I was pleasantly surprised by The Ones We’re Meant to Find. I originally thought this book was a YA contemporary based on the cover, but when I finally took the time to pick it up and read the dust jacket, the blurbs on the back mentioned that this was a “futuristic world” and featured “floating cities” among other things, and I was immediately interested. I love dystopian science fiction stories, futuristic technology, floating islands, and climate-centered narratives, so I knew I needed to read this immediately.
What if human nature is the last disease we have yet to eradicate?
We follow two sisters, Cee and Kasey. Cee’s story is told in first-person POV. She’s stuck on a deserted island with the only company being an android that she built. She lost her ability to see in color, and she has no memories with the exception of the knowledge that she has a sister out there somewhere, who she is searching for. Kasey’s story is told in third-person, and I really enjoyed that the sisters were written from different perspectives. She’s a scientist and lives in one of the floating eco-cities. She is still reeling from the recent disappearance of her sister as she also tries to find a way to protect the people on the planet from Earth’s increasing number of natural disasters.
In the various eco-cities around the world, people use “holo mode” as a way to live more sustainably and eco-consciously, which I thought was pretty cool. Nonessential activities are done virtually from a stasis pod, which makes it feel like this book had the full-dive technology found in futuristic video games, even though video games weren’t at all present in this story. I always love to see how authors imagine futuristic versions of Earth, especially a world ravaged by unrelenting earthquakes and climate disasters that cause people to completely change the way they live and interact with nature.
I love Joan He’s writing style in this book. I haven’t read her debut novel, so The Ones We’re Meant to Find is my first experience with her. I love that she is eloquent and intelligent, not talking down to her readers. This novel is one where she throws you into the story with lots of new terminology and big words and let’s you figure it out on your own, and I really enjoyed that because it read as more sophisticated, closer to an adult novel.
A lot of the twists I guessed ahead of time, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment watching them come to pass as I read the novel. I thought this book was clever and uniquely interesting, and I definitely recommend it. If you like books featuring a strong sisterly bond, floating cities and deserted islands, a robot companion, full-dive technology, a unique dystopian setting, and exciting twists, then you should absolutely check out The Ones We’re Meant to Find.
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