Incredible! Emotional family drama with a huge heart and social conscience. A dark but very necessary read!

This was completely different than what I was expecting from a new Celeste Ng novel, but is so well done and full of the heart and depth of emotion in family relationships she always manages to capture so brilliantly in her writing. I think a lot of people will feel uncomfortable with the subject matter as we have lived the past few years weathering crisis after crisis on a political and global scale, but the themes of hope, love, courage, and resistance make it a really meaningful and moving read. In particular, I appreciated the vision that art and libraries played in activism in this dark version of the future. I would recommend to readers who enjoy realistic dystopian fiction with political themes, stories about parent and child relationships, and readers who are looking to process the pandemic and political crises in their fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

This was the Celeste Ng we know and love. I appreciated this book so so much. I’ve been following Celeste Ng since reading her previous books and of course - this was nothing short of brilliance we know of. I loved this and it’s probably now my favourite Celeste Ng book. 5 out of 5 brilliant stars!

Incredible! This book was so so so good. It’s sorta dystopian, but in a very believable way. It’s sorta like reading Station Eleven while a few waves into a crazy new pandemic. It’s unnerving and rips your heart out, but feels very
important at this time in history to be reading and pondering. The writing is beautiful and I loved every minute of it. I can't wait for it to come out so I can recommend it to everyone.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was SO close to getting 5 stars for me. I’d say the first 3/4 would get a 5 stars, the last quarter dropped it to a 4. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was a little difficult to read because this future world is not one that’s out of the realm of possibility for the US. Basically, no one is allowed to discuss anything un-American or look too far into issues that are considered un-American. Asian Americans of all kinds are widely vilified and reviled. Children of “unpatriotic” parents are taken from their homes to be placed elsewhere. I mean, it rings a little familiar, does it not?

I loved Bird, Margaret, Ethan, and Sadie. I wanted to hear more about Domi and about Sadie. As a librarian, I LOVE LOVE LOVED the plot point of librarians acting as underground messengers - how awesome! The loss of a star came from my disappointment in the ending. I was hoping for more closure, and while the ending was satisfying and interesting, it was a lot of build-up for something that I don’t feel like completely paid off. But I loved the writing and the characters were beautifully done.

I pray to go this book is fiction and not a precursor. The book takes place in a dystopia America where Asian people are targeted for imprisonment. It's brutal subject matter, but Celeste Ng writes about it wonderfully. It is one of those books that makes you appreciate again and again how precious our freedom is and how vulnerable we are to lose it in moments of crisis. a sobering but tremendous book.

I received a free egalley of the book in return for this honest review.