Our Missing Hearts

 

 

 Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. New York:Penguin Press, 2022. 335 pages. *****

Chosen as the One Book, One Philadelphia for 2026!

https://www.phillyvoice.com/one-book-one-philadelphia-2026-our-missing-hearts/ 

https://billypenn.com/2026/02/26/one-book-one-philly-2026-celeste-ng-our-missing-hearts/

Published in 2022, Ng's story bears a striking resemblance to what's happening today. Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives with his father, a former Linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His father's job provides housing, so he and Bird live in a university dormitory. Bird misses his mother and questions where she is and knows better than to ask anyone, his father has cautioned him about drawing attention to himself. Living under The Preserving American Culture and Traditions Act (PACT) PACT keeps American citizens safe from foreign influences and allows children to be removed from parents who are unfit or unpatriotic. Bird's mother leaves them to protect them from government interference since she is a poet of Asian descent who participates in the resistance and is considered a traitor. Bird is determined to find her after trying to connect through books she read him and by reading her poetry. He's not surprised but disappointed when visiting the library, he discovers that her books have been removed. Bird begins his journey by following the clues he thinks his mother has left him like breadcrumbs to lead the way.

Ng has a style of writing that engages and empowers the reader. The author drew inspiration from real life events and things that she thought might become reality. That in and of itself is chilling, the events that Bird's family experiences are happening today and her insight into the fear felt by the parents and the children who are removed and sometimes never to be found again.  Some of the reviews are critical and it is an uncomfortable book to read. A reminder of Fred Rogers’ famous quote about finding hope during difficult times is: "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping'". This is a novel of hope and love even when society seems judgmental and hopeless. This is a thought-provoking novel and a great discussion one for Book Clubs. I will be thinking about it and recommending it for a long time, no surprise as to why Philadelphia chose it for 2026. 

Celeste Ng  is an American writer and novelist. Celeste grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Shaker Heights, Ohio. She graduated from Harvard University and earned an MFA from the University of Michigan (now the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan).  Her fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, and many other publications, and she is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honors. For more information - https://www.celesteng.com

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We Burned So Bright

 

We Burned So Bright by T.J. Klune. Tor Books, 2026. 176 pages. *****

How would you react if you knew the end of the world is coming? A black hole is coming for Earth and in a month everything and everyone they’ve ever known will be gone. Don and Rodney, an older gay couple, are on a mission before they run out of time. They buy a used RV and travel the back roads from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it’s all over. Why did they wait so long? 

On their travels, they meet people who are dealing with the news in their own way - celebrating life, ending lives so their loved ones won't suffer, waiting in place, making new friends, acceptance, and hitting the road to beat death. 

Once started, you will want to finish it in one sitting. Klune captures the contradiction in life - worrying about the future while enjoying the present. The description of what happens when weightlessness begins and they feel lighter; aches and pains disappear is golden. He balances the uncertainty of the end with love and friendship.  A great discussion book, perfect for Book Clubs that are open to new ideas and possibilities. 

TJ KLUNE is the #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling, Lambda Literary Award–winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, In the Lives of Puppets, the Green Creek Series for adults, the Extraordinaries Series for teens, and more. Being queer himself, Klune believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive queer representation in stories.

For more info, click here.

Additional books by Klune:

Somewhere Beneath the Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea 

Under the Whispering Door  

 I received an ARC to review. 

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An Ordinary Sort of Evil

 

An Ordinary Sort of Evil: A Rip Through Time Novel (Rip Through Time Novels Book 5) by Kelley Armstrong. Minotaur Books, 320 pages. 2026. ****

From Amazon - "Late one night, Gray and Mallory are summoned urgently to the home of Lady Adler, a patron of Gray’s undertaking business, and they assume there's been a death in the household. But instead, they arrive in the midst of a seance with a ghost demanding Gray's presence. The ghost is Lady Adler's former maid, who had gone missing but now requests that Gray investigate her murder. Although Gray and Mallory are skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, whether she's dead or alive. But unsure if there's been a murder or not, unable to call out the medium as a fraud, and concerned for the fate of the young maid, Gray and Mallory are once again drawn into a mystery much more puzzling--and more dangerous--than it first seems."

I love this series-- mystery, time travel, romance, ghosts, it has it all! Armstrong is a master at setting the scene, Victorian Scotland. Seances and summoning the dead was popular during that time and skepticism was rampant as to how mediums were able to do so. Mallory and Gray are becoming close and how they are going to manage a romance across time remains to be seen. I am fascinated by the norms of society and the research her novels require. Thoroughly enjoyable, I look forward to the next one!

From her website - Kelley Armstrong believes experience is the best teacher, though she’s been told this shouldn’t apply to writing her murder scenes. To craft her books, she has studied aikido, archery and fencing. She sucks at all of them. She has also crawled through very shallow cave systems and climbed half a mountain before chickening out. She is however an expert coffee drinker and a true connoisseur of chocolate-chip cookies. For more info, click here. 

A Rip Through Time Novels

Death At A Highland Wedding 

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Hope Rises

 

Hope Rises (Walter Nash #2 of 2 ) by David Baldacci. Grand Central Publishing, 432 pages. ****

Walter Nash has reinvented himself with fine-tuning his body, the addition of tattoos and a new name, Dillon Hope. Bent on revenge, he will do anything to bring down the people responsible for his daughter's death. Traveling into the devil's lair as a security guard to his boss, Rhett Temple, he has one mission, keeping his enemies alive so that he can kill them. He becomes an informant for the FBI to report on Victoria Steers, the head of a global criminal drug operation. Acting as his exboss's security guard, he agrees to protect Steer's mother once she is sprung from a highly secret jail. Things don't go as planned and Hope soon learns who he can trust and who will keep his new identity a secret. Feeling an attraction for his enemy has Hope questioning his own mission and the veracity of what he's been told. Will he fail and be killed before he can complete his mission or will he discover who the villain is behind the far reaching drug operation? 

I thoroughly enjoyed the second book, Hope Rises, Baldacci managed to bring the story together in a fast-paced, action packed ending. I felt that the first book (Nash Falls) lagged somewhat and was stretched out to pave the way for the second book. Hope Rises didn't disappoint and perhaps some readers may like two books to tell the story. Psychological thrillers are my genre of choice and Baldacci delivers! I am in awe of his character development and plot complexity. Highly Recommend!

For more info on David Baldacci  and to stay updated on future books. 

Review of Nash Falls - Book 1 of 2

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The Last Mandarin

 

Credit : Angela Tung; Minotaur Books

The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Melissa Fung. Minotaur Books, 2025. 400 pages. *****

This fast-paced, all-too-real thriller will keep you guessing until the very end. "Set in China and the United States, it is a study of absolute power and voracious greed, political terror and personal conviction. But it is also an intimate examination of choice, of sacrifice, of memory and myths, both cultural and personal. It is the story of a mother and daughter, as well as a compelling international thriller about the precarious balance of power across the world, and within a family. And what happens when both break down."

I received a netgalley copy to review. 

The premise of this story is so diabolical, fascinating, and frightening, all at the same time. What if all the alarms across the world went off at the same time? The planning and coordination to pull something like that off boggles the mind. What's next to get our attention and who has the resources and manpower to execute a catastrophe of epic proportions? The Last Mandarin is a standalone novel and the latest in her political thrillers. The research and planning that went into this novel is amazing. On a more personal note, it is also the story of the complicated relationship of a mother and her daughter racing against time to  stop the next attack. Highly recommend. 

From Louise - "Over countless lunches in noodle joints, Mellissa and I sketched out the plot, the characters, the themes. Then we got to work.  THE LAST MANDARIN will be in your hands on May 12th. As well, as a show of our love of independent bookstores, there is a limited edition we created just for independents in North America. It has a special chapter and a message from Mellissa and me. You can pre-order it from your favourite shop, or go online." 

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Nash Falls

 

Nash Falls (Walter Nash #1) by David Baldacci. Grand Central Publishing, 2025. 448 pages. ***

Walter Nash has it all. A highly successful position at Sybaritic Investments, a cheating wife and loving daughter. Estranged from his Vietnam- veteran father, he meets his father's friend and learns how he was viewed by his father and it unsettles his predictable, complacent life.

Approached by the FBI to provide evidence of a money laundering and drug selling enterprise, Nash becomes involved in international espionage. When his daughter is kidnapped and he is blamed, Nash agrees to be a man on the inside to bring down Victoria Speers, an international mastermind, and his boss, Rhett Temple. 

I am a fan of Baldacci books; however, this one dragged for me. The story line is continued in the second book, Hope Rises. Condensing the story into one book may not have provided the ability to introduce the many characters and the back stories, however, I am always impatient waiting for a story to be continued. Thankfully, I received Hope Rises to review, and it is excellent. As always, fantastic character development and still he incorporates his usual twists and turns to keep you guessing. 

 I had the pleasure of seeing David Baldacci interviewed by Lisa Scottoline in Lancaster, PA. What a fun evening! As an author and friend Lisa was able to ask probing and entertaining questions. 

David and Michelle Baldacci have created "Wishing You Well Foundation" to combat illiteracy in America. He spoke passionately about man's humanity and promoting civil discourse. 

For more info on Baldacci, click here

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Shibby Magee

 

Shibby Magee by Carrie Kabak. Cobyn, 2026. ****

Synopsis from the author - "When their mother, Vera Coffey, disappears after announcing she's a Traveller/Mincéir, Shibby and her twin sister, Dorah, are abandoned to a settled family already cracking at the seams. Under the iron rule of their viciously prejudiced grandmother, the two girls grow up on opposite tracks: Dorah, arrogant and bold; Shibby, bruised and quietly resilient.

As Shibby stumbles into adulthood, she's drawn to men who either abuse or dump her. She finds fleeting stability in the fast-paced chaos of a restaurant kitchen—but a question gnaws at her: is her future in the rooted life of the settled or on the open road to God only knows where? With the fierce support of a chosen few—Alice Duffy, housekeeper turned surrogate mother; Moochie de Barra, an affectionate stand-in for an emotionally absent father; and Kitty Dooley, a Traveller whose loyalty never wavers—Shibby begins to uncover hard truths about identity, family, and what she desperately needs to find where she truly belongs."

Billed as a tragicomedy, I loved this book!  Reading it stirred memories of my Irish Great-Grandmother and Godfather, the language, the sayings and the family situations. Shibby longs for her mother's love and doesn't understand how she could abandon her twin daughters. This is a story of loss, love, and families. Nanna Magee is all about appearances and holding her head high among the Parish Ladies even if her daughter-in-law is a Traveller. The reader is transported to another time and place, and it's easy to get lost in Shibby's story. I have been to Ireland and Kabak has captured the uniqueness of the Emerald Isle in her characters and dialog.  Fans of Claire Keegan will especially enjoy this book!

Irish recipes from Carrie Kabak - https://carriekabak.wixsite.com/home/copy-of-shibby-magee

Info on Irish Traveler's - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Travellers

https://phmuseum.com/projects/the-irish-travelers

I received a copy for a review.

From her website - Published by Penguin Random House, Carrie Kabak's novel, COVER THE BUTTER, was an Independent Booksellers' Pick, won an Audiofile Magazine award, and was nominated for a Quills Award. Her essays appear in FOR KEEPS and HE SAID WHAT? (Seal Press), EXIT LAUGHING (North Atlantic Books), FAITH (Simon and Schuster), and DUMPED (She Writes). Carrie's latest novels, SHIBBY MAGEE and EVERY MOLE AND FRECKLE, will be released in spring and fall 2026, and MALI MORGAN'S SUMMER in spring 2027. Carrie's a regular online visitor at a UCLA Personal Essay course, where she discusses the art of essay writing. ​For more info - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/488321.Carrie_Kabak

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