Monday Moments - Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

 Celeste Ng in Our Missing Hearts captures currents issues in a heartrending tale. How can civilized communities ignore searing injustice?  cover blurb: It's a story about the power - and limitations - of art to create change, the lessons  and legacies we pass on to our children, and how any of  us can survive a broken world with our  hearts intact. 

Bird Gardner, twelve, lives with his father in a very quiet way. Don't stand out. Don't ask questions. Don't stray. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet has been gone for three years. 

New laws - PACT- preserve "American culture" to keep peace. Now children can be relocated from so-called  dissident parents, people of Asian background are persecuted, books have been removed that are deemed unpatriotic. (This includes Margaret Miu's poetry book) 

Bird receives a mysterious letter. Slowly he remembers his mother's stories, folktales, and goes on a quest to find her. Underground library networks lead the way to New York City. Will a new act of defiance begin much needed change? (cover blurb)

Celeste Ng is a beautiful writer and I hated to turn the last page. I could quote tons of paragraphs here filled with glorious phrasing. 

When are you ever done with the  story of someone you love? You turn on the most  precious of your memories over and over, wearing their edges smooth, warming then again with your heat. 

I highly recommend Our Missing  Hearts.  This book will touch yours. 

Book Review - Everything I Never Told You

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng is just brilliant writing that sweeps you into a family saga. I was captivated by this story – curious, caring, and interested.

Cover blurb – “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” What an opener of a tale about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But that’s a lot of pressure.  When her body is found in the local lake (not a spoiler), the delicate balance act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.

Hannah, the second daughter, plays second string. But now she has to deal with the shadow of Lydia. What happened? And she’s her own person who misses her sister, cares about her parents, worries about her parents, and tries to make up for the huge missing link that is Lydia.  Nathan, the son, also has to grasp the gravity of Lydia dead. It’s all surreal.

Parents, Marilyn and Lee, both worked hard to overcome a “mixed” marriage.  Dealing with prejudice can take its toll too.  This book has so many layers of issues, but it does not beat you over the head as you read it. You just flat out care – you care about the parents and where they are coming from. You care about the pressures on youth these days. And there’s a sadness too. Celeste Ng captures a family in chaos and pulls the past and present together with her story. Everything I Never Told You will grab your gut and not let go.

Book Review - Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is HOT.  Oh yeah. From the opening line -  Everyone is Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down -  to the last page, you will be mesmerized by this story. The characters are vivid. The writing is brilliant. And  this book “explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.” (cover blurb)

Shaker Heights is a community that conforms. And the Richardson family is key – Tripp (football star), Lexie (smart and popular), Moody (name fits), and Izzy (non-conformist). The kids chafe at the bit to be unique but it’s not in their DNA.  Enter – Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl. Enigmatic artist and a young scholar. They rent the Richardson’s second house and become a part of the “family”.  And yet, there’s conflict. Mia does her art, but also cooks and cleans. She also encourages a fellow immigrant woman to challenge for custody of her child from a Richardson best friend. The whole area is in an uproar. Meanwhile, Pearl is best friends with Moody, but ends up dating Tripp……how’s that brotherly love going to  end? Lexie dates another guy, ends up pregnant, and uses Pearl’s name when she visits a clinic. Issues? Heck yeah. And Izzy. Oh Izzy……she’s transfixed and inspired by Mia’s photography and approach to the world.

No wonder there’s a conflagration on many levels.  Celeste Ng has written an incredibly smart book. She knows people and delves deep into the psyche.  I really liked this book and shall not give any more spoilers.  The house burned down…………..and………….

Little Fires Everywhere will be on end of year lists for 2017. It’s hot. Check it out.