“The problem with oceans? They always seem smaller from the shore.”

From the author of The Decendants of the Crane, this YA sci-fi novel quickly made it to my most-anticipated-releases for 2021, based on its synopsis, strong coatal setting and its stunning cover design. The story had me intrigued from beginning to end and caught myself thinking about it between sittings. However, there were a few reasons why it wasn't the 5-star read I hoped it'd be.

The Plot:
Told in dual perspective, we follow two sisters, separated by an ocean in a post-apocalyptic world, on a desperate quest to reunite. Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years now, with no memories of her prior life. The one memory, and motivator she has is the image of her sister Kay: the one she’s meant to find across the horizon. Crafting boats from scapmetal and matresses, and only conversing with a broken robot for company, Cee sets out on a desperate quest.
Meanwhile Kasey, an introverted STEM-prodigy, lives in an eco-city 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. Wrecked with longing for her missing sister Celia, who couldn’t handle the claustrophobia of the eco-city-life style, Kay looks to the shores, hoping against hope to see her sister reappear.

What I loved:
It blows my mind that this is only Joan He’s sophomore novel, and clearly shows her incredible talent as an author. As with Decendants of the Crane, her superb writing and feeling for creating a vivid setting are the novels biggests selling point for me. Not only am I a sucker for anything with a coastal-setting, the concept of the eco-cities protecting humans from a flooded world, wrecked by climate change just speaks to my imagination. Joan He’s stunningly lush and descriptive writing manages to create this immersive world that speaks to the readers imagination, without the need to meticulously describe or explain every detail. Joan He never tells us, sometimes shows us, but often creates the conditions for us to be able to imagine. I love when an SFF-author can do that.
That same talent as an author shines through in her characters: easily distiguishable by the use of first-person for Cee and third-person for Kay, and their different narrative voices. Although I liked both their narratives, I clearly preffered Cees over Kays.
When it comes to the story, you can tell it’s all well thought out. There is clear direction from the very start, and although it moves at a very leisurely pace, it plants the seeds of its revelations every step of the way, creating the set up for a very interesting conversation later on.

What I didn’t love:
Some of the things that work in the book’s favour also form its biggest downfalls however. First of all: that pacing I mentioned walks the very thin line between “leisurely” and “plain dull and slow”, and often ends ends up on the wrong side of it. For context: the actual storyline only picks up around 55% into the story, which isn’t a problem in itself, but it may turn off some readers who lose their patience long before. This book is very slow, and reads more on the contemplative/speculative side of sci-fi than the more traditional action-packed one. Unfortunately it doesn’t do what contemplative sci-fi does best: dive deep into the themes at hand.

That brings me to my biggest problem: the entire novel hinges on a “twist” that is so heavily forshadowed, predictable and overdone in sci-fi that I’d pretty much guessed it after the first few chapters. It wasn’t a problem for me, as it opened the door to discussion on a lot of interesting topics like humanity, ambition and placing another persons well-being over your own. This is where slower speculative sci-fi usually shines, and although the beginning was there, I wanted a lot more depth than we ended up getting.
Without the deep emotional or contemplative pay-off, ánd without an action-packed plot, this novel is at risk of being neither here or there, and I feel that’s the reason for many of the mixed reviews.

Overall I personally enjoyed this novel: I love the “softer sci-fi” narrative, the beautiful writing-style and the vivid setting. I rarely wish for standalones to be part of a series, but in this case I found myself wishing for a sequel to explore a bit more of this interesting world, its history and themes. Athough that might be the sign of an interesting world, it may also be the sign of an unsatisfying standalone with missed potential…

Many thanks to Roaring Brook Press for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite reads of this year. I knew from the second I saw the cover I would love this book, and I was not disappointed. The writing was for sure my favorite thing, some of those paragraphs I will remember forever.

This book was so beautiful with such a dark undertone. I really loved it and am looking for more climate related sci-fi. This is definitely a new favourite!

Firstly, I would like to thank Text Publishing and NetGalley for an e-arc of this title.

I am not going to lie, I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. I knew there was some element of sci-fi/ dystopian but I didn't know to what extent. My track record with dystopian is quite low - so I was apprehensive about going into this book but excited nonetheless due to the amazing reviews and feedback it was already getting.

At the core of this book, it is a response to the climate crisis - rising sea levels, negative effects of industry on the environment and toxic pollution. In the world of other dystopian books, they tend to follow the deterioration of earth but it is always dealt with as an afterthought. Often the negative effects and cause of this dystopian world don't bother the central cast of characters but instead is used to create the world but not for world-building. However, this book has Earth as a central character, something that is constantly pushing against the characters and informing their decisions.

The book follows two characters told in different points of view - Cee told in the first person and Kacey in third.. This was an interesting linguistic choice by the author but ended up being pivotal in our understanding of the characters and played a key role in the reader's reactions to the information provided to them. However, this also became detrimental to the story.

With Cee, the reader was allowed to understand her motivations, fears and concerns a lot clearer. However, Kasey, her motives seem uncertain. Within Kasey's chapters, the reader is also introduced to another central character who plays an important role throughout the book and has their own agency within it. Unfortunately, due to the narrative style and possibly a lack of clear understanding, this characters motivations seemed skewed and changed mid-way through the book that didn't seem to align with everything that had been shared so far.

While the overall depiction of the world and characters within this book kept the story entertaining and gripping, the shift in storyline halfway through the book felt jarring and uncertain. It seemed confusing as to where the antagonistic force was coming from and what their purpose was.

Overall, I did personally enjoy the book however, I found myself confused at the end which ultimately felt rushed and uncertain.

I did find this hard to get into initially. Nothing to do with the book or the writing, simply that the dystopian/ science fiction genre is not my go to. It had amazing reviews, so I persevered, hoping it would be worth it. It was.

For me, anything not sent in the world as we know it, takes more concentration for me as a reader, but once I managed to get my head into Celia and Kasey's worlds I was hooked.

While this book would be considered science fiction/dystopian, it is also a real page turning thriller. I read a lot, and I do try to 'pick' the plot twists, and I couldn't help but do that while reading this one.
I knew there was something unusual/weird/mysterious about what was going on with Celia was, so I was expecting something…. What I got was not what I was expecting...and I like that.

There is a serious environmental message in this book too. Humans are destroying our planet…but what lengths are we willing to go to, to ensure our planet survives?

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read a review copy of this title.

The Ones We're Meant to Find is a fast-paced, futuristic YA dystopian story telling the story of two sisters in a world brought to destruction by climate change. Cee woke up on a deserted island three years ago with no memories except that she has a sister. Kasey is a prodigy living on an eco-city floating above Earth grieving the loss of her sister. The story is full of twists and well-developed characters. The sister relationship is complex and well-written. The world-building is fantastic and realistic with the destruction of the earth due to climate change! The novel is science fiction, yet maintains relevance in a clever way. Highly recommended!

I think the first thing that I was intrigued about with this book was the world and how apocalyptic it is. How they have had to build these cities in the sky to contain what is left of the human race and how they are trying to reduce their environmental footprint by living their lives in these stasis pods for a good majority of their days.

But we are kind of thrust into the storyline which did overwhelm me a little and was a tad confusing. We aren’t really given a lot of explanation at the start as to what was happening it’s just Kasey reliving moments of her life and trying to figure out what happened with Celia. I have to admit the parallel storylines between Kasey finding out the truth and Cee on the island had me intrigued and wondering how these events played out for sure.

Cee and her experiences on the island seemed very repetitive to me and I was more interested in what was happening with Kasey. However, once Hero came along and we see the duality of his character and how he interacted with Cee I was more invested yet still confused as to how they came to be in this situation.

This book was not what I was expecting at all. A lot of the scientific explanations really went over my head, and even though it was crucial to the storyline and the reasonings behind Kasey and Art’s actions I was still lost for the majority of the time. I understood what was happening but the prose wasn’t what I was expecting for a YA book. You really had to pay attention and focus on what you were reading to be able to fully comprehend the story.

But I have to admit it was highly original and unlike anything I have read before. The way the plot evolved and we finally learn about Kasey’s secrets and why she was banned from science and the revenge she planned to take on behalf of her sister and everyone else who has died was highly gratifying.

Science-fiction is one of my favourite genres and when the writing is as good as Joan He's, it invokes deep and powerful emotions and makes you think about the world created in the book for days and days afterwards. The Ones We're meant to Find has numerous twists and, while I am dying to tell you how brilliant the plot is, I don't want to spoil it for you.

Straight from the beginning we are thrown into a mystery. We meet Cee who is stranded on an island, lost her colour vision and most of her memories, and is desperately trying to find her sister Kay. Then the story switches to Kasey and her life in this futuristic dystopian world and we get a new set of elements that might seem confusing at the beginning (there are also multiple timelines), but it will all come together into a mesmerising overall picture.

Joan He's use of different forms of narrative (first person for Celia, third for her sister Kasey) was absolutely brilliant. The characters are so well-differentiated and unique and you are compelled to read on to understand their personalities and their motivations. Both sisters are flawed in their own ways and you might relate more to one or the other, or more likely than not, you will relate to both of them at different points. The strength of the bond between them and their love for each other is undeniable and will break your heart.

Whatever expectations you have, the book is going to surprise you. I loved the steady pace and this feeling of being on the verge of figuring it all out. Of course, then you get another piece of the puzzle which shifts your perspective on this world, the characters, and the story.

It is one of the most engaging and emotional stories I've read this year. Everything in it including the futuristic world with its environmental disasters that is paying consequences for our actions in the present, the complexity of characters, the intensity of emotions,the plot- all of it was so well-written that the book left me with a bookish hangover. I really can't recommend it high enough. This book is so much more than just a gorgeous cover....

I really enjoyed this book!

The writing was beautiful. Melodic. The world-building exquisite. In the beginning, I thought I would be lost and confused with the plot and the new world but it all makes sense in the end. I am so glad I stuck with this! TOWMTF is a wonderful story based on sisters Kay and Cee. Kay is a STEM genius separated from her sister Cee who is trapped on an island far away.

I found this story very thought-provoking, with discussions ranging from ethics of AI and climate change, responsibility, and humanity's nature. He makes her world seem so realistic with territories and eco-cities that dwell above the land, the ability to appear anywhere holographically in order to reduce your carbon footprint. I really loved the Sci-fi nature of the book!

The cover is also gorgeous that I may have to get a physical copy too!

Highly recommend. 4/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Text Publishing for the ARC in exchange of a honest review.

I loved this book so much for irs female FRIENDSHIPS. They were so healthy and kind and I cried through it all. Highly recommend for the characters, the plot and the emotions.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Joan He is a such a fresh voice in speculative fiction - this book totally took me by surprise and I found it very difficult to predict where it was going. The reveal was done brilliantly, and the plot overall was pleasingly twisty. Cee and Kasey are such great, well-developed characters, and I love that the main relationship in the novel is that of sisters. The elements of climate disaster and eco-living also make the subjects very timely. A great read.

(4.8/5 stars) Just looking at my ebook highlights for this review made me want to cry. ‘The Ones We’re Meant to Find’ left me with a huge book hangover and oh, every time I think too much about this book my heart hurts! The day after I finished, I was trying to explain it to my family over Skype and then I started tearing up, even though I hadn’t actually cried while reading (though I did have that heavy heart gravity well feeling). It’s a special kind of book that makes you more emotional about it with every day elapsed.

I found this very thought-provoking, with discussions ranging from ethics of AI; climate change and responsibility; colonial legacies; industrial exploitation and unequal playing fields regarding the ability to industrialise ‘cleanly’.

The world-building was impressive from the start, layering over itself seamlessly as we progressed through the book. (This needs to be made into a movie!) The way links and references slowly emerged between Kasey and Cee’s chapters was excellently done, giving me all the chills of a mystery-thriller. I think this is a book best read in one or two sittings if you’re able to. It was really gripping but (as I wasn’t able to read for a few days at a time) I sometimes forgot things in between chapters as there’s quite a lot to keep track of, especially when switching between POVs.

Having previously read He’s ‘Descendant of the Crane’ I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was still shocked by how the book rockets off in such unexpected directions yet somehow remains plausible. He is so skilled at these kinds of punch-you-in-the-face twists!

I was initially incredibly confused by the ending, but after a few days I think I understand it more. It’s a powerful and emotional finish that definitely keeps you going back to it in your head.

The characters were complex (even minor ones stole my heart) with very distinct voices between the two sisters, and I was so invested in their relationship and story. Oh, and now I’m getting emotional again…

I cannot finish this review without also giving praise to possibly the most beautiful book cover I’ve seen in years! I could just stare at it for ages. I used to think I didn’t like people on book covers, but I think this one has rid me of that notion forever.

This book was a little jarring honestly, however, it was weird it was also wonderful. I loved my time reading this book, I was confused at times but the writing was incredible and I can’t wait to pick up more from this author in the future!

I didn’t get the chance to finish this book before it was archived. I only got access to it the same day it was being removed

“When I dream of her, it’s in vibrant color, unlike the gradients of gray of my monochrome days. But everything is hazy when I wake. The details merge. The colors fade.”

/

Thank you to Net Galley and Roaring Brook Press for gifting me with an ARC of The Ones We’re Meant to Find.

I need y’all to stop what you’re doing and preorder this book so you can scream about it with me! I don’t know how to describe it without spoilers but this book had me glued to the page and the plot twists made my head spin. Fans of thrillers and sci-fi: you need to add this to your list!!!

Nothing is as it seems in this book. It’s a sci-fi thriller set in a future where earth’s climate is unstable and some parts of humanity live in floating eco-cities. On the surface, it’s a story about two girls: one stranded alone on an island without any memories except those of her sister, who she’s determined to find. Our second POV character in an eco-city is reeling from the disappearance of her sister and the unraveling of her society’s secrets.

The romance in this book was a bit weak and I’m going to need 6-8 months to recover from the ending. But while I admit there are some iffy parts and it unravels a bit towards the end, this was still an amazing ride and one I will be thinking about for a long time. This is my first book by Joan He but I’m convinced she’s an evil genius. Just… her mind! I want to sit down with her and pick her brain. How did she come up with these twists?? Why did she chose THAT ending?? (Please read this book and suffer with me. *wink*)

I’m not gonna lie I definitely brought this book for its cover but what’s inside definitely did not disappoint. Set in a world where humans have all but destroyed the planet the story follows two sisters Cee and Kasey who are worlds away from each other. Both Cee and Kasey’s POV’s are present in the book and I loved the contrast between the two as well as how the two interlinked.

Although this is classed as sci-fi the story isn’t heavily sci-fi and is rather a story within a sci-if/dystopian setting. The story does include tech which is similar to that of TV shows Black Mirror and Brave New World. So definitely don’t let it this being within the sci-fi category put you of if it’s not your usual genre!

This book was just so beautifully written and gives off this amazing soft image when imagining the world. The story twists and turns were completely unexpected and left me wanting more.

3.5 / 5 stars

Going into this I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the intriguing blurb and the stunning cover meant that I absolutely had to try this book out for myself.

The Ones We're Meant to Find is a beautiful, lyrical novel based in an apocalyptic post-global-warming future, in which the earth we know is now ravaged by megaquakes, tsunamis, pollution and radiation meltdowns whilst the remaining humans have been forced into "territories" due to the polar ice cap melting, whilst the lucky few "elite" are housed in floating eco-cities spread around the globe.

In this, we follow two primary characters; Cee, an amnesiac girl who has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years and is consistently searching for her sister (Kay) who she knows is out there somewhere, if only she could find her, and Kasey, a girl mourning the loss of her sister Celia, who vanished into thin air after taking a boat out for a "joy ride" in the sea below the eco-city where she lives.

Now as someone who prefers fantasy over sci-fi, this book was almost too much for me at times, and I spent a good portion of the book just confused as hell, trying to work out the connections between the characters and how everything was interconnected. I was guessing for a good portion of the book, and every time I thought I'd figured it out something came along to derail the entire premise that I was banking on.

The book was admittedly pretty slow for a good portion, mostly because there was a lot of exposition and explaining of how this post-apocalyptic world, its people, and its politics worked but when things started to pick up the story was near impossible for me to put down. The different characters and their personalities and motivations kept you constantly guessing, and the way everything was brought together by the end was brilliantly done.

Overall, I think it was a really interesting read, and despite my near-constant confusion I really enjoyed the experience, with this brilliant and unique world. I do wish however that the ending to this had been a bit more concrete than what we were given, because I still had far more questions that I wanted an answer to, but overall - a pretty positive experience and an intriguing read.

Synopsis

Cee has been living on the abandoned island for three years without any memory of how she got there and her past. The only thing that she knows for certain is that she has a sister named Kay and she needs to find her. However, to find her she would need to cross the ocean which is not an easy task for someone with no resources on an abandoned island.

On the other side of the ocean, young prodigy Kasey Mizuhara lives in an eco-city built for people who protected the planet from devastation. The eco-cities provide people with clean air, water, and shelter. However, nothing is for free, in exchange, the residents must spend at least a third of their time in status pods to reduce their environmental footprint. For Kasey it has never been a problem, she’s an introvert and prefers to be alone than have people around, but her sister Celia couldn’t stand living life like this anymore. No one foresaw that she might try to run away and try her chances in the outside world. Her boat never returned, and after months of hope, Kasey accepted her loss. Nevertheless, she decided to find out what secrets her sister was hiding from her that made her leave everything behind.

Review:

This book was one of the most twisty, and confusing stories I read this year. Even if it was very well written and structured, I had moments when I had to re-read half of the chapter to understand what just happened. Well, it’s mostly because I had a lot on my mind and I couldn’t focus as much as I wished. So if you plan to read this book, make sure that nothing is going to distract you from reading. I didn’t choose the right moment and it made my experience with this book less exciting.

The creation of the world in this book was very surprising and brought great awareness to the current situation with climate change. It shows the reader what may happen to humanity if we won’t do anything to stop climate change. The eco-cities sound like a good solution, however, it takes away the freedom from people. It was pretty terrifying if I’m being honest. I don’t think most of the people would agree to it, seeing how people are reacting to the lockdowns during the pandemic.

The story itself was very interesting, especially from Cee’s point of view. I didn’t like Kasey that much, however, I really liked that we could see the current state of things and what happened in the past that got Cee to the island. Cee’s story got even more interesting when Hero arrived on the island. In contrast to Kasey’s part of the story, this part of the book was pretty simple. It was a fight to find her sister called Kay. However, Kasey's point of view was more complex. There was a mix of the past and the present. We could see her history starting in the school. Cee on the other hand didn’t have any memory about her past, so we could only learn about her from Kasey’s stories.

The best part of this book was a big mystery behind the disappearance of Celia. I really liked that I could discover piece by piece of Celia’s story, especially that Cee doesn’t have any memories connected to her previous life. I couldn’t wait to find out what really happened to her and how she got herself stuck on the island without any memories.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Joan He, and Text Publishing for providing me with this copy. I was enjoying this book a lot and I hope to see more people discovering this book. It’s a great and eyes opening read.

**I was provided with an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

After absolutely loving Joan He’s evocative writing and twisty storyline in her debut Descendant of the Crane, I was super excited for this book and it absolutely blew me away!

The Ones We’re Meant To Find is a slow paced sci-fi mystery story set in a dystopian world where climate change has ravaged the planet. Its dual perspective, following two sisters – Cee, who has been trapped on a deserted island with no memories other than that of her sister Kacey whom she is determined to find her way back to, and Kacey, a STEM prodigy both dealing with the grief of her sister’s disappearance 3 months back as well as the crisis of the planet, who decides to retrace Celia’s last steps.

It has distinctively voiced characters and wonderfully nuanced character relationships as well as a compelling narrative on climate change. The world-building is both fascinating and unnerving and He captures the atmosphere just right!

I don’t want to give too much else away because so much can be spoiled here but if you’re going to pick this one up be patient with it and trust me it’ll be worth it.
Final Rating - 4.75/5 Stars

My main reason in picking up this book is the POC author and I thought the premise of the story, of 2 sisters trying to reach each other, is interesting. However, the novel is really not what I expected which could be a really good thing but it wasn't, this time, not for me anyway.

Firstly, I just found the book really confusing. It took me a long time to come to some sort of understanding of the apocalyptic nature of the time. Then, the flashing back and forth between time (before & after separation) also threw me on a loop. It just made me feel that I'm not clever enough to understand the novel.

So, when twists came about, I just wasn't that surprised but it did help my brain to click and I started to be able to untangle some of my confusion. It just took a really long time to get there. And then the ending was just to vaguely open for my liking; I really feel there should be more of a closure especially after all the effort of untangling the mess in my head.

While I understand there's some really important message in this novel, the story or structure of this story is really not one for me.

Thank you Text Publishing via Netgalley for the e-copy of this book in exchange of my honest thoughts