pacing issues started to leap out the pixels in a photograph if you zoom too close.

My biggest issue was the pacing. This story moves at a reasonable pace to begin with, but speeds up to a point that is almost impossible to process. While I was compelled to parse apart the mystery for the first two hundred pages or so, a lot of the excellent tension He laboriously crafted was ultimately sacrificed to expedite the plot. I felt like the last ten chapters existed solely to club me over the head with explanation and exposition in a race to a somewhat confusing ending. A lot of telling, and very minimal showing. Furthermore, the onslaught of twists lost a lot of their intended emotional resonance as the breakneck pace of the story failed to allow for character development or my own emotional involvement to catch up. Some practical aspects of the story also really strained the edges of my belief -- who lets a sixteen year old have a MAJOR voice in an established global government, regardless of their intelligence? I'm sorry but I just could not make myself believe Kasey's many, convenient resources and global reach.

However, there were still certainly things to admire here. Although both love interests failed to excite (Hero felt two-dimensional and Actinium, though compelling, lacked satisfying motivation for his actions) I adored both of our protagonists. Celia and Kasey had refreshing, distinct voices and fathoms of intriguing character depth; their whole relationship was a treatise on the complex manifestations of love and grief. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if the focus stayed entirely on their relationship and turned less of a lens on their respective crushes. Additionally, I found the commentary on environmental stewardship and free will to be poignant, if a bit crowded at times. Also I am not immune to a cute robot companion!!! U-Me was a great addition to the island gang.

Regardless of my broader issues, this book kept me guessing, and kept me eager to unravel the knot at the center of mystery which is more than enough to pin my attention and win my regard.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find took me completely by surprise; what began as a story of two sisters separated by the sea quickly became something so much more. Joan He seamlessly combines classic elements of science fiction, fantasy and thriller to create what is an undeniably striking and unique tale, gripping from start to finish.

~★~ What is this book about? ~★~

It’s been three years since Cee washed up on the shore of a deserted island, with nothing more than an android to keep her company and a wooden shack to reside in. Her only memory is that she has a sister, the person she needs to find.
Kasey lives in a skydome—the last unpolluted place on earth, meant to shelter those dedicated to protecting the planet. It’s been years since the quiet disappearance of her sister, though Kasey is convinced that she isn’t really dead like everyone says.

~★~

Joan He made several interesting stylistic choices that did wonders for this story. Cee’s perspective is told in first person, while Kasey’s is told in second—an insignificant detail at first, though it becomes brilliant in light of the revelations that come. The writing is a large part of what made this such a well crafted novel; it was so easy to fall into He’s strange world (which is no small feat considering its bizarre constructs).

Kasey’s perspective is probably my only complaint about The One’s We’re Meant to Find. It was hard to sympathize with her in the first half, mainly due to her closed off and almost apathetic personality. I found Cee’s fight to escape the island far more enticing, especially when paired with her eccentric and odd charisma. The romance was near perfect, I was so charmed by the love interest’s interactions with Cee.

The One’s We’re Meant to Find was nothing like I expected (which was, to say, a fairly typical young adult fantasy). Joan He’s wordbuilding is immaculate, and her storyline is evidently planned with careful attention to detail. By the halfway mark, it was plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. My head was spinning with the shock. This book will leave you entertained, that’s for sure! Definitely a release to keep on your radar!

The Ones We're Meant to Find -- gorgeous cover, neat idea, a twist I didn't see coming... however, the pages of heavy explanation of the technological concepts weighed the story causing the pacing to drag. I have to disagree with previous reviewers; Joan He's writing style is not for me.

There was so much going on! I am still unclear on how this world runs. The entire world-building felt haphazard; just when I thought I had the layout in my mind, an adjustment had to occur as a different element was thrown in. So, the setting, even though I normally enjoy Sci-fi, was a miss for me.

The characters were underwhelming, too. Was I supposed to enjoy the bots more than the humans? Was that part of the plan? Because that's what happened. The human characters were one-dimensional and their long monologues were boring.

It had a lot of potential, but I like the idea of the story more than the actual reading of the book.

Two sisters try desperately to get back to each other in this YA sci-fi thriller survival story. Cee is on an island trying to survive with her limited memories while Kasey is dealing with her sister's disappearance, and likely death, on an eco-city floating above Earth's surface. All the sisters want is to get back to each other, but they will soon realize they are separated by more than just physical space.

This story was so good and reignited my love for sci-fi. I've been struggling to pick up a sci-fi for a while because every sci-fi thriller I picked up was so twisty that it lost me. This was the perfect amount of twist, keeping my attention while also leaving enough breadcrumbs for me to feel like I was so smart for picking up on the twist early on in the novel. This book also features some of my favorite tropes, which I can't expand on without revealing too much about the plot and ruining it for everyone but the book did the classic sci-fi tropes really well while also keeping the story of the two sisters as the thread that held everything together. The writing was spectacular and while I think the twist is pretty easy to figure out (I had it at around 20%) I think that speaks more to the mastery of the sci-fi genre that He exhibits more than anything. She knew where her plot was going and gave you the necessary tools to figure it out while still making it new and exciting once the twist was revealed in the story.

The world-building was phenomenal. While at times the setting was told to us rather than shown to us, crafting a whole sci-fi world while also describing why this world came to be is a hefty task and I would much rather deal with being told the circumstances to keep the story going at the pace that it did than have to deal with pages of info dump. So while I did find sometimes that I was just told the circumstances in the eco-city and on the island, I recognize that there were tough decisions about what to pursue in more depth here and He made those decisions as best as possible to keep the story going. We've seen this setting before in sci-fi but focusing on two privileged sisters and how they navigate those circumstances kept it engaging and fresh.

Speaking of the two sisters, He did a wonderful job of differentiating the voices that we read. Each voice was so distinct and added a level of curiosity to the story, including the perspective shifts that I failed to notice right away. Keeping it vague to avoid spoilers, following each sister's journey through the same set of circumstances, and reading about how each one handled it was so fascinating and did wonders at seeing how different the two are. Additionally, reading Cee go through everything on the island broke my heart. Cee's perspective is so interesting because we see her deal with limited memories while still feeling an intense need to get back to Kasey while also missing her life before the island; her perspective made the book's themes hit that much more. I do wish character wise the supporting cast got a bit more depth because they felt a little flat but since they are not the focus, and given the nature of some of those secondary characters, I can see why that happened. I still would have loved a little more depth to the villain of the story. I think they had a good foundation but I wanted more.

This book left me with a lot to think about including questioning what we are willing to give up as a species in order for the greater good, what exactly humanity is, and just how much a familial love can either make you cling to the past or make a change for the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the ARC!

I knew going into this, I would feel like there was much going over my head, as the protagonists would be far smarter than I was. This was something i knew from the extremely talented Joan He's other work, *Descendent of the Crane*. Joan He truly has a knack for writing intelligent characters who don't feel condescending towards readers, nor seem desperate to prove over and over again They Are Smart.

Kasey wants her sister back. Kasey struggles with a lot-- with singlemindedness, with being social (and the difficulty is gorgeously and painfully captured, in feelings all-too-familiar), and with her sister's disappearance.
Cee wakes up. Cee cannot leave. She remembers only her sister and knows only that she must get back to her. Together, the two weave a story-- but not the expected one, complete with the gut wrenching punches that Joan He knows so well.

The twists and pains were seeded well, though I feel the romances struggled some to feel real-- perhaps too much trust/attraction, too soon? The ending gave a satisfying twist that provided necessary pain, in way that overly felt true to the narrative.
4 out of 5 stars!