I finished THE ONES WE’RE MEANT TO FIND and I'm an emotional wreck right now. The sheer love and humanity in the book broke me in a rich futuristic dystopian setting. The love between sisters. Between all of us. The weight of a life. This book will reach into you and twist your world upside down. It’ll make you question your own morals. Make you cry at the injustice and the cold reality of it all. And put you back together in the end because of what being human and having humanity means. I love this book and I can't wait to hold the physical copy in my hands.

The world building in The Ones We're Meant to Find was amazing! In the beginning of the book, I was slightly confused about the setup of the world, but after a couple chapters, there was a clear picture painted in my mind of what the world was like. I really enjoyed reading about the contrasts of the dystopian and desolate state of Earth versus the utopian, dreamy descriptions of a Metropolis that ran on the most advanced technology. The world building was almost a little bit unsettling because of how plausible it could be. As of right now, the world is changing rapidly due to global warming, and technology is advancing everyday, so in a few hundred years our world could look a lot like the one Joan He created in this book. There is a fantastical element of the world, but it is also based in so much reality that I could easily visualize it.

In my opinion, the characters in this book were what drove the story the most. Through the main characters Kasey and Celia, Joan He explored the bonds of sisterhood, and how far a person is willing to go for a loved one without losing themselves in the process. A theme that was explored deeply throughout the book was the morality and the dangers of technology and artificial intelligence. Who determines what is right and wrong? Can anything be okay if your intentions behind it are good? Is technology unethical?

The characters in this book experience love, loss, betrayal, pain, and hope all in the span of 400 pages, and all of those emotions were explored so deeply within each character. I could tell that Joan He put immense effort into her character development. I became attached to one of the characters in particular, which made the book that much more of an engaging experience for me.

Along with the characters, the plot of this story was so captivating. When the timeline of Celia and Kasey's story finally became clear to me, my mind was BLOWN. Joan He masterfully wove their stories together, and tied them up perfectly by the end. The story is told in two different points of view, which made it feel 10x more unpredictable and high stakes. I was so nervous, yet eager to finally just see how everything ends, and I was on my edge of my seat all the way to the very end. There are a lot of plot twists and shocking moments in this book and every single one evoked strong emotion and made me want to keep on reading.

Overall, The One's We Were Meant to Find is a book that will stay with me for a long time. Joan He creates really important discourse about events that are relevant to all of our lives right now, and the events that take place in this story have inspired me to take more action right now to save our Earth before it is too late. The characters of this book will stay with me for a long time. I hope that a second book is in the making, because I NEED to know what happens after the end. If you have not picked up The Ones We're Meant to Find, I highly recommend that you preorder it as soon as you can. No matter how old you are, you will absolutely find value in this story.

An instant favorite! I forgot how much I absolutely adore Sci-Fi until I read this book. The Ones We're Meant to Find reads like a Black Mirror episode and it was so captivating yet thrilling throughout the entire time. I couldn't get enough of the book and ended up flying through it within 24 hours. It's a story about love, climate change, but also humanity and what makes us human. I had so much fun trying to dissect every word and every mystery trying to see if I could solve the big plot twist!! The pacing was honestly perfect for me and I loved loved loved the back and forth time jump!! Five stars.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a stunning and captivating read; it drags you into its currents, and you struggle to keep treading water while the story inundates you with unexpected twists and turns, dropping subtle hints and clues to the larger story like desperate gasps of oxygen into your lungs. Kasey and Celia, two sisters farther apart and more closely bonded than you can imagine in the first few chapters, wind closer and closer as the story stretches on and the stakes humanity faces raise quicker than sea levels. This novel challenges readers: the journey you’re taken on paralleling the sisters’ journey; a hunt for answers and solutions, and questions of ethics and philosophy. The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a masterpiece in prose, each drop of information and story building into a bigger wave that crashes to the shore in an epic conclusion that changes everything; readers are left to reel in its wake and face what’s been washed away and what’s left behind. A careful balance is struck between the larger plot at play, the push and pull of characters and their relationships, and a broader, yet fathomless conversation about climate change and the questions we must all begin to face about our privileges, responsibilities, and our futures.

I’m so glad I got the chance to read Joan He's new book early. It’s. So. Good!!

THE ONES WE’RE MEANT TO FIND is a YA sci-fi/dystopia about two sisters. Cee is stranded on an abandoned island, only able to remember her sister. Kasey lives in an eco-city, one of the last places on Earth safe from pollution. There, she has to decide whether to use science to help humanity after it failed those she loves.

This book is my favorite of 2021 so far! I’m not usually big on dystopias, but I loved He’s debut, DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE, so I knew I’d want to read this one.

I was gripped from page one. The plot was so compelling and full of the best twists. It was also so easy to route for the characters. I love both sisters so much, and I really appreciated Kasey.

There are so many other amazing things: the gorgeous prose and worldbuilding! The different themes! He masterfully incorporates it all into a captivating story.

(Something I didn't add in my online review: this twists are so awesome and the plot is so compelling because the foreshadowing is so well done! He knows exactly when to hide information and when to share. The worldbuilding details are also so fleshed-out and really make the world come alive; this is apparent from chapter one. I was considering starting an official book blog, and I'd definitely would add a more in-depth review of this book if I do. THE ONES WE'RE MEANT TO FIND has cemented its place as one of my favorite books).

As a member of Joan He’s street team since her debut, I’ve been eagerly anticipating her sophomore book. This book definitely lived up to the wait! The Ones We’re Meant to Find was a gripping read about complex sister relationships, the effects of climate change, and what it means to find ourselves.

Three years ago, Cee woke up on an abandoned island with no clothes and no memories, other than the notion that she has a sister, Kasey, and she needs to find her. Parallelly, Kasey is dealing with the grief of Celia’s disappearance as well as the impending doom of Earth as pollution causes more and more eco-disasters. She has to decide whether she’s willing to use her skills to help the world, even if it won’t save Celia.

Forgive me if this review is incoherent; I’m still processing this book! I actually think I’ll have to reread it soon to fully appreciate everything. I’m also trying very, very hard not to spoil something accidentally.

Much of this book deals with the aftereffects of climate change. Kasey, along with her family, live in an eco-city, a city built in the air. Eco-cities were constructed because of the toxicity of the Earth although people still live on the land due to the lack of space in the eco-cities. Natural disasters, like devastating earthquakes, are occurring more and more often, and chemicals are poisoning the earth and the ocean. This was certainly interesting to follow as a plot and really brings to life an issue that is pervasive in our own lives.

While this book is centered around climate change, it is also very rooted in Celia and Kasey’s complex relationship. We get both of their points-of-view, so we get to see their bond despite how different they are. Celia is lively and outgoing; Kasey is reserved and pragmatic. I loved how even the writing reflected this: Celia’s chapters are from a first person point-of-view, which shows how sure she is of herself, while Kasey’s are in third person, demonstrating almost a disconnected feeling. This also mirrors their emotions throughout the book, as Celia struggles to remember her life before and Kasey grieves.

Although their chapters follow separate plot lines, you can clearly see how much Celia and Kasey mean to each other. Celia’s singular motivation is to find Kasey; meanwhile, Kasey is dealing with her grief over the disappearance of the one person who means the most to her. However, while they are undeniably close, they still keep secrets from each other, which Kasey finds out throughout the story. Celia and Kasey’s relationship is the driving force behind both of their stories; they’re meant to find each other, even if finding each other means learning something about the other they didn’t want to know.

The writing was gorgeous, as expected. The ocean plays many roles in this book, as you may have noticed from the cover, but I loved how Joan utilized it as both a literal and figurative player. Physically, it is something that Celia has fixated on, an obsession that Kasey begrudgingly went along with. Figuratively, the sea and drowning represent loss and the vastness of emotion and so much more. There are actually more dots I could connect, but again, spoilers!

I’ve been purposely vague about their specific plot lines, as well as mentioning other characters, because I’m afraid of spoiling something, even if it’s just something small. Joan herself called this a “twist-y” book and believe me, this book is completely filled with plot twists. While the book may be confusing at first, there’s a moment when all the pieces start clicking together, and you start realizing something bad is to come, and then the plot twists just keep coming. And they don’t stop! Once I began processing one revelation, something new would be revealed. I actually couldn’t put this book down, even reading during my classes.

This is a standalone and wraps up…I don’t want to say nicely because the ending has caused me so much emotional distress, but the ending is very poignant and reflects the protagonists’ arcs very well. Although I’m still crying over exactly how the book ended, I really did like where Celia and Kasey end up.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a beautiful story about love and loss. I adored the characters and the writing; the plot was amazing and masterfully paced. If you want a gorgeously written book about sisters, or one that analyzes a world living with the consequences of climate change, I cannot recommend The Ones We’re Meant to Find enough.

The Ones We're Meant to Find is everything it promises to be--full of twists you can't see coming, original and inclusive worldbuilding, and complex characters with a variety of motivations. The characters all hurt and want so badly and you can't help but root for them. The two sisters especially feel so distinct, with each their own unique perspective and yet they're held together by a rugged determination and an unyielding love for the other.

As an avid fantasy reader, I'm always a little wary of scifi (I have enough science in school >:( ) but the worldbuilding and the science surrounding it was super articulate--information is given when it is relevant, without major infodumps. And as a member of the target demographic (18 y/o) I sometimes feel YA is gearing more towards full-fledged adults with its themes and conflicts, but TOWMTF is excellent in portraying the young adult experience. It captures the uncertainty of the transition from teen to adult and the slow process of knowing how you fit in the world and what you want from it.

Also I have to mention the twists. There were so many of them and they're so well done, because they're built in a way that you can't guess them from the beginning--they're reliant on new pieces of information the characters receive and shaped by their actions upon receiving them. Rather, you go in with an initial theory that molds and changes as you learn more about the two sisters; if you manage to guess a twist as it nears, you're rewarded with the satisfaction of having solved a labyrinthine puzzle, and if you don't, you get your mind blown. Win-win imo.

Above all, there's a certain inevitability to the resolution, and it makes for an incredibly fulfilling story. There's no if onlys or why didn't she x. The characters make their decisions based on who they are and what they've become, and I'm so proud of them for it. *wipes tear* Their choices are wholly their own, not made for the sake of narrative convenience.

There are a few flaws--the midpoint conflict feels a little abrupt and foreshadowing it could have led to a bit more tension in the first part, but I reviewed an early copy, and they weren't nearly enough to hinder my overall enjoyment of this book.

I could not stop reading The Ones We're Meant to Find. I mean it. I read 60% in one sitting. And then I finished it the next day. The Ones We're Meant to Find is thrilling and thought provoking. I'd say that the first 2/3 is pure thrill, mystery, and the best kind of confusion. Whereas the last 1/3 still has these revelations and twists, but also this thought provoking SF quality. Keep reading this book review to hear my ranting!

I finished The Ones We're Meant to Find and immediately needed to re-read it. Joan He is an autobuy author for me after her stunning debut and her second book only cements my love for her. It's rare I find the need to dive back into a world, into a story, immediately after finishing but I do. It's like watching those great movies that capture you completely. The Ones We're Meant to Find is five stars for pure thrills and thought provoking quality. And I want to go back to the beginning and unravel it all over again with a fine toothed comb.

He's world building is spectacular. It's a world of mass climate change and environmental destruction. A world where we have to live parts of it in holoworlds for the future of our world. Where we are haunted by the sins and mistakes of our past. A time where robots are common place and the technology we've seen in SF books comes alive. Not only that, but He subtly and slowly brings a thoughtful-ness to this world. We are forced to examine the destruction we have wrought. Furthermore, we must contemplate our own future.

Even more emotional, The Ones We're Meant to Find has one of the best sister relationships. I went into this book having heard the keyword of sisters, and I am just so thoroughly impressed. He exposes the differences between them, the ways we feel compared and lackluster, but also the strong love between them. In this dual POV book, their memories and emotions are exposed to us. He's second book examines the people who come into our lives like pieces of puzzles we never knew.

What begins as subtle tension and mystery, propels readers through The Ones We're Meant to Find until we're wrapped up in a tornado. By halfway through, you won't be able to stop reading. Prepare to cancel your plans and just snuggle deeper into your chair. I cannot stress enough that around this time, my notes for this book were just pure screaming.

Carefully structured, this explores a future world decimated by climate change. Sisters narrate a story in different timelines and places, as you come to realize that both know quite different things. Suprising mystery unfolds with twists. The best of YA science fiction, I think. Despite the weird cover.

There is so much for me to love about this book. That cover is beyond stunning. There has been artwork shared that killed me with beauty. And so I knew I would end up loving this one. Also because I adore Joan and her first book. It was such a stunning story of two sisters, living in a floating city, set far in the future.

I loved this world that Joan created. It is science and the future and the world ending. Natural disasters killing almost everyone, because of what humans did to this earth. It is the story about Cee and Kasey surviving in their floating city. Or trying their best to. There is so much going on in this book. Loved every moment.

The writing was pretty much perfect too, and I loved that. I felt connected with these characters and I adored them so. Though they also ruined me most of the time. How rude. They were two sisters. Alike, but fully different. The beginning of this book is not easy to completely understand. The book is told from both point of views. We begin with Celia. Whom we learn has been alone on an island for the past three years. Then there is her sister, Kasey. It has been three months since her sister went missing. So we get to see from both sisters, at different times. We get some memories of them together, and I loved that so much. Wish we had gotten more of them together, though. Yet reading about them apart was all kinds of stunning. As I grew to love them so.

There is so much going on in this story. I shall not spoil anything big. Simply sharing my thoughts about certain things. This is a story about two sisters. A story about an earth that is dying. And how one sister might be able to save those who are still alive, if she wants to. We get to know them both so much and I adored them so. We get to see so much of Cee and her abandoned island. It was heartbreaking at times. But so very good and I loved it the most. She had a small bot with her, but not one she could truly talk to.

And we get to see a lot about Kasey and her life while living in the floating city about the sea. Where she shares about the failing earth and how no one knows how to save it. How she misses her sister, yet how she does not feel the same as everyone around her does. She was different. And I liked her very much. I may have loved Cee and her island life the most, but I loved Kasey just as much. And I loved how they were both searching for each other. All the secrets that were revealed. They all killed me, though. Sobs.

I cannot decide what I felt about the different types of romances in this book. Cee and Hero was the most adorable thing and I loved them so very much. But Kasey and Act. Well. I shipped them. And then I didn't, except I still did. And I am so confused about that whole thing. So well written, though. I loved getting to know Hero. He showed up on Cee's island, without memory as well. And I found him to be every kind of precious. Then there was Actinium. Felt so conflicted about him, and needed to know much more of him.

There was also the sister relationship between Celia and Kasey. We see more about them being apart. Thinking about the other. And they had a complicated relationship too. Yet so much love for each other. And I very much enjoyed that. I loved learning more about their past. Who they both were. And what they meant to each other. Kasey was difficult to love. Set more apart from others. And yet I loved her so very much. Cee was very easy to love, yet had such a gentle heart too. I simply adored these two sisters so.

It is a four star for me because of a few things. Firstly, some of the science was a little too much for me to understand at times. It also took me a little time to get into the book. Wish that the timing had been made clearer. Like how Cee was at three years, and Kasey at just three months. Then that ending. It feels fully open with many things not clear yet. Summary says "Lost with a satisfying resolution." I feel a bit tricked. Thought there would be a sequel, there won't be. And there is so much I do not know. What happened?

And yet I loved this book so very much. It captured me from beginning to end, made me love these two girls. I just wish the ending had been clearer. It does not feel like an end to me. It feels very much ready for a sequel. And oh, how I wish there will be one. Though I see that Joan has said there will not be. And that is breaking my heart a little, to be fully honest. I wish to know what actually happened so badly. I wish more so so much. And so I will try being hopeful, that Joan might be writing a sequel one day. Want it so.

The Ones We're Meant to Find was such a beautiful book. And I very much loved it. It was everything I had hoped it to be. And yet so much more. Such a huge twist that I did not at all see coming. I probably should have seen it, but I did not. And I very much loved that, haha. But it so ruined me. Then everything after the twist ruined me even more. It was so good, but oh, my poor heart. Okay, the ending was not that open. But I need answers even so. It was such an incredible story and I shall never forget it. Do read this.

Joan He did it once again.
The Ones We're Meant to Find (the title now making sense to me) is a wonderful blend of dystopia, light sci-fi and environmentalism, a relevant read for our current times.

Before I get into it, I just need to shoutout that cover. IT'S GORGEOUS. (The cover artist is by Aykut Aydoğdu. Find him on Instagram @aykutmaykut)

GENERAL THINGS (and the little things?)
I love the narrative choices He makes to tell the story of Cee and Kasey as it complements and enhances their personalities. The choices He makes in what kinds of metaphors or similes the two MCs uses further emphasize the MCs' personalities.
The book kept me going as questions like "How are the sisters going to get back together?", "Who is he?" and a few more spoilery ones kept popping up as more details were revealed. I'm not sure if He is going to keep how the chapter numbers looked like in the ARC in the final version (or if it's her choice) but MAN I love it. It's the tiny things that give this book a bit more pizzaz.

The CHARACTERS.
I...can't say much except I can see why one of them was a struggle to write because... Hesina, as intelligent as she is, doesn't rank within the same league as one of the MCs (sorry, Sina!) But trust me (if you dare), you'll love them for their cheeky humor and sharp mentalities.

Now to He's favourite part: THE TWISTS.
It was the subtlety. The little details that stuck out made my puzzle-piecing of the story's mysteries not fit. And then when they clicked, OOH. The jaw-drop. Just... yes. Yes yes yes yes yes.
But, then there's that One. The one where the whole story stops for. I kid you not, I gasped because of the sheer shock. I did not see it coming, even though there were details that didn't line up, and then did afterwards, and boy I felt as betrayed as *spoiler*.

Now onto my favourite part: THE INTERNAL TORTURE.
It's as if He took me by the shoulders and shook me because the constant "will they won't they" game she's playing made me die a little on the inside (in a good way.) She built up these characters, made us bond with them like the MCs are, and then rip them away like a riptide. WHY? (It's rhetorical.) And THEN she had the audacity to give them back and take them away AGAIN. This part is already 5/5 in my book.

THE THOUGHTS
Reading about all the environmentalism here and the harsh realities that exist in TOWMTF made me think about our world. The best way I can summarize my thoughts is: to advance ourselves, we cost the world. But what's the point if we can't live in it? We need to take care of it, but our inability to commit to something that isn't directly tied to our individual self-preservation costs us precious time that could be crucial in the fight to reverse our damage. This book tugs on these hard truths, and will leave you cynical.

Once again, I am entranced with Joan He's writing. The stories she tells are the stories that burrow inside of you and keep burrowing. I cannot stop thinking about The Ones We're Meant to Find or going back to reread a passage, to find a new bit of story I might not have noticed the first (or third) go around.

He has created two fantastically distinct voices for a brilliant dual POV in TOWMTF. She juggles them expertly to reveal the mind (and heart) twisting story of two sisters caught in a dystopian world. Though I would love to discuss or give more hints of what might be found in He's second story, this book is meant to be read without clues. So much of what is at the heart of this story is revealed in due time and must be experienced by the reader, rather than something to be prepared for.

However, to entice you a little more: this book is Ghibli-esque (Miyazaki, you're gonna need to come out of retirement), full of twists and a sister relationship (my ultimate fav relationship to read about), the ocean, incredible world building, a very, V E R Y compelling plot, and have you seen the cover?!

As someone who loves to watch sci-fi films/shows but has never been able to find a sci-fi book that I could love/recommend until now, until the brilliant Joan He–I can now happily report that I have a favourite sci-fi book.

An absolutely genius story from Joan He, The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a triumph. Heartbreaking, hopeful, and searing in its portrayal of climate change and the morality of the human heart.

Easily one of the best books I’ve ever read, and one that will stick with me for a very long time.

I will be writing a more complete review for my blog, and this review will be updated with the link when it becomes available.

Thank you so much to Macmillan, and more specifically Kelsey, for access to the eArc!

joan he has changed the game. TOWMTF is the perfect blend of real world and dystopian sci-fi during a time when the real world is beginning to FEEL like a dystopian sci-fi with each passing day. inexplicably, this book gives me hope for our future - that's just the power of joan's storytelling. each chapter escalated the plot and the tension involved to the point where my heart was racing as i was reading the pages. like i said: she's changed the game