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hurrikanekathrina's review against another edition
3.0
“The dominos had been set centuries ago. One quake, and they all fell.”
This book was very... meh .
We alternate between the view points of two sisters: Cee, who is marooned on an island and struggles to find a way back home, and Kaysey, who lives in a floating eco-city designed to withstand the climate change that is rapidly destroying earth.
I strongly preferred Cee's viewpoint. I loved her narration and found her a rather endearing and relatable character. The survival plot was just more appealing to me than Kaysey's rather uneventful POV. Plus, I found Kaysey very hard to connect with. I get that that's the point of her character, but I think I could really be intrigued by an analytical, cold character like her otherwise, if it had been done in a more interesting way. In this case, I just found her POV bland and boring.
I was very excited about the premise of the eco-cities and to really dvelve into some world-builidng. I'm a huge Sci-Fi fan and the first impression of the world sounded very rich and promising. Sadly, no elaborate world-building happened. No elaborate anything happened, really. The whole plot was hasty, sketchy and glossed over important details like Joan He didn't care to bother about thinking through her own ideas. One of the most irritating holes in the narrative for me was
Spoiler
how the plan to basically put the entire human race into a 1000 year-long hibernation was rejected by more than half of the world population and than was just executed nonetheless about 6 years later. Sure, it was mentioned that Kay spent that time winning nations over to her plan, but it was rarely explainer how she managed to do that. I find it highely unlikely that there would be an unanimous approval of such a plan across the entire human race . And so it irritated me to no end that He decided to just not explain any of it. It felt like she just wanted to avoid plot holes and quickly move past them for the sake of the plot.Also, the plot twist wasn't as satisfactory as I'd hoped. I didn't find it very original and was rather disappointed by how little fleshed-out it's revelation was.
However, if you're into quick mystery/sci-fi reads with a sort-of Black Mirror-esque tough and don't care too much about elaborate world-building or explanations and more about the ideas a story evokes in you, you will definitely enjoy this book.
caseyaonso's review against another edition
2.0
Damn lol. Ngl this was tough to get through, the first 65% ish of this book is (imo) needlessly convoluted, tons of info dumping on technicalities that leave you super overwhelmed with info that clouded the vision of the story instead of helping to paint the world. There are some really interesting themes in here when it comes to innovation, climate change, even the politics of ai and of course sisterhood but i don’t think it was balanced well and it felt like they were trying to cover way too much in a single book. I don’t think it’s impossible to cover these topics in one book especially since they intersect with eachother, maybe it was the dual pov or the pacing but to me the story felt overcrowded and as a result doesn't go into as much depth as i would have liked it to. Even toward the end once things cleared up, for what this story was trying to communicate- SO much of the confusion that makes this book hard to stick with in the first half wasn’t needed. I think this could have worked better as a duology where there’d be enough room for the story to breathe a bit and go deeper into the periphery conflicts that i think should have been a bit more present in the story overall. The twist was good though you got me there lol
hellobookbird's review against another edition
3.0
Alone is an island. It’s an uncrossable sea, being too far from another world, whereas lonely is being too close, in the same house yet separated by walls because we choose to be, and when I fall asleep, the pain of loneliness follows me.
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.
No one enters this world by choice. If we're lucky, we can choose how we leave.
I was lucky enough to purchase the B&N Hardback Edition with gorgeous pearl cover, stamped case, and inside artwork. Honestly, this book is a thing of beauty.
As far as the novel itself, [b:The Ones We're Meant to Find|44084665|The Ones We're Meant to Find|Joan He|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600354595l/44084665._SY75_.jpg|68554141] is a meandering read that jumps back and forth between the past and the present to weave together what happened then and how it relates to now. You'll be puzzled for almost the entire thing—for good reason—and the twist at the end is delicious.
Because it was possible to love someone without fully understanding them. Possible to love parts of them, and not their whole.
Also, I actually really like that this book takes a look at just how much humans can suck while still being emotionally connective. Joan He challenges you to consider a few questions...and I'm not sorry.
Would people ever willingly give up their freedom for the good of others?
Only recommended for readers that don't need a lot of action.
timinbc's review against another edition
1.0
I guess there's a circle of SF/F books and readers, and as must inevitably be the case, there is a book that is directly opposite me on the circle, and this is that book. I don't like most SF/F movies and TV shows either, and this feels as if it belongs with them.
I liked Descendant of the Crane well enough.
Here I find uninteresting lead characters, extremely sketchy worldbuilding, the oh-not-again SuperHackerTeen who is for all practical purposes a magic universal key. A wildly implausible ranking system that everyone seems to think is fine as they touch their forelocks and bow to the high-ranking, and isn't it Convenient that our little girl is #2 despite having apparently done nothing to earn it (we're told it's based on eco-footprint but it obviously isn't).
A plot developing in two threads, or are there more? A major character who is dead, or not, and we obviously aren't going to find out any time soon. An unexplained pop-up character who wants to kill one of our heroines.
I didn't watch Lost either, but I followed the general trend of it, and I soon decided this is going to be one of those, where we finally find out what's been going on, and we're all "meh, that's it? Bummer."
Nah, I'm out.
On to the next. Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited.
I liked Descendant of the Crane well enough.
Here I find uninteresting lead characters, extremely sketchy worldbuilding, the oh-not-again SuperHackerTeen who is for all practical purposes a magic universal key. A wildly implausible ranking system that everyone seems to think is fine as they touch their forelocks and bow to the high-ranking, and isn't it Convenient that our little girl is #2 despite having apparently done nothing to earn it (we're told it's based on eco-footprint but it obviously isn't).
A plot developing in two threads, or are there more? A major character who is dead, or not, and we obviously aren't going to find out any time soon. An unexplained pop-up character who wants to kill one of our heroines.
I didn't watch Lost either, but I followed the general trend of it, and I soon decided this is going to be one of those, where we finally find out what's been going on, and we're all "meh, that's it? Bummer."
Nah, I'm out.
On to the next. Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited.
besse039's review against another edition
Mood reader. Will finish later but just not at this time.
existenchellecrisis's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
chloejen's review against another edition
4.0
i’m a little bitter about the lack of queerness (they’re sisters btw, NOT girlfriends like i thought) but also holy shit. this book made me feel THINGS. i cannot elaborate on that because i’m not quite sure what those things are.
hannahb_'s review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25