Hey, it's Ampier's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. I remember absolutely blazing through Celeste

Ink's 2017 book Little Fires Everywhere. We'd gotten a copy of the paperback at the office and I started it

on the train ride home. I think I was done with it by my commute the next morning. It was that

engrossing and tense and empathetic.

And, I mean, come on, it had the Reese Witherspoon Book Club seal of approval.

How could it not be a banger?

Anyway, her new book, Our Missing Hearts, seems likely to be equally revered, judging by some of the reviews.

It's a bit of a bigger story than Little Fires, taking place in a dystopian

world that, unfortunately, doesn't feel dissimilar from our current reality.

Ayn talked to NPR's Aisha Roscoe about connecting all the messed up stuff that happens in her books

to actual things that happen in the world today and why it all feels very personal for her.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Celeste In's new novel opens with a preteen boy and a sense of foreboding.

A law, the preserving American culture and traditions act or

pact, looms over everything. The letter arrives on a Friday. Slit and resealed with a sticker,

of course, as all their letters are. Inpected for your safety, packed. It had caused confusion

at the post office, the clerk unfolding the paper inside,

studying it, passing it up to his supervisor, then the boss. But eventually, it had been deemed

harmless and sent on its way. No return address, only in New York, New York Postmark six days

...