He doesn't know what happened to her-only that her books have been banned-and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. I was so invested in the future of this mother and son, and I can't wait to hear what you think of this deeply suspenseful story!' -Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club Pick) 'Riveting, tender, and timely.' - People, Book of the Week 'It's impossible not to be moved.' -Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review (Oct.Description An instant New York Times bestseller - A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 - Named a Best Book of 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more - A Reese's Book Club Pickįrom the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes the inspiring new novel about a mother's unbreakable love. Like Margaret’s story, Ng’s latest crackles and sizzles all the way to the end.

Crackling as it surfaced in the air once more”). Ng crafts an affecting family drama out of the chilling and charged atmosphere, and shines especially when offering testimony to the power of art and storytelling (here’s Bird remembering the fairy tale in his mother’s voice, “painting a picture with words on the blank white wall of his mind. While searching for a book that might contain the story Margaret used to tell him, he discovers a network of librarians who secretly collect information about children seized from their families and learns how Margaret’s work inspired anti-PACT art demonstrations. But nothing can stop him from looking for Margaret. In a world where neighbors spy on each other and people with Asian features are frequently attacked on the street, Ethan has long instructed Bird to lay low. Out of the blue, Bird receives a mysterious drawing from her, reminding him of a fairy tale she used to tell him, which he’s mostly forgotten. Bird’s mother, Margaret Miu, a Chinese American poet, vanished three years earlier after her work became seen as subversive. Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives with his white father, Ethan, a former Harvard language teacher who now shelves books in the university’s library. government begins reassigning custody of children whose parents are accused of being un-American. In the wake of the nativist PACT act (Preserving American and Culture Traditions), a piece of legislation that opposes foreign cultural influences, the U.S.

Ng’s remarkable dystopian latest (after Little Fires Everywhere) depicts draconian family separation tactics and a normalizing of violence against Asians and Asian Americans in an alternate present.

Missing hearts celeste ng