ARC review, book review, young adult

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He (Review)

Title: The Ones We’re Meant to Find
Author: Joan He
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
(Macmillan Publishers)
Date published: May 4, 2021

A complimentary digital copy of this book was kindly provided by the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I read part of this book from a finished, hardcover copy that I purchased myself.

Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay, and it’s up to Cee to cross the ocean and find her.

In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara 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. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. While Kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister Celia hated it. Popular and lovable, Celia much preferred the outside world. But no one could have predicted that Celia would take a boat out to sea, never to return.

Now it’s been three months since Celia’s disappearance, and Kasey has given up hope. Logic says that her sister must be dead. But nevertheless, she decides to retrace Celia’s last steps. Where they’ll lead her, she does not know. Her sister was full of secrets. But Kasey has a secret of her own.

⤖ My Review ⬻

I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I dove into Joan He’s The Ones We’re Meant to Find. Her first book, Descendant of the Crane, has been on my TBR for a long time but I, unfortunately, haven’t had a chance to pick it up just yet. So, I went in completely unknowing what a Joan He’s writing is like, her storytelling style, anything like that. Even if I had to read her previous book, it might not have given me any indication of what to expect with The Ones We’re Meant to Find because they are completely different genres.

I would also like to note that I am always a little hesitant to pick up books in which sisters are the main focus of the story, because I’m an older sister myself–it’s a bit of a tender subject as I am very protective of my sister. I don’t like to read things in which sisters can lose each other, or hurt each other, or anything like that…

All that being said, The Ones We’re Meant to Find was an exception because I just couldn’t resist the synopsis or that beautiful cover.  So, I decided to take the plunge (pun intended because of the water on the cover and the overall water theme of the book)!

A photograph taken by Flavia the Bibliophile of the book The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He laying on some beige throw blankets.

It took me a little bit to adjust to the writing and to get a full grasp on the world that Joan He created but found that once I did get a grasp on what was going on and what kind of world I had found myself in, it was completely worth the time and effort. While this world in The Ones We’re Meant to Find is fictional, I found that it was tied closely enough to the real world, especially considering where we are headed (especially if we don’t change our ways).

While this book didn’t turn out being what I expected based on the synopsis (for example I didn’t really get the Studio Ghibli vibes at all), I still found it enjoyable I think Joan He’s writing is unique as well as the world that she created (despite its roots in our current reality).

This book also made me pause for moments of introspection–regarding my own relationship with my sister or my relationship with the planet and climate change and everything going on with the human race in general. I’m very intrigued by what the author did with this book and I will definitely be reading her debut as well as keeping an eye out for what she hopefully plans to write next.

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that stories were her favorite kind of art. She studied psychology and Chinese history at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes from a desk overlooking the city
waterfront. Descendant of the Crane is her young adult debut.

Joan He, author of The Ones We're Meant to Find and Descendant of the Crane

⤖ Places to Purchase the Book ⬻

⤖ Let's Chat ⬻

Thank you for reading my review! Have you read this book? What did you think? And if you haven’t read it yet, do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!

Leave a Comment