Our Missing Hearts

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. 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.
 
Then one day Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of heroic librarians, and finally to New York City, where he will learn the truth about what happened to his mother and what the future holds for them both.
 
Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s about the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children and the power of art to create change.

Reader Fit: An excellent choice for readers who enjoy literary fiction that explores family, censorship, identity, and the enduring bonds between parents and children.

Why We Carry It: We carry Our Missing Hearts because it imagines a society where fear and censorship reshape everyday life while remaining grounded in the intimate relationship between a mother and her son. It encourages readers to reflect on belonging, cultural identity, and the importance of protecting empathy in divided times.