Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

This is a near future dystopian novel that rings very close to true, in that while we are not quite there yet, this doesn't sound impossible any more. The hero of this novel is Noah Gardner, whose mother called him Bird--he leaves home in search of his missing mother, and he endures trials and perform feats, just like any classical hero but he is set apart from the usual hero because his journey is rooted in books and libraries. Bird’s mother, Margaret Miu, a daughter of Chinese immigrants, is a poet of some stature whose career ended when the United States took a turn into hard xenophobia and passed PACT. The Preserving of American Cultures and Traditions Act encourages bigotry against many groups, particularly Asian Americans, partly in response to China’s increasingly powerful role in the global economy. After Margaret’s disappearance, Bird’s father loses his prestigious position as a linguistics professor. Given a low-level archives job, he must move with his son to a tiny apartment where they face each day with grim resignation. Bird finds clues that he attaches to his mother that begin to constitute a treasure map, leading him on a journey. It is a cautionary tale, and well written at that.