"And I think we have even less choice over the ones we're meant to find."

First off, this book was so so good! Joan He switching genres from fantasy to sci-fi is something I did not see coming, but we love to see it! The Ones We're Meant to Find follows two sisters on their journey and fight back to each other.

The story follows a dual POV narrative, with Cee and Kasey leading the story. What would you do if one day you woke up on an island? Did not know how to get back to your "normal" or how you got there? What would you do?

Both Kasey and Cee take risks, and they are aware that their actions can impact others. It is nice to read about characters that are aware of their surroundings and internally contemplating things. Also, I loved all of the STEM/STEAM elements throughout the story! As a science lover myself, it was nice to see the characters relying on what they loved for survival.

Set in a futuristic world, The Ones We're Meant to Find explores many elements of the questions we have for the future. How can we better our world, and where do we start? If one change takes place, will it be enough?

Reading stories like this book is so important because it causes us to think. We wonder if what we know is the truth or the best solution, and sometimes we don't know until the very end. This story explores the questions we all have, but it also takes you on a journey across the ocean. Where you end up is up to you.

"Even panicked, it's ... music. The sound of the sea as it sighs across the sand."

We read about characters, two sisters who are so similar yet so different. Even as sisters, you can be polar opposites, and this book really captured that. Cee and Kasey both have their struggles, but how they face them shows you who they truly are.

"We're at no fault. Even our faults are built into us."

The worldbuilding and storytelling throughout this story are truly remarkable. The writing is so captivating and lyrical. While the story is dual POV, the storyline continues to move forward with you on the edge of the page.

I did have some trouble getting into the story at first. It was slightly harder to connect to Kasey until we got more into the book, but once we hit a certain mark, everything flew by. Joan He does a wonderful job at storytelling and connecting you to the characters.

With plot twists, mysteries waiting to be solved, and some romance mixed in, this story is sure to captive your thoughts until the very last page. The story also prompts us to ask questions about ourselves. Who are the ones we're meant to find in life? Is it different versions of ourselves, people we seek, or something else entirely?

"His rage was a fire, yes, but it only burned bright in the darkness of his self-made coffin."

Thank you to NetGalley and Roaring Book Press (Macmillan Children's Publishing) for providing me with an ARC of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The worldbuilding in this book was spectacular and hyper-realistic. As a version of the future, I could completely see our world becoming the one He describes. What really sets this book apart, however, is the mystery at its heart, and the two sisters who fuel it. Their viewpoints and personalities could not be more different, and it is engrossing to read the two of them search for each other and answers.

I'm one of those people who thinks there should be more standalones in fantasy and sci-fi
And then there are books like this that make me wish there was MORE, just more after that last page.

I don't know which POV I liked the most, because they both have fascinating points

The discussion of privilege and what you can do with it to benefit more than one, that people only care about their side of the story, a character is the perfect example.

Recognizing your individuality and embracing it, this is a story that left me unsettled with the ending, but incredibly satisfied.

I'll post a larger and spoilery review after pub date! Because I really want to explore some points.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find is exemplary. In this book readers will find what I hope is a new standard in YA, of what can be done and how. From its absolutely stunning prose to its aerobic plotting, I consider this one of the best books in any category of the last ten years.

5/5

The Black Mirror reminiscent sci-fi of my dreams that somehow managed to break my heart into smithereens before I ever finished reading. After awaking marooned on an abandoned island with nothing to retrace her steps but the memory of a sister awaiting her return, Cee will do anything to find her way home. Three years later and the island has become her captor, luring her back no matter how many times she tries to escape its clutches. Back home, Kasey mourns a sister lost forever to the sea while facing a tumultuous future in the eco-city, earth’s last sanctuary. With its useful life almost spent, Kasey knows that using her gifts to ensure earth’s future means finding a difficult solution, one that the citizens just might not want to hear. Right as Cee begins to turn desperate someone unlikely washes up on shore, Kasey begins to make her case, and two sisters set adrift must find their own destiny, whether that be together or apart.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find is quite frankly one of the most painful books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It’s a gut wrenching unpredictable novel that only someone as talented as Joan He could ever have written. Right from the start, this ensnared me in its grasp through its masterful world building and its vision of a future not so far off as one should like to think. To say I devoured this book would be the understatement of the century, when in reality I was possessed by some otherworldly being that had me completing this in well under two hours. This is one of those books with a keen air of mystery present, which naturally led to me creating wild theories in my head as the book progressed. I feel compelled to mention that I was way off the mark with my theories, to the point of embarrassment, but the whole journey was really just exquisite. He has combined components of both thriller and science fiction within this novel, creating a story so ingenious and immersive it's impossible to put down. Classifying this as a page turner seems appropriate given that, but this is also a thought provoking read that took me on an emotional journey I am not sure I will recover from any time soon. Not only was this book exquisitely painful, it was maddeningly frustrating at times. The very nature of a separation story such as this had me anxiously awaiting a reunion between both sisters, one that did not turn out at all how I was anticipating. Up until the last third of the book, I was on the edge of my seat completely at the mercy of Joan and her obscure plans. Well this is certainly shaping up to be one of my favorite books of the year, maybe even of all time. A rare glimpse into the future of climate change, the persevering nature of sisterhood, and the tenacity of the human spirit.

Trigger warnings: gore, violence, death, death of a loved one, suicide, terminal illness, drowning, choking, mass death, grief, natural disasters

In this lush and complex story, two sisters are trying to find each other in a world suffering from climate change catastrophes: Cee wakes up on an abandoned island with no memory but a compulsion to find her sister, and Kacey is a prodigy who uses all her tech and science savvy to try to track her missing sister. I loved everything about the book: the intricate world building, the compelling characters and their relationships, atmospheric storytelling atmospheric, and the deep philosophical questions about the nature of humanity. Not to mention the mind-blowing plot twists that keep coming.

Joan stuns again with a fantastic plot about the bond between sisters, beautiful yet gritty writing, and a unique plot! There is a lot of sci-fi out there and I don't like a lot of it, but THIS, this I adore. I will read anything from Joan if I'm being honest no matter the genre because she is just that good.

A wonderful second book that lives up to the success of her debut!

Thank you to Macmillan for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED THIS SO, SO MUCH!

It has been quite a while since I've read a sister focused story that has such a realized sibling relationship. But, its not only that. It is about finding yourself, discovering secrets that might tear your soul in two, and learning who to trust and who not to.

If you like a genre-bending thriller that focuses on mystery and fantastical elements, pick this one up.

I thoroughly enjoyed Joan He's last novel, Descendant of the Crane, and am just in awe of how Joan was able to write another amazing book in an entirely different genre. Beautiful futuristic world-building, jaw-dropping twists, well fleshed-out/complex characters, and masterful attention to environmental issues that resonate with some of our current-day problems. I continue to be an avid fan of Joan's beautiful prose, and look forward to more of her work in the future!

Disclaimer: I got this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is ideal for fans of We Were Liars X Black Mirror X Studio Ghibli. Cee wakes up on an island with no idea of how she got there except for the fact that she has an old android and one memory: she has a sister that she needs to find. Kasey is a STEM prodigy who just wants to escape from science and her home that she used to trust. She has to decide if she wants to help save humanity by using science even though it let down people who mattered a lot to her. This book was pretty good, but it had a slow start.

i won’t lie, one of the main reasons i joined joan’s street team was the potential to get ARCs of her books, and i am SO glad i did. i have no words for how wonderful this book was—the world building was amazingly intricate, the characters jumped off the page, the story was filled with plot twist after plot twist. it’s been i-don’t-even-know-how-long since the last time i read sci-fi, and this took a while to get into, but once i was onboard? oh my goodness. i could not stop reading. please read this book when you get a chance, and big thanks to macmillan for getting this book to all of hesina’s imperial court.

We Were Liars meets Black Mirror in this twisting tale of two sisters, one who woke up on an abandoned island with no memory except of her sister and the other a STEM prodigy living in this dystopian Earth where every inch of life is dying due to pollution and the inevitable dangers of climate change.

I've read a handful of books so far in 2021, and I'm sure most of you are aware how I dislike every fictional main character ever no matter who it is because... they always have some way to annoy me.

But surprisingly, I can say that I really enjoyed all the characters in TOWMTF!!! Even I'm surprised that I liked every single character in this book! They were all interesting, complex, and I was really invested in the relationship between Cee and her sister Kasey. Immediately after reading the synopsis, I was hooked.

You get see life from two different points of view. One from Cee on her abandoned island, and one from Kasey on her dying skydome. Cee on her journey of trying to find her way back to her sister and Kasey trying to save human existence.

To those who have read TOWMTF have been discoursing over which sister they like better, whether it be Cee or Kasey. Even though Kasey is a fellow STEM student like myself, I would have to say I prefer Cee. I think that her storyline and plot throughout the book made me more interested and invested than Kasey's did. Her determination to get off this island and find her sister tugged on my heart strings because even though Cee has no recollection of her life before, she only remembered and knew one thing. She had to find her sister. At all costs.

Kasey was more closed off and reserved. I found it hard to find her likeable because of how gray her character was. But I do admire how she set she was on trying to make the best of her skydome life. I did enjoy seeing both different points of view, one life on in island, the other life in a modern world away from a polluted earth.

I really liked the STEM side of this book as well! As a person in STEM myself, it was really interesting to see Kasey's side of things and hard she worked for to make life livable.

At first, the synopsis of this book made me think of it as Lost meets The Giver because of its scientific environment but after reading, I can definitely see where the We Were Liars and Black Mirror aspect comes from. This book definitely rubbed me in the Black Mirror part. You have these kind of expectations and predictions for what's going to happen until the technological side weaves in and changes everything.

Joan has a way of building up scenes and emotions that leaves me absolutely shook. The twists and turns are something that I don't expect at all and I am still trying to process what tf happened! You don't see these twists coming at all and that's what I loved the most about this ARC.

I loved every aspect of TOWMTF. From being on an abandoned island, mysterious allies and brooding side characters, the scientific side of trying to save life and human existence- it just had me hooked from beginning to end. I didn't know what to expect at all and Joan He really did that.

If you are planning to read this book or is currently reading it, all I can say is that you are going to be completely shook reading The Ones We're Meant to Find.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find I has left me speechless. I loved this book, and all of the twist and turns and ultimately the look at the bonds we share as human beings.
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This book follows Cee, a girl who woke up three years ago on an abandoned island. She wants to find her sister, Kay, so she works to find a way to swim across the ocean to her. The second perspective is Kay’s, as she tries to find a way back to Cee.
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While this book was a wonderful sci-fi, it ultimately was about the bonds shared by sisters and how they are impossible to be broken. The problems of the environment and the people who polluted it were addressed so nicely, and this futuristic society really came alive. I don’t read that much science fiction, but this book has convinced me to try to read more of it.
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Technology was integrated so well into this book, with everything feeling very believable. My only complaint would be that it was a little confusing in the first three chapters or so. Once it gets started though, it is very hard to put down.
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Overall, I would recommend this to fans of sci-fi and fans of slower, more emotional reads.
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CW- death, grief, vehicle accident
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A huge THANK YOU to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My gosh. This book was EVERYTHING I wanted. I am SO happy; this was one of my most anticipated releases this year and it completely obliterated my expectations. An enthusiastic five stars.

This was a book I read slowly because I wanted to savor it. Joan He's writing was spectacularly gorgeous, and her world-building skills are excellent. The world was so full and vibrant, and felt so real - I loved that there was little to no info dumping. We learned about the world Kasey lives in as we needed to and as Kasey moved within it. Joan He did an amazing job opening our eyes to a new, possible future-Earth without obnoxious hand-holding. That's was I like in a good sci-fi! The world itself is a great commentary on our current climate crisis without seeming preachy. It felt like a truly realistic society built from the ruins of humanity, trying to learn from our past environmental mistakes. It felt just complicated enough to be real, but not so complicated that it was hard to follow.

Learning about Kasey's past and wondering how/when/if Cee would ever get off the island and reunite with her sister kept me turning the pages. I loved Kasey and Cee, loved how their personalities were so opposite but worked so well together and complimented each other. I really appreciate that the focus of this novel was a sister relationship. I NEVER expected any of the twists in this book - the mysterious element really worked for me. I wish more sci-fi novels had the tone of this one. I absolutely fell in love with Cee and her story.

I have a feeling this will be my favorite new sci-fi release of 2021. I am so happy to have read this and will 100% recommend this book to everyone.

I've waited a little bit after finishing The Ones We're Meant to Find hoping some coherent thoughts would find their way into my brain and it's just not happening. This book has left me speechless. It's no secret that I loved Joan' first novel, Descendant of the Crane and this book is just as good (maybe better but don't tell Hesina!) The genre is a bit different, more of dystopian sci-fi setting but there's still the classic Joan plot twists that left me screaming and some super sad scenes that brought out all of my tears.

This is primarily a book about sisters, Celia and Kasey. Cee has been stuck on an abandoned island with only an outdated robot for company. She's lost most of her memory but knows that she has a sister out in the world and is trying her best to get back to her. Kasey back home in eco-city, a floating metropolis designed to protect people from the decaying planet, has no idea what happened to her sister after a camera records her taking a boat out to sea more than three months prior. Kasey rules her life by logic and science and logic says that Celia should have died of dehydration or drowning after being missing for so long but she can't stop the hope that Celia will be found. Celia is the only one who could break through Kasey's stoicism. I loved the sisters so much, their relationship and characterization was so much more complex than the initial assumption of social butterfly and stoic loner.

Someone else said this book reminded them of a Studio Ghibli film and I could not agree more. A lot of Ghibli films focus on themes of environmentalism. In The Ones We're Meant to Find humanity has destroyed the planet, mega quakes are common occurrences, the water has become incredibly polluted, even the air is filled with toxic gas. The lucky few managed to make it to an eco-city, floating above most of the horrors that now plague the Earth. Space is tight in the eco-cities and there's simply not enough room for everyone on Earth, the governing bodies of the eco-cities have become desperate for ideas on how to save humanity. I was fascinated by all the examples of how what's currently being done to the planet can turn into these mega-disasters if nothing is done to course correct. Ghibli films also have beautiful quiet moments that let the larger story breathe. I found those same moments in this book, more so in the beginning before the twists get really crazy and start propelling the story but they were still there in a couple of scenes toward the end. This was a truly beautiful book and I cannot wait to hold the finished copy in my hands.

My thoughts are just a mess of screeching from this book, so please forgive the short review. The twists and turns in this were so exciting, I definitely never saw the ending coming! There were such subtle hints dropped that I didn't even really notice, and then it would all just fall into place so nicely. Cee and Kasey are so completely different, and they really complimented each other nicely. Like a cold glass of milk and a warm, gooey cookie. The character growth in both of them - in all the characters, really - was amazing. I also loved the discussion of climate change. It emphasized how important taking care of the planet is without seeming preachy. This honestly has to be one of of the best sci-fi books I've read. I fell in love from the first page, and I have a feeling I'll keep thinking about this one for a long time.

this book sent me down a spiral of forever thinking about the sisters and their stories. the twists break my heart and they kept coming even after sobs wrecked my chest. i love joan, i love this book, and i loved reading it.
the world building was excellent and is true sci-fi that still resonates with our mortal world. i’ll always marvel at joan’s writing but this book took it to another level.

furthermore, the book serves as a reminder of the bonds we share with ourselves and others and the roots of family. also that decisions have impact and we humans have responsibilities. not only is this one of the best books i’ve ever read, it’s a book that will stick with me for a long time. i commend joan’s writing and genius stories.

This was a really interesting book that had a really unique take on the futuristic/dystopian genre. The book is set in a future dramatically affected by climate change and follows two sisters, one of whom has been missing and presumed dead for three years. To be honest, I found Kasey's chapter's much more interesting than Celia's because I was more interested in the world building and Kasey's character. The writing was excellent in both Celia and Kasey's perspectives and both of them had very clear and distinct voices, which I don't always find in books with multiple POVs, but personally I found Kasey's more compelling because of how she processed her emotions and used her emotional regulators throughout the book to cope with her life. The science was also really intriguing even though I was confused by some of it since I am not normally a science fiction reader. Though there were a lot of things I personally thought were interesting about this book, I had a bit of a hard time imagining how I might pitch it to teens and imagining which of my YA readers I would try to hand sell it to. This one is definitely one I'd try to sell more to older YA readers and even adult patrons who are interested in science fiction, but unfortunately most of my teen patrons would likely pass on this one.

[digital arc provided by the publisher]

‘the ones we’re meant to find’ is a thrilling, heartrending sci-fi novel following two sisters—celia, who’s been surviving on an abandoned island with one mission: to find her sister, kasey, who’s trying to decide if she’ll use science to help save humanity, that has continued to fail her and the people who mattered most.

”some secrets are best left at sea.”

wow. if it’s not apparent by the rating, i cannot stress this enough, i loved this book. it blew me away. it had me floored. i am speechless by what joan he has achieved here and i know that this review will not never serve the book any justice but i will try my best to articulate my overwhelming feelings.

this is a story about love, hope, humanity, and what we’re willing to do—or rather, sacrifice—to survive. within that, the author explored what i believe is the heart of the story: sisterhood. it is a compelling, heart-searching tale of family ties and a thought-provoking prodding of humankind trying and failing and trying again to find freedom in life.

i was immediately transported into the world with the characters. even though the sci-fi aspect hindered my reading because i was trying to absorb it all in, it was just me marveling at the sheer imagining of the setting and the author’s ability to bring life to words on a page through excellent world-building that resonated with our real world and hit close to home. it felt fully realized just enough to be able to tell the story the author was trying to tell—and it was done beautifully.

similarly, the atmosphere the book created was just stunning. it really could be a studio ghibli film. i was more in love with cee’s chapters—the descriptions and the writing there excelled, in my opinion. maybe i’m biased because i’m a sea/ocean/beach fanatic but every mention of the sea and the sand and the sun and the sky tugged at my heart.

the writing took some getting used to; i get that it was an authorial choice to write in fragments to fit the mood of the book and i felt it chunky and kind of awkward at first but i quickly got accustomed to it and better yet enjoyed it so much. joan he has got some heart-wrenching tricks under her sleeve to make you feel emotional—i was a satisfied victim of her ways and it made the book all the more compelling.

the characters stole my heart from the very first page and i found myself getting increasingly engrossed in their lives and minds and hearts as the twists kept coming. my heart rarely takes leaps and races so fast when i’m reading a book and towmtf did. celia was very easy to love, constantly challenged and constantly having her life shattered only to renew her faith in survival and finding her sister across the sea, it was so refreshing to read a hope that strong. kasey was such a strong character and very interesting to read from, i found myself always questioning her actions but also understanding her, trying to find answers and choose the “right” thing. hero and actinium are also such, such prominent characters who i care dearly for and truly made this book the journey it is. every single character was crafted with thought and care and i absolutely loved them all.

the only hiccup i initially had was the pacing in the first half of the book, but by the ending and after all the plot twists and revelations, i found myself understand the route of storytelling joan he took in this book. it simply just made sense to have the book start slow and steady; in that way it made me resonate with the characters and become engrossed in the world.

and really, with all the mind-blowing plot twists we get in the second half are just enough to keep me thinking about this book for an eternity to come. i will never be over what joan he has done to me. and i am so excited to have it done to me again with the next thing she comes up with!!


tw: terminal illness, suicide, violence (including choking), death, death of parents (off-page), death of a loved one, drowning, vomiting, large-scale natural disasters and mass casualties, gore.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a brilliant science fiction novel with dystopian themes, that deals incredibly thoughtfully with topics such as identity & morality, as well as climate change & privilege. It’s thrilling at times, thought-provoking from the first page to the last, and doesn’t pull any punches; that’s one of the things I loved about it most. That, and the focus on the relationship of our two protagonists—two sisters—Kasey and Cee.

Kasey and Cee live in a world that’s, despite the advanced technology and even further deteriorating climate, not so different from ours. In this uncomfortably close future, life as we know it only exists on the edges. Nature is dying around us, one climate catastrophe chasing the next. Most people live in so-called eco-cities, cities floating in the sky, in which life is mostly lived virtually, people only able to take up that much space, to reduce the strain on our climate. Those who don’t live in e-cities exist in constant danger, one earthquake or tsunami or some sort of other disaster away from death. The world is ending, or it will be soon, if nothing is going to change.

Reading The Ones We’re Meant to Find was a journey: I never knew what to expect, but I was so utterly and entirely immersed in the story. Joan He has a talent for pulling the reader in, giving them just enough hints to keep things interesting, while simultaneously surprising them on every turn. The plot twists in this book! 25 chapters or so into the story, I felt like I couldn’t breathe if I didn’t keep reading, didn’t figure out what was going to happen next—or what had already happened, what I might still be missing.

This story was so much bigger than it first appeared, and yet, it never lost its focus: Kasey and Cee. Two sisters, who are so different from each other—one logical, one emotional—and yet share so much love between them. I loved to get to know them both, loved the insights into their past, loved how they grew and changed. It’s difficult to talk about them without giving too much of the story away, but the way they moved parallel to each other, while always thinking they were so far apart—Joan He handled both of their stories so carefully. She created two truly unforgettable characters.

The atmosphere of the world Joan He created was another thing I absolutely adored and what made for an incredibly immersive reading experience. An abandoned island surrounded by an endless sea, cities floating in the sky, and a dying world surrounding it all. The world was as unsettling as it was vivid, despite nature collapsing; a fascinating setting for an equally intriguing premise.

Despite this being science fiction, despite the existence of bots and holograms and so much more, The Ones We’re Meant to Find is, at its heart, one of the most human stories I have ever read. Who deserves to live? Is one life worth more than another? Does a person who is—however passively—to blame for another’s suffering or even death deserve to live their own life without consequence? These and other questions are raised throughout the book and will leave the reader with much to think about, even beyond the last page.

Overall, The Ones We’re Meant to Find is an excellent examination of the consequences of climate change, and our part as humans in its rapid advance. It thoughtfully centres themes of morality, of privilege, of identity and what it means to be human—as well as posing the question of the worth of a life, especially in comparison to another. At the heart of this book, though, are two sisters—and a love that spans the sea. Fans of Patrick Ness’s More Than This would enjoy The Ones We're Meant to Find quite a lot, I think!