Reader Review: “Our Missing Hearts”

by Joyce M: This book is very timely! It tells the story of a twelve-year old boy, Bird, who lives with his father in Cambridge, MA. They are living in a time when P.A.C.T. (Preserving American Culture and Traditions) is in place. Books have been banned and people are constantly worrying about being reported as not being patriotic. Some children have been separated from their parents for their own good. Bird’s mother has left the family because her Asian ethnicity could put the family at risk. It’s been three years since she left but Bird still misses her, and, without his father’s knowledge, decides to find her based on a letter he received with a New York return address.

Next, we learn about Bird’s mother, Margaret, and her life as a young woman before she met Bird’s father, Ethan. It also describes the gradual changes going on in the country as the economy declines and people become desperate. Trust, in general, deteriorates and people look to blame China. There are massive job losses leading to riots and protests. This time period is known as the Crisis. We also learn more about what Margaret has been doing since she left her family.

The final part brings all the issues raised in the first two sections to a climatic end, or does it? As much as I admire how empathetically this book is written, I was disappointed with the end. I didn’t feel that the level of detail that was used in the first two parts carried into the third. It seems to quickly conclude with too many unanswered questions for me. Yet there is one very significant revelation that will warm your heart.

I still rate the book as a must read! It enables readers to see what a future might look and feel like as we continue to engage in many of the activities described in this novel.