Release Date: May 4th, 2021

Genre(s): Young Adult, Science Fiction, Mystery, Dystopian

Publisher: Roaring Brook

Pages: 384

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to Fierce Reads and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis

The Ones We’re Meant to Find follows Cee, who awoke on an abandoned island three years ago with nothing but a rickety house, an old android, and a single memory of her sister who she needs to find. Meanwhile, STEM prodigy Kasey lives in an eco-city, Earth’s last unpolluted city, which was originally only meant for those committed to protecting the planet. She has to decide if she’s ready to use science to humanity, even though it’s already failed the people that mattered the most.

Review

Although The Ones We’re Meant to Find was on my list of anticipated books for 2021, I tried to not read too much about it past the synopsis. This book is often described with multiple genres, including sci-fi, dystopian, and mystery, and I think a combination like that is best read going into it with little information. That being said, this book was not what I expected – in a good way! Despite the synopsis discussing the setting of an eco-city, I wasn’t expecting such a heavy prevalence of technology. Starting off this book with bots like U-me was a pleasant surprise! (I really like robots.) 

I also really liked the integration of these technologies and the relationship to the environment at present. Especially in Kasey’s perspective, we see a dystopian future where the world’s carelessness towards caring for the environment carries a heavy impact. But despite the damage they’ve done and the lives they now live, their own convenience still takes precedence. I found this to be a major eye-opener to our behavior in relation to the planet and I thought this book explored this concept so well. 

And while many parts of The Ones We’re Meant to Find are very thought-provoking, the second half of this book was an absolute page-turner. There’s a major twist revealed around the halfway mark that I never would have anticipated, and I’d say I’m pretty good at predicting things? The pace completely changes at this point, and at such a speed that I did find it a bit unsettling myself. This also led to a continuation of what we know about the characters and the world to keep being explained far into the second half through the end, which is not something that I’m personally used to. But while I did feel unsure on this, this part of the book was so much harder to put down. 

All in all, The Ones We’re Meant to Find is an anticipated release I’m glad to have read. I’d recommend this book to those that like sci-fi and dystopian standalones, and especially to those that want to explore the impacts of convenience and consumerism on the environment. I would just keep the pacing in mind if that’s something you’re particular about! 

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