Our Missing Hearts

I was not fully hooked until Part 2, but then it really took off and I became completely engaged. It's a harrowing story about some of the extreme effects of racism on the country in general and on one family specifically.

I was going to say that it was too easy to imagine some of the things depicted in the book happening in the U.S. - but then, of course (as addressed in the book), many of the awful things have already been part of our country's history for a long time.

The book is also a rumination on the power of art, e.g. exploring the ways in which some of Margaret's poetry takes on a life of its own and a meaning beyond what she initially intended when writing it. Further, it's an exciting adventure story, from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy.

Near-future realist dystopia pushes family decisions up against absolutes... and these characters fail to live up to the awkward narrative tangle Ng puts them in. Changes on many levels could have made this an important book, but it ends up not mattering.