35 Books like Our Missing Hearts

Sky Full of Elephants

by Cebo Campbell

White America vanished. A Black ex-con crosses the ruins toward the daughter he never knew he had.

3.84

16k+

🚀 Afrofuturist Fiction 🤝 Biracial Identity ⚖️ Racial Reckoning 👑 Ancestral Connection 💫 Collective Healing

Sky Full of Elephants 90%

White America vanished. A Black ex-con crosses the ruins toward the daughter he never knew he had.

by Cebo Campbell 2024

3.84

16k+ ratings

🚀 Afrofuturist Fiction 🤝 Biracial Identity ⚖️ Racial Reckoning 👑 Ancestral Connection 💫 Collective Healing

The School for Good Mothers

by Jessamine Chan • 2022

Frida Liu's custody depends on convincing a doll and the cameras that she's a fit mother.

3.53

128k+

🤖 Dystopian Motherhood 📹 Surveillance State 🏫 Institutional Setting ⚖️ Motherhood On Trial 👩‍👩‍👧 Solidarity Among Women

The School for Good Mothers 93%

Frida Liu's custody depends on convincing a doll and the cameras that she's a fit mother.

by Jessamine Chan 2022

3.53

128k+ ratings

🤖 Dystopian Motherhood 📹 Surveillance State 🏫 Institutional Setting ⚖️ Motherhood On Trial 👩‍👩‍👧 Solidarity Among Women

On Such a Full Sea

by Chang-rae Lee • 2014

When her boyfriend vanishes, a diver abandons her walled settlement for the dangerous open counties.

3.49

12k+

🏙️ Literary Dystopia 🏚️ Post-Collapse Society 🌏 Asian Diaspora ⚒️ Labor And Privilege 👀 Outsider In Elite World

On Such a Full Sea 93%

When her boyfriend vanishes, a diver abandons her walled settlement for the dangerous open counties.

by Chang-rae Lee 2014

3.49

12k+ ratings

🏙️ Literary Dystopia 🏚️ Post-Collapse Society 🌏 Asian Diaspora ⚒️ Labor And Privilege 👀 Outsider In Elite World

Gliff

by Ali Smith • 2024

Branded disposable, two siblings hide in an abandoned school where a horse becomes their rebellion.

3.89

10k+

🏚️ Literary Dystopia 👫 Sibling Bond 🫂 Found Family 📡 Surveillance State 🐴 Horse Companion

Gliff 93%

Branded disposable, two siblings hide in an abandoned school where a horse becomes their rebellion.

by Ali Smith 2024

3.89

10k+ ratings

🏚️ Literary Dystopia 👫 Sibling Bond 🫂 Found Family 📡 Surveillance State 🐴 Horse Companion

The Farm

by Joanne Ramos • 2019

At a luxury surrogacy retreat, a Filipina mother trades her body for her daughter's future.

3.49

41k+

🍼 Reproductive Dystopia 🌏 Immigrant Fiction 👥 Found Family 🤱 Maternal Sacrifice 💎 Wealth And Servitude

The Farm 93%

At a luxury surrogacy retreat, a Filipina mother trades her body for her daughter's future.

by Joanne Ramos 2019

3.49

41k+ ratings

🍼 Reproductive Dystopia 🌏 Immigrant Fiction 👥 Found Family 🤱 Maternal Sacrifice 💎 Wealth And Servitude

The Merge

by Grace Walker • 2025

To save her mother, a skeptic fuses their minds. The clinic's healing is a slow vanishing.

3.69

7k+

📖 Literary Dystopia 🏥 Medical Dystopia 🧩 Memory Manipulation 🫥 Identity Erasure 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond

The Merge 92%

To save her mother, a skeptic fuses their minds. The clinic's healing is a slow vanishing.

by Grace Walker 2025

3.69

7k+ ratings

📖 Literary Dystopia 🏥 Medical Dystopia 🧩 Memory Manipulation 🫥 Identity Erasure 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond

These Memories Do Not Belong to Us

by Yiming Ma • 2025

A son inherits his mother's forbidden memories in an empire where remembering is a crime.

3.43

4k+

🧠 Memory Dystopia 🇨🇳 Chinese Dystopia 🚫 Forbidden Memories ⚠️ Dangerous Inheritance 👁️ Surveillance State

These Memories Do Not Belong to Us Summary

These Memories Do Not Belong to Us 92%

A son inherits his mother's forbidden memories in an empire where remembering is a crime.

by Yiming Ma 2025

3.43

4k+ ratings

🧠 Memory Dystopia 🇨🇳 Chinese Dystopia 🚫 Forbidden Memories ⚠️ Dangerous Inheritance 👁️ Surveillance State

Prophet Song

by Paul Lynch • 2023

When secret police knock, a mother must protect her family from a collapsing Ireland.

4.03

87k+

🏛️ Political Dystopia 🛡️ Mother As Protector 💔 Family Separation 🎖️ Forced Conscription 🧳 Refugee Journey

Prophet Song 92%

When secret police knock, a mother must protect her family from a collapsing Ireland.

by Paul Lynch 2023

4.03

87k+ ratings

🏛️ Political Dystopia 🛡️ Mother As Protector 💔 Family Separation 🎖️ Forced Conscription 🧳 Refugee Journey

Nous

by Christelle Dabos • 2024

Without instinct in a society built on it, one girl's hidden absence becomes a spreading contagion.

4.02

2k+

🏙️ Dystopian Society 🎭 Hidden Identity 🫂 Found Family 🤝 Reluctant Allies 🌑 Existential Dread

Nous 92%

Without instinct in a society built on it, one girl's hidden absence becomes a spreading contagion.

by Christelle Dabos 2024

4.02

2k+ ratings

🏙️ Dystopian Society 🎭 Hidden Identity 🫂 Found Family 🤝 Reluctant Allies 🌑 Existential Dread

Hazards of Time Travel

by Joyce Carol Oates • 2018

A teenager's forbidden questions land her in 1959 Wisconsin, where one wrong memory means erasure.

2.98

8k+

📚 Literary Dystopia 🧠 Memory Erasure 👁️ Surveillance State 💔 Forbidden Love 🌧️ Melancholy Tone

Hazards of Time Travel 91%

A teenager's forbidden questions land her in 1959 Wisconsin, where one wrong memory means erasure.

by Joyce Carol Oates 2018

2.98

8k+ ratings

📚 Literary Dystopia 🧠 Memory Erasure 👁️ Surveillance State 💔 Forbidden Love 🌧️ Melancholy Tone

The Orphan Master's Son

by Adam Johnson • 2012

An orphan in North Korea steals a hero's identity and his wife, gambling everything on escape.

4.07

105k+

🏴 Totalitarian State 🎭 Assumed Identity 📢 State Propaganda 💔 Forbidden Love 🌫️ Bleak Atmosphere

The Orphan Master's Son 91%

An orphan in North Korea steals a hero's identity and his wife, gambling everything on escape.

by Adam Johnson 2012

4.07

105k+ ratings

🏴 Totalitarian State 🎭 Assumed Identity 📢 State Propaganda 💔 Forbidden Love 🌫️ Bleak Atmosphere

La hija de la española

by Karina Sainz Borgo • 2019

After burying her mother in lawless Caracas, a woman steals a dead neighbor's identity to escape.

3.72

9k+

🏚️ Societal Collapse 💔 Mother Loss 🎭 Identity Theft 😞 Survivor's Guilt 🌑 Bleak Atmosphere

La hija de la española 91%

After burying her mother in lawless Caracas, a woman steals a dead neighbor's identity to escape.

by Karina Sainz Borgo 2019

3.72

9k+ ratings

🏚️ Societal Collapse 💔 Mother Loss 🎭 Identity Theft 😞 Survivor's Guilt 🌑 Bleak Atmosphere

Vox

by Christina Dalcher • 2018

A linguist on a hundred-word daily limit must destroy the drug designed to make silence permanent.

3.55

92k+

🏙️ Near-Future Dystopia ✊ Feminist Dystopia ⛪ Theocratic Regime 🗣️ Speech As Rebellion 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Stakes

Vox 91%

A linguist on a hundred-word daily limit must destroy the drug designed to make silence permanent.

by Christina Dalcher 2018

3.55

92k+ ratings

🏙️ Near-Future Dystopia ✊ Feminist Dystopia ⛪ Theocratic Regime 🗣️ Speech As Rebellion 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Stakes

The Thinning

by Inga Simpson • 2024

An off-grid teen rescues an altered child, forcing her and her mother to flee near-future Australia.

3.56

942

🌍 Climate Fiction 📖 Literary Dystopia 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond 🧬 Engineered Children 🌿 Ecological Resistance

The Thinning 91%

An off-grid teen rescues an altered child, forcing her and her mother to flee near-future Australia.

by Inga Simpson 2024

3.56

942 ratings

🌍 Climate Fiction 📖 Literary Dystopia 👩‍👧 Mother-Daughter Bond 🧬 Engineered Children 🌿 Ecological Resistance

City Like Water

by Dorothy Tse • 2026

When his sister is erased, a man navigates a dissolving city where remembering becomes defiance.

3.82

374

🏙️ Surrealist Dystopia 🇭🇰 Contemporary Hong Kong 📚 Political Allegory 🔎 Missing Sister 🗂️ Cultural Erasure

City Like Water 91%

When his sister is erased, a man navigates a dissolving city where remembering becomes defiance.

by Dorothy Tse 2026

3.82

374 ratings

🏙️ Surrealist Dystopia 🇭🇰 Contemporary Hong Kong 📚 Political Allegory 🔎 Missing Sister 🗂️ Cultural Erasure

Parable of the Sower

by Octavia E. Butler • 1993

An empathic teen invents a faith of change and leads a band through a scorched California.

4.19

274k+

🌍 Afrofuturism 🌡️ Climate Dystopia 🫂 Found Family 🧭 Survival Journey 🤔 Philosophical Sf

Parable of the Sower 91%

An empathic teen invents a faith of change and leads a band through a scorched California.

by Octavia E. Butler 1993

4.19

274k+ ratings

🌍 Afrofuturism 🌡️ Climate Dystopia 🫂 Found Family 🧭 Survival Journey 🤔 Philosophical Sf

Julia

by Sandra Newman • 2023

A propaganda mechanic's secret affair is her only defiance in a state that owns every secret.

3.71

16k+

👩‍💼 Feminist Dystopia 📖 Literary Retelling 👁️ Surveillance State 🪨 Bleak Resilience 🔧 Practical Heroine

Julia 91%

A propaganda mechanic's secret affair is her only defiance in a state that owns every secret.

by Sandra Newman 2023

3.71

16k+ ratings

👩‍💼 Feminist Dystopia 📖 Literary Retelling 👁️ Surveillance State 🪨 Bleak Resilience 🔧 Practical Heroine

Severance

by Ling Ma • 2018

The fever traps victims in habit loops. Candace Chen, office worker, was already there.

3.88

134k+

🏢 Office Apocalypse 🧧 Immigrant Daughter 🌫️ Quiet Apocalypse 🔁 Routine As Trap 🦠 Pandemic Survival

Severance 91%

The fever traps victims in habit loops. Candace Chen, office worker, was already there.

by Ling Ma 2018

3.88

134k+ ratings

🏢 Office Apocalypse 🧧 Immigrant Daughter 🌫️ Quiet Apocalypse 🔁 Routine As Trap 🦠 Pandemic Survival

The Handmaid’s Tale

by Margaret Atwood • 1985

The Republic of Gilead took her name, her family, and her freedom. Now it demands her womb.

4.15

2.5M+

⛪ Theocratic Patriarchy 🤰 Reproductive Control 🕯️ Secret Defiance 😰 Claustrophobic Dread 👁️ Surveillance State

The Handmaid’s Tale 91%

The Republic of Gilead took her name, her family, and her freedom. Now it demands her womb.

by Margaret Atwood 1985

4.15

2.5M+ ratings

⛪ Theocratic Patriarchy 🤰 Reproductive Control 🕯️ Secret Defiance 😰 Claustrophobic Dread 👁️ Surveillance State

A Visit from the Goon Squad

by Jennifer Egan • 2010

A punk turned producer and his kleptomaniac assistant reckon with the thief that is time.

3.70

252k+

🕸️ Interconnected Stories 🔀 Nonlinear Narrative ⏳ Passage Of Time 🎸 Music Industry 🎶 Music And Memory

A Visit from the Goon Squad 90%

A punk turned producer and his kleptomaniac assistant reckon with the thief that is time.

by Jennifer Egan 2010

3.70

252k+ ratings

🕸️ Interconnected Stories 🔀 Nonlinear Narrative ⏳ Passage Of Time 🎸 Music Industry 🎶 Music And Memory

Red Clocks

by Leni Zumas • 2018

Four women in coastal Oregon defy laws that ban abortion, IVF, and soon single-parent adoption.

3.66

25k+

🩸 Reproductive Dystopia 🌊 Coastal Small Town 🔥 Witch Hunt Allegory 🌿 Herbal Healing 👧 Teen Pregnancy

Red Clocks 90%

Four women in coastal Oregon defy laws that ban abortion, IVF, and soon single-parent adoption.

by Leni Zumas 2018

3.66

25k+ ratings

🩸 Reproductive Dystopia 🌊 Coastal Small Town 🔥 Witch Hunt Allegory 🌿 Herbal Healing 👧 Teen Pregnancy

The Memory Police

by Yōko Ogawa • 1994

The Memory Police erase objects from the mind; a novelist hides a man who still remembers.

3.69

145k+

🕊️ Quiet Dystopia 🧠 Memory Erasure 🏠 Hidden Refuge ✍️ Writing As Resistance ☁️ Melancholy Atmosphere

The Memory Police 90%

The Memory Police erase objects from the mind; a novelist hides a man who still remembers.

by Yōko Ogawa 1994

3.69

145k+ ratings

🕊️ Quiet Dystopia 🧠 Memory Erasure 🏠 Hidden Refuge ✍️ Writing As Resistance ☁️ Melancholy Atmosphere

Real Americans

by Rachel Khong • 2024

Nick's DNA test reveals the father he never knew, whose genetic legacy upends his identity.

3.94

98k+

🏠 Multigenerational Saga 👤 Absent Father 🔒 Family Secrets 💰 Class Divide 🧬 Genetic Engineering

Real Americans 90%

Nick's DNA test reveals the father he never knew, whose genetic legacy upends his identity.

by Rachel Khong 2024

3.94

98k+ ratings

🏠 Multigenerational Saga 👤 Absent Father 🔒 Family Secrets 💰 Class Divide 🧬 Genetic Engineering

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel • 2014

A pandemic erases the world; a traveling Shakespeare troupe becomes what remains of human culture.

4.07

623k+

🖋️ Literary Dystopia 🌫️ Quiet Apocalypse 🕸️ Interconnected Lives 🛤️ Post-Apocalyptic Journey 🫂 Found Family

Station Eleven 90%

A pandemic erases the world; a traveling Shakespeare troupe becomes what remains of human culture.

by Emily St. John Mandel 2014

4.07

623k+ ratings

🖋️ Literary Dystopia 🌫️ Quiet Apocalypse 🕸️ Interconnected Lives 🛤️ Post-Apocalyptic Journey 🫂 Found Family

All That We See or Seem

by Ken Liu • 2025

A reclusive hacker hunts for a missing dream artist and uncovers an empire of stolen identity.

3.53

3k+

🖤 Tech Noir 💻 Hacker Protagonist 🫂 Found Family ⏳ Dual Timeline 🔍 Missing Person Case

All That We See or Seem 90%

A reclusive hacker hunts for a missing dream artist and uncovers an empire of stolen identity.

by Ken Liu 2025

3.53

3k+ ratings

🖤 Tech Noir 💻 Hacker Protagonist 🫂 Found Family ⏳ Dual Timeline 🔍 Missing Person Case

Luminous

by Silvia Park • 2025

A dying girl in Seoul rescues a robot boy who has already lived too many lives.

3.63

3k+

🤖 Robot Consciousness 🧠 Philosophical Sci-Fi 🫂 Found Family 🔗 Human-Robot Bond 💊 Chronic Illness

Luminous 90%

A dying girl in Seoul rescues a robot boy who has already lived too many lives.

by Silvia Park 2025

3.63

3k+ ratings

🤖 Robot Consciousness 🧠 Philosophical Sci-Fi 🫂 Found Family 🔗 Human-Robot Bond 💊 Chronic Illness

Hum

by Helen Phillips • 2024

A mother sells her face to AI for cash. Her children vanish into a watching city.

3.50

13k+

🤖 Near-Future Dystopia 👁️ Surveillance Society 🤱 Maternal Anxiety 😰 Child In Peril 📱 Viral Shaming

Hum 90%

A mother sells her face to AI for cash. Her children vanish into a watching city.

by Helen Phillips 2024

3.50

13k+ ratings

🤖 Near-Future Dystopia 👁️ Surveillance Society 🤱 Maternal Anxiety 😰 Child In Peril 📱 Viral Shaming

I Cheerfully Refuse

by Leif Enger • 2024

On a dying Lake Superior, a gentle musician and his bookseller wife shelter a desperate fugitive.

3.98

28k+

🕯️ Hopepunk Dystopia 🌍 Climate Fiction 📚 Books About Books 🫂 Found Family 🌅 Quiet Apocalypse

I Cheerfully Refuse 90%

On a dying Lake Superior, a gentle musician and his bookseller wife shelter a desperate fugitive.

by Leif Enger 2024

3.98

28k+ ratings

🕯️ Hopepunk Dystopia 🌍 Climate Fiction 📚 Books About Books 🫂 Found Family 🌅 Quiet Apocalypse

Radicalized

by Cory Doctorow • 2019

When her smart toaster bricks itself, a refugee discovers the whole building is a corporate jail.

4.03

8k+

🏙️ Near Future Dystopia 💻 Hacktivism 🧳 Refugee Resilience ✊ Youth-Led Resistance 🏢 Corporate Overreach

Radicalized 90%

When her smart toaster bricks itself, a refugee discovers the whole building is a corporate jail.

by Cory Doctorow 2019

4.03

8k+ ratings

🏙️ Near Future Dystopia 💻 Hacktivism 🧳 Refugee Resilience ✊ Youth-Led Resistance 🏢 Corporate Overreach

The Gender Game

by Bella Forrest • 2016

A female convict infiltrates a male-ruled nation on a heist mission, her cover a fake marriage.

3.87

43k+

🔀 Gendered Dystopia 💰 Heist Mission ❤️‍🔥 Enemies To Lovers 💍 Fake Marriage 😈 Morally Gray Heroine

The Gender Game 90%

A female convict infiltrates a male-ruled nation on a heist mission, her cover a fake marriage.

by Bella Forrest 2016

3.87

43k+ ratings

🔀 Gendered Dystopia 💰 Heist Mission ❤️‍🔥 Enemies To Lovers 💍 Fake Marriage 😈 Morally Gray Heroine

One of the Boys

by Jayne Cowie • 2023

A test predicts violent boys. Two sisters make opposite choices, and their sons are the casualties.

3.85

1k+

🧬 Genetic Dystopia 🏠 Domestic Thriller 👭 Sibling Rivalry 🔒 Family Secrets 😟 Maternal Fear

One of the Boys 90%

A test predicts violent boys. Two sisters make opposite choices, and their sons are the casualties.

by Jayne Cowie 2023

3.85

1k+ ratings

🧬 Genetic Dystopia 🏠 Domestic Thriller 👭 Sibling Rivalry 🔒 Family Secrets 😟 Maternal Fear

Ripe

by Sarah Rose Etter • 2023

Her only constant is a black hole. At a Silicon Valley startup, it begins to feed.

3.58

34k+

🖥️ Tech Dystopia 🏢 Corporate Alienation 👩‍👧 Mother Daughter Trauma 🩺 Bodily Autonomy 💼 Toxic Workplace

Ripe 90%

Her only constant is a black hole. At a Silicon Valley startup, it begins to feed.

by Sarah Rose Etter 2023

3.58

34k+ ratings

🖥️ Tech Dystopia 🏢 Corporate Alienation 👩‍👧 Mother Daughter Trauma 🩺 Bodily Autonomy 💼 Toxic Workplace

Vera, or Faith

by Gary Shteyngart • 2025

A ten-year-old spies on her father and uncovers a secret more dangerous than her parents' divorce.

3.87

9k+

🎭 Political Satire 🇺🇸 Near Future America 🧠 Precocious Narrator 🔍 Search For Origins 🔒 Family Secrets

Vera, or Faith 90%

A ten-year-old spies on her father and uncovers a secret more dangerous than her parents' divorce.

by Gary Shteyngart 2025

3.87

9k+ ratings

🎭 Political Satire 🇺🇸 Near Future America 🧠 Precocious Narrator 🔍 Search For Origins 🔒 Family Secrets

Void Star

by Zachary Mason • 2017

A translator's perfect memory makes her a target in a near-future city of favelas and rogue AI.

3.67

3k+

🌃 Literary Cyberpunk 🌆 Near-Future Dystopia 💾 Commodified Memory 🤖 AI Consciousness 👾 Rogue AI

Void Star 90%

A translator's perfect memory makes her a target in a near-future city of favelas and rogue AI.

by Zachary Mason 2017

3.67

3k+ ratings

🌃 Literary Cyberpunk 🌆 Near-Future Dystopia 💾 Commodified Memory 🤖 AI Consciousness 👾 Rogue AI

Archetype

by M.D. Waters • 2014

She wakes with no past, a stranger for a husband, and dreams of a rebel's life.

3.78

4k+

🧬 Clone Identity Crisis 💭 Manufactured Memories 🪙 Women As Commodities 💉 Medical Experimentation ⚔️ Rebel Fighter Heroine

Archetype 90%

She wakes with no past, a stranger for a husband, and dreams of a rebel's life.

by M.D. Waters 2014

3.78

4k+ ratings

🧬 Clone Identity Crisis 💭 Manufactured Memories 🪙 Women As Commodities 💉 Medical Experimentation ⚔️ Rebel Fighter Heroine

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