Celeste Ng’s third novel, Our Missing Hearts, tells a story that may not feel as speculative as we might wish: When an economic crisis hits the United States, fear and racism poison society, and people look for a scapegoat. Books by and about Asian Americans are banned, mail at the post office is read by the government, and hate crimes against Asian Americans are ignored and even encouraged. Ng talked with American Libraries about the novel, which calls to mind the not-so-distant past—and the anti–Asian American hate we are seeing today.