Our Missing Hearts

More about the book

From the bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere comes a suspenseful and heartrending tale of a mother's unbreakable love in a fearful society. Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives quietly with his broken father, a former linguist now working at Harvard's library. Their lives are dictated by laws aimed at preserving "American culture" amid economic instability and violence. Authorities can relocate children of dissidents, particularly those of Asian descent, and libraries have removed books deemed unpatriotic, including those by Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left when he was nine. Bird has grown up distancing himself from her and her poetry, knowing he shouldn't question her absence. However, a mysterious letter with a cryptic drawing sparks his curiosity and leads him on a quest to find her. His journey revisits the folktales she shared, connects him with an underground network of librarians, and uncovers the lives of taken children. Ultimately, he arrives in New York City, where an act of defiance may herald change. This story reexamines how supposedly civilized communities can overlook grave injustices, exploring the power of art to inspire change, the legacies we pass to our children, and the resilience needed to navigate a broken world.