Our Missing Hearts

In a new world following an economic crisis, where an authoritarian government seizes power in the U.S., the PACT is introduced. Under the guise of "preserving American culture," this law allows for children to be taken from dissident parents and assimilated into the "correct" environment. A boy named Bird also finds himself at risk because of his appearance. Growing up under the excessive protection of his father, Bird is driven to find out what happened to his mother, a poet. Why did she disappear? Why were her poems removed from libraries? When he receives a mysterious letter with a drawing, Bird sets out on a quest to find her.

Celeste Ng's new novel is a story about a world that looked for culprits, and when they couldn't find them — they simply appointed them. It is a narrative about the desperate desire of parents to protect their children, about the glaring injustice that artists try to fight, and about our lost hearts that unite all dissenters.