#18 [2025/CBR17] Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

I've read a number of books by Celeste Ng, and I've even seen her in person at a book reading. I've enjoyed all of her books, and I usually end up reading her new books when I see they are out. However, Our Missing Hearts (2022) came out a while ago, and I somehow missed it until now. I thought Our Missing Hearts was interesting, powerful, and memorable. Because it takes place in a world not exactly like our own (although eerily familiar), it is also different from her previous books. It is probably best to go into this book knowing as little as possible. So, I don't recommend reading my review if you haven't already read the book or if you don't care about Spoilers.

Bird Gardner is twelve years old and lives alone with his father on the top floor of a student dorm. His father used to be a linguist, but now he shelves books at the University library. Bird's mother disappeared mysteriously when Bird was only nine years old, and Bird and his father never talk about her. The reader is dropped into this story and into Bird's world. At first, much like Bird who was too young when his mother left, we don't understand what happened to make her leave. But slowly we learn all that has occurred.

Bird's world is not exactly the United States that we know now. After a severe, global, economic depression, there is widespread violence and unrest. In response to this unrest, Congress passed the PACT (Preserving American Culture and Traditions) Act. This act pretty much requires patriotism and stifles dissent. But armed with the mandate to "protect children from environments espousing harmful views," it allows for children to be taken from anyone who dares to disagree with the government. This is generally done quietly, but it is a powerful tool for controlling any protester.

Bird's mom is a poet, and when one of her poems becomes an anthem of protest, she is perceived as a spokesperson in a conflict that she wanted no part of. All of a sudden her small, loving family is facing harassment, job insecurity, and the loss of their child. In desperation, they decide that Bird would be safer if she is out of the picture. And so she disappears. Birds mother was far from a radical rebel until her own life was so negatively impacted, and she could see how bad things really were.

Bird was quietly living his life until he received a mysterious note. He knows it's from his mother, and he is eventually able to decipher it and find her. He has very mixed feelings towards her because he loves her, but he also feels abandoned. 

Race plays an important part throughout this book. Birds mother is Chinese American and Bird is half Chinese. Because China was blamed for starting the recession, there is rampant anti-Asian discrimination in this book.

When I began reading, I didn't realize that this book was a little dystopian. So I actually googled PACT to see if it was real. It seemed like something that could be true, but I wasn't familiar with it. It turns out Ng made PACT up for the purposes of the book. However, it is not very farfetched, which makes this book feel very familiar and disturbing. It wasn't that long ago that Native American children were taken away from their families for a "better life" and Japanese Americans lost everything and were put in internment camps. In addition, anti-Asian sentiment increased just recently during COVID after China was blamed for the pandemic.

I really thought Ng did a masterful job in slowly unveiling what kind of world Bird was living in, and what his family was facing. The characterization of Bird, his parents, and even Bird's young friend who has lost her parents is fantastic. Ng does such a good job that I felt what each character was feeling, and it was often heartbreaking. Although I did not like the end of the book quite as much as the beginning, it is definitely still worth reading. Recommended.

#17 [2025/CBR17] Orbital by Samantha Harvey

I stumbled upon Chris Hadfield's Masterclass on space travel almost by accident. [Chris Hadfield is a Canadian test pilot and astronaut who has spent a considerable amount of time on the International Space Station.] I had a coworker who firmly believed the Earth was flat, and I firmly disagreed. But I also knew very little about space. So every time my coworker blurted out another random "fact" that he had picked up from the internet, I was baffled. Thus, Chris Hadfield's Masterclass on space travel to the rescue. Considering I wasn't especially interested in the topic, I found Hadfield's Masterclass fascinating--although not particularly helpful in dealing with my crazy coworker. After that class, as well as some Youtube videos featuring Hadfield, I really felt like I understood some of what it felt like to travel in space. And this book gave me a similar feeling.

Orbital (c)2023 by Samantha Harvey was one of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024. It also won a bunch of prizes and awards, including the Booker Prize. It is a slim novel that follows six astronauts at the International Space Station for twenty four hours. The astronauts hail from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan. Because of the speed of the ISS as it orbits the Earth, they experience sixteen sunrises and sunsets throughout their twenty four hours.

This book is something of a quiet meditation. There is not much excitement or drama, just a single, uneventful day in the lives of six astronauts in space. We get to see the lives of each astronaut in turn as they complete their regimented schedules--taking time to look out the window on what is going down below them.

I have forgotten all the names now, but two storylines really stuck with me. First, the Japanese astronaut has recently learned that her mother has passed away down on Earth. She is dealing with her grief and isolation when she wants to be with her family. We even see the space station from her mother's point of view before she dies. Second, there is a hurricane building power and threatening Indonesia and the Philippines. The astronauts are tasked with taking pictures and relaying information back down to Earth whenever the hurricane is within view. But one of the astronauts made friends with a fisherman and his family in the area when they were scuba diving. He worries for his friend and his family, and he wonders what will happen to them as he sits up in space.

Although this book could be slow at times, it showed the Earth from a different perspective than we non-astronauts ever see. One beautiful planet with no obvious distinctions between countries. The clouds, storms, deserts, mountains, and majestic lakes on one giant ball that somehow supports all of humanity--except for those six astronauts out on their own. 

#16 [2025/CBR17] The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

I'm not sure when I first heard of The Anxious Generation (2024) by Jonathan Haidt, but it sounded interesting. So, I listened to it on audiobook from my library. This book discusses how much damage phones and social media have done to children as they grow up. It goes on to make recommendations for healthy ways for young people to engage with social media. Finally, Haidt points out that kids are watched over too closely. They need independence and free play in order to gain confidence and figure out who they are.

Reading this book made me happy that I grew up before cell phones--and especially before smart phones. I can finally be grateful for being old[er]. I remember middle school being a harrowing journey with an immense amount of social stress. I didn't know who I was and wasn't comfortable in my body. I can only imagine how much worse that would be with the influence of social media.

Haidt looks at the numbers of adolescents, especially girls, suffering from depression and anxiety over the years. The numbers jumped precipitously soon after the debut of the iphone. Boys also faced downward trends in wellbeing, although phones and social media seemed to affect them differently.

I learned that the ages from 12-15 (or thereabouts) are a stage of great malleability and growth in the adolescent brain. It's the time when people really figure out who they are. Haidt uses the example of a child living abroad. If he grew up in Tokyo but lived in Los Angeles from 12-15, he will most likely feel more connected to L.A. than Tokyo. What this means in practice, though, is that endlessly scrolling on social media is significantly worse for adolescents than it is for adults. And it's not even remotely healthy for adults.

Haidt's recommendations seemed very reasonable to me. He also includes a website where he promises to post updates as new research comes out. He recommends that children under sixteen do not have access to a smart phone with apps like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc. He also recommends in a significant amount of free play for children to find independence and confidence.

I do not have any children, but this seems like a book that would be helpful to parents. It also made me think about how addictive Instagram reels have become to me. After my husband read this book, he decided to do one day a week without any Twitter. Recommended.

#15 [2025/CBR17] Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood is churning out her feminist STEM romance novels so fast, that I'm barely keeping up. As soon as I discover another one is out, then I join the long waitlist at the library. Deep End (2025) did not disappoint. I loved that the book took place at Stanford with student athletes. I thought the story was interesting, and the chemistry between the leads was great. Was it a perfect book? No, but I enjoyed reading it and would give it four out of five stars.

Scarlett Vandemeer, who goes by Vandy, is a diver at Stanford. She can be a little reclusive and awkward. Penelope is one of the stars of the diving team. She's gorgeous and seems to have everything--including Lukas, the Swedish superstar swimmer who already has Olympic medals. But when Penelope confides in Vandy that she wants to break up with Lukas because he's into BDSM, and she feels they're not compatible sexually, Vandy confesses that she's also into BDSM, and tries to advise Penelope.

Penelope and Lukas do break up. When Penelope is drunk at a party, she tells Lukas and Vandy they should hook up because they're both into the same things. At the time, this is just an awkward situation to work around, but neither Lukas nor Vandy forget. When they continue to find themselves together, their mutual attraction is undeniable.

Vandy really likes Lukas, but she does not want to hook up with her friend's ex-boyfriend. Eventually, she gives in to her attraction, but she's not comfortable telling Penelope about it. This continues while they both compete in swimming and diving and get even closer to each other. Vandy and Lukas are a very good couple. Their main problem is that Vandy keeps pushing him away because of Penelope. Eventually this all comes to a head, and everyone lives happily ever after. 

First, I enjoyed that the main characters in this novel were athletes. It felt a little different from Hazelwood's other books, and it was interesting to see what the life of an elite student athlete was like. Second, I thought Vandy and Lukas had great chemistry. I read some reviews on Goodreads that were complaining that the book was not very kinky after Hazelwood warned of kink at the beginning of the book. I would agree that it felt lightly kinky. But having read Hazelwood's other books, this felt like a natural progression after the mild introduction of control in Not in Love. On the whole, I enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to reading her next one.

#14 [2024/CBR17] Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

I've already spent a lot of time reading the Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros, so I quickly picked up Book 3 of the series when it became available to me. Onyx Storm (2025) continues to follow Violet Sorrengail and her loves and adventures in the Kingdom of Navarre. Violet is still technically a student. She is in her third year in the dragon school that kills at least twice as many people as it graduates. She has been chosen by two very special dragons and is one of the most powerful students there.

Although there have been some interesting and moving scenes in every book of Yarros's Empyrean Series, I am losing interest. The story just goes on for so long, and there are so many details and people, that they're hard to keep straight. 

In this book, the love of Violet's life, Xaden, has turned to the dark side. He was forced to channel the evil power in order to save the city and the school. At this point, he can still control himself, but it is definitely an obstacle in their relationship.

Violet, Xaden, and a small group are sent down South to look for the seventh breed of dragon, which is needed to power their wards and keep them safe back home. Violet is also looking for anything that might cure Xaden before he loses himself.

At the same time, a very powerful, evil, dark wielder named Theophanie keeps showing up because she wants to turn Violet into Venin herself. Theophanie seems to give up and go away at opportune times, but Violet knows she will have to face her one day. At some point, the seventh breed of the dragon comes and helps them power their ward. However, it also convinces Andarna (one of Violet's dragons), that she should break her bond with Violet and go learn from them. Andarna leaves Violet, and it almost kills her. (I did find this to be a very touching scene.)

After dragons are captured and a major battle, Xaden is forced to channel again, and he turns fully Venin. Violet is able to kill Theophanie, but she has lost Xaden and Andarna. When she wakes up, Xaden is nowhere to be found, Violet cannot remember the last couple of hours, and Violet is apparently married to Xaden. This one definitely ended on a cliffhanger.

Onyx Storm is Book 3 of what will apparently be a five book series. Part of me wants to just be done with this series and let the other books lie. However, I am almost positive that Xaden and Violet end up together, and now I'm curious how that will work with Xaden being evil and all. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. With only two more books to go, it just might be worth it.

P.S. I've heard people say this this book was much better than the second book. I'm not sure I agree. I think I liked the first book the best so far.

#13 [2025/CBR17] Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

I've read Cop Town by Karin Slaughter, which I appreciated for a number of reasons. So when I found Pretty Girls (2016) by the same author under "popular audiobooks" at the library's website, I downloaded it almost immediately. Slaughter seems to write gritty, violent books, but I was unprepared for this one. Knowing what I know now, I would not have chosen to read it. Although I did finish it, the violence and darkness was too much for me. I did think it was well-written, but I would not personally recommend it.

Julia, Lydia, and Claire are three sisters with a seemingly perfect family. Their mother and father love both each other and their kids very much. But everything falls apart when the eldest daughter, Julia, disappears from college at the University of Georgia. She is only nineteen years old. 

At first the community rallies around the family, looking everywhere for the beautiful teenager who has disappeared. But when no trace of her is found, the cops decide that Julia must have run away. As time passes, most people move on with their lives. But Julia's parents can't take the stress and split up. Lydia becomes a drug addict, and becomes estranged from the rest of her family. Their father eventually commits suicide after obsessing over his daughter's case for years.

Now, twenty years later, another young woman has just vanished. Both Claire and Lydia are very aware of the similarities of the missing girl and their sister. But when Claire's husband, Paul, is murdered in the street in front of her eyes, her entire life as she knows it is over.

***SPOILERS*** AND ***TRIGGER WARNING***

While going through Paul's computer to find his work files, she stumbles upon some pornographic videos. At first, she's not concerned, but the scene quickly turns into one of harrowing violence and murder. (I don't have any interest in going into the details here.) This leads Claire to get back in touch with Lydia and the two try to figure out what's going on.

Halfway through the book, we learn that Paul is actually alive and he was the torturer/murderer that Claire had first seen on the screen. He has a list of clients that he sells his videos to, and there are a sickening number of both clients and victims throughout the years. 

You would think I'd almost be done with the book by now, but there was still almost half of it to go. Paul kidnaps Lydia, leaving Claire alone (for some reason that was not wholly satisfactory to me at the time.) But there was more to endure. This included detailed torture as well as learning that almost everyone in the world was involved

***END SPOILERS***

This was a generally well-written book. I did especially like the beginning as Slaughter slowly introduces the different characters, and we don't yet know how they are related. However, I was horrified by that first violent scene, and I was cringing whenever things got violent in the book after that. The more violence that I see at work, the less I want to see it in my entertainment. And these scenes were especially disturbing to me. I cannot stomach people intentionally hurting others. I looked at some of the reviews, and the majority were enthusiastically positive, so others may still enjoy this book. However, this one was hard for me to get through.

#12 The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

Peter Heller is a local writer who is only one degree of separation away from me: He apparently knows a guy I kind of dated a long time ago. But this slim brush with celebrity is not why I continue to read his books. I enjoy his writing and like his focus on nature. 

In The Last Ranger (2023), Ren is an enforcement ranger in Yellowstone National Park. He deals with car accidents, campers' disputes, law enforcement, and poaching. He is a haunted man who hasn't really dealt with his past, which includes an alcoholic mother and the early death of his wife. His wife intentionally overdosed after dealing with painful congenital health problems that were only going to get worse. 

Peter lives in the park in a small cabin built for employees. The next closest cabin is inhabited by Hilly, a dedicated wolf researcher, who cares more about her wolves than people. As anyone who has spent much time out West, the conflict between people who want wolves in the wild and those who don't is pretty intense. Even though Yellowstone is protected from hunting, ranchers kill the wolves as soon as they step out of the park. In addition, poachers even come into the park and kill wolves. 

After a wolf is killed in Yellowstone, Ren begins investigating who could have killed it. But then Hilly is badly hurt and almost dies, and Ren bumps up his investigation even more. He desperately wants to find out who is responsible. 

For the most part, I enjoyed reading this book. I think a part of me wished I had become a forest or park ranger. So, being able to read in detail about the life of a park ranger--even an enforcement ranger--was quite interesting. There was also suspense and mystery while Ren tried to tracked down who was killing the wolves and potentially endangering Hilly. 

I was also generally impressed by how Heller addressed the wolf debate. It is a very angry and political topic, but Heller seemed to dive right in with no fear.

***SPOILERS***

My only complaint was the end of the book. It turns out that the guy who is poaching wolves in the park gets paid $1,000 per head. But he wasn't killing wolves because he's a bad guy who hates wolves. It turns out that his wife has cancer, and he's trying to pay for her treatment, which costs $7,000 per month. This felt a little melodramatic and unearned--like I had suddenly tuned into a soap opera. Killing wolves to pay for cancer treatment isn't even a realistic solution. He can't kill enough wolves to keep up with that kind of cost. Maybe he's just desperately making money anyway he can, but this whole plotline felt out of the blue. With the book from Ren's point of view, I felt that it certainly leaned towards the pro-wolf side of the debate. I wonder if this was Heller's attempt at bringing in some sympathy for the other side. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me. In a book that feels pretty realistic, the ending was kind of annoying.

***END SPOILERS***

Every Heller book I've read, I've enjoyed and found interesting. However, there's always a little something that doesn't feel quite right or takes me out of the story. Heller sometimes reminds me of Cormac McCarthy, but not quite as good with his characters or as committing to a realistic narrative. However, I enjoy Heller's descriptions, locations, and stories, and I will continue reading his books.