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The Ones We’re Meant to Find

Two sisters. An unputdownable story.

Cee woke up on the shores of an abandoned island three years ago with no idea how she got there. Now eighteen, she lives in a shack with an ageing android, and a single memory: she has a sister, and she has to escape to find her.

From the safety of the eco-city floating above Earth, now decimated by natural disasters, sixteen-year-old Kasey mourns Cee whom she’s sure is dead. She too wants to escape: the eco-city is meant to be a sanctuary for people who want to save the planet, but its inhabitants are willing to do anything for refuge, even lie. Is Kasey ready to use technology to help Earth, even though it failed her sister?

Cee and Kasey think that what they know about each other and their world is true. Both are wrong. If you loved We Were Liars or Black Mirror, you’ll love The Ones We’re Meant to Find, a clever, inspirational thriller.

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Joan He
About the Author

Joan He is a Chinese-American writer. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favourite form of expression. She studied Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania and currently splits her time between Philadelphia and Chicago. She is...

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Extent:
384pp
Format:
Paperback
Text publication date:
4 May 2021
ISBN:
9781911231332
AU Price:
$19.99
NZ Price:
$24.00
Reading age:
14+
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Praise for Joan He
andThe Ones We’re Meant to Find

“With complex world-building and character development, readers tired of cookie-cutter stories will find some surprise twists here.”

“Top-notch thriller and complex characters…Should appeal to teens and adults alike.”

‘In a climate-ravaged future, the love between two sisters is the only hope for humanity’s future. This is sci-fi at its best: floating cities, kindness and desert islands.’

‘I fell in love with this haunting, futuristic world and the sisters searching for each other in it. He’s words will stay with you long after the final page.’

‘Much like the floating cities within its pages, this book is a perfect synthesis of high-tech futurism and dreamlike imagery. Gripping, heartfelt, and joyously cerebral, this is a story to dive into and let its twisting currents pull you into a strange, clever, and startlingly original world.’

‘Smart, twisty and electrifying, this is the work of an astonishing mind.’

‘An expansive near-future narrative that centers Asian sisterhood and family…He crafts an intricate, well-paced rumination on human nature, choice, and consequence.’

‘A zippy pace challenges readers to keep up as surprising layers unfold—a sci-fi onion of sorts with quite the shocker of a core…A heartbreaking story of a young woman who loved her sister enough to survive years of horrors in order to get back to her, only to discover that things may not have been what they seemed. It’s painful stuff, beautifully written, and He gives that suffering the space it deserves in this reflective novel.’

‘This beautiful story…of separated sisters is set in a highly imaginative world. For readers who liked Davina Bell’s The End of the World Is Bigger than Love this is an equally challenging and rewarding read that shows how the bonds of love transcend a dystopian world.’

‘He’s writing is beautiful and propulsive, spare where it needs to be, lyric and suspenseful in its deep explorations of the novel’s world. This is one of the strongest sci-fi novels I’ve ever read. Action-packed and philosophical, ambitious, melancholic, and mind-blowing, The Ones We’re Meant to Find sings with sublime ache.’

‘Exhilarating and heartbreaking.’

‘A stunning and compelling novel full of twists and an emotional pull that will make readers want to finish it in one go.’

‘One of the most twisty, surprising, engaging page-turner YAs you’ll read this year.’

‘A gorgeous cover heralds this story of sisterly love and environmental disaster.’

‘Stunning.’

‘An intriguing foray into a devastating future—and yet one where hope abides.’

‘Page turning … at turns whimsical and gut-wrenching, He’s writing drives home the high stakes and unreliability of our narrators, setting the stage for atense and twisting plot.’

‘As unsettling as it is beautiful…interesting characters, extraordinary world building and a low thrum of unease on every page…For lovers of sci-fi, dystopia or young adult fiction, this is a must-read.’

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