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The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He

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Published: 2021
Series: N/A (Standalone)
Author: Joan He
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult, Fantasy
Audience: Grades 7-12
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 Stars)
Goodreads Link: The Ones We’re Meant to Find
Triggers: Climate Change, Violence
Review By: Heather Kent

Publisher’s Summary

Goodreads Choice Award: Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2021)
One of the most twisty, surprising, engaging page-turner YAs you’ll read this year—We Were Liars meets Black Mirror, with a dash of Studio Ghibli.

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.

Review

“The Ones We’re Meant to Find” by Joan He left me feeling torn and bewildered. Set in a future ravaged by climate change, the story follows two sisters, Cee and Kasey, who are separated under mysterious circumstances. The story is told between their perspectives, leaving me struggling to piece together their fractured world. Cee is stranded on a desolate island, grappling with memories that seem to slip through her fingers, while Kasey navigates a futuristic city, haunted by the absence of her sister. Joan He’s writing is undeniably vivid, painting a vivid picture of a world on the brink of collapse. Yet, as the plot unfolds, I found myself lost amidst the tangled web of secrets and revelations. The characters, while intriguing, felt distant making it difficult for me to fully invest in their journey. While I appreciated the novel’s exploration of themes like identity and family, I couldn’t shake the feeling of confusion that lingered throughout. Overall, “The Ones We’re Meant to Find” is a complex read that will undoubtedly appeal to fans of dystopian fiction. However, for me, its convoluted plot and elusive characters left me more perplexed than satisfied.

Classroom & Curricular Connections:

  • Science / Environmental Studies: Use the eco-cities and stasis pods in the book to spark a debate on climate change mitigation. Have students research real-world green technologies vs. the extreme measures depicted in the novel.
  • English Language Arts (Creative Writing & Structure): Analyze the dual-perspective, non-linear narrative structure. Task students with writing a short scene from two opposing perspectives where one character holds a vital secret the other does not know.
  • Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Discuss the core themes of isolation, sisterhood, and identity. Use Kasey’s introversion and Celia’s desire for the outside world to explore how different personality types cope with trauma and environmental restriction.

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