What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedOur Missing Hearts
Celeste Ng · Book
If you loved Our Missing Hearts, start with Passenger List (Passenger List and Radiotopia, 2025) — a podcast on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Our Missing Hearts across media.
What hooked you in Our Missing Hearts was the way the high-stakes struggle against systemic injustice remains deeply rooted in the ache of a fractured parent-child bond.
Films on the same thread
Searching
Aneesh Chaganty · Film · 2018
Explores: Parent-child relationship, Digital footprint, Social media.
Much like the desperate search in Our Missing Hearts, this thriller anchors its high-tech investigation in the raw, personal panic of a parent trying to bridge the distance to their child.
Changeling
Clint Eastwood · Film · 2008
Explores: Police Corruption, Institutional Abuse, Single Motherhood.
If the institutional cruelty in Our Missing Hearts felt haunting, you will connect with this fight against corrupt systems that prioritize their own power over the safety of a grieving mother.
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Olivia Newman · Film · 2026
Explores: Grief and healing, Intergenerational friendship, Hidden secrets.
While lighter in tone than Our Missing Hearts, this story echoes the same profound need for connection across generations, proving that healing is possible even when life is defined by hidden secrets.
Past Lives
Celine Song · Film · 2023
Explores: Reconnection, Missed Connections, Fate vs. Free Will.
The quiet, melancholic exploration of choices and destiny in this film mirrors the internal journey of the characters in Our Missing Hearts as they reconcile their past lives with current realities.
Series on the same thread
All Her Fault
Megan Gallagher · Series · 2025
Explores: Missing Child, Parental Fears, Suburban Secrets.
This domestic thriller captures the same suffocating parental anxiety found in Our Missing Hearts, focusing on how quickly a stable life unravels when a child disappears into an opaque, dangerous world.
The Last of Us
Neil Druckmann · Series · 2023
Explores: Survival, Found Family, Moral Ambiguity.
The bond between Joel and Ellie mirrors the protective, desperate love in Our Missing Hearts, set against a crumbling, authoritarian landscape where survival requires both violence and immense, quiet tenderness.
His Dark Materials
Jack Thorne · Series · 2019
Explores: Orphan Protagonist, Moral Ambiguity, Interdimensional Travel.
The struggle against an oppressive, controlling institution to save a loved one will resonate with those who admired the defiant, quest-driven narrative at the heart of Our Missing Hearts.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
Sarah Lambert · Series · 2023
Explores: Intergenerational Trauma, Family Secrets, Grief and Loss.
This drama explores the long shadow of intergenerational trauma and family secrets, reflecting the way Our Missing Hearts examines how the past dictates the survival of the next generation.
Podcasts on the same thread
Passenger List
Passenger List and Radiotopia · Podcast · 2025
Kaitlin’s relentless hunt for her missing brother evokes the same singular, driven focus that defines Bird’s journey in Our Missing Hearts as he attempts to uncover a truth hidden by powerful forces.
The Birth Keepers | The Guardian Investigates
Podcast
Explores: online radicalization, influencer culture, maternal health.
This investigation into how misinformation radicalizes communities mirrors the chilling social commentary in Our Missing Hearts, highlighting how easily public narratives can be weaponized against vulnerable families and maternal health.
Keep exploring
Common questions
How long is the audiobook version of Our Missing Hearts?
The unabridged audiobook version of Our Missing Hearts has a total runtime of nine hours and fifty-two minutes. This recording is narrated by Lucy Liu, providing a complete listening experience of Celeste Ng's novel.
Who is the narrator for the Our Missing Hearts audiobook?
The audiobook edition of Our Missing Hearts is narrated by Lucy Liu. The recording covers the entire story of twelve-year-old Bird Gardner as he searches for his mother, a poet whose work he was previously taught to disavow.
Is the Our Missing Hearts audiobook an unabridged recording?
Yes, the audiobook version of Our Missing Hearts is an unabridged recording. It features a total listening time of nine hours and fifty-two minutes and is narrated by Lucy Liu, covering the full narrative of Bird Gardner's journey.
What is the premise of Our Missing Hearts?
Our Missing Hearts follows twelve-year-old Bird Gardner on a quest to find his mother. She is a Chinese American poet whose literary work Bird was previously taught to disavow. The story explores his journey to reconnect with her despite the societal pressures he faces.