The Leavers (National Book Award Finalist): A Novel

I've been trying to think about how to write this review as I got towards the end of the book, and I still don't quite know what I want to say. I was really interested in the topic of the book, both because the main characters are Chinese, and because I was adopted (though I was also adopted by Chinese parents).

I found the clash of cultures that Deming experiences and his feelings of being directionless and unsure of where he belongs extremely i...read more

It took me a long time to get into this book, but the last half made it worthwhile. The story of a young Chinese woman and her son, trying to make their way in a complicated world. On the one hand, this story unveils the sinister secrets about US immigration, and on the other, the inner turmoil of coming of age when you don't feel a part of anything, anyplace. The story is told mostly through the voice of Deming/Daniel, but occasionally in the ...read more

Worth reading. It is the story of an undocumented woman and her child from China. One day the woman disappears but her whereabouts are unknown. Her child is eventually adopted by a well meaning white couple. The story explains the disappearance and the ultimate reunification, explores the instability and scars left by the uncertainty of surviving without legal status in the US.

When he is 11 years old, Deming's mother goes to work one day, and never returns. Deming is soon put into foster care and then adopted. We meet Deming again 10 years later, and struggling with an identity crisis. Does he want to try to be the academic his academic adoptive parents want him to be, or does he want to follow his own love of music and try to make it as a musician? Ko is more than a little heavy-handed in making the reader underst...read more

Quote 🗨️ : “It was a funny thing, forgiveness. You could spend years being angry with someone and then realize you no longer felt the same, that your usual mode of thinking had slipped away when you weren’t noticing.” Liked ✅ - Highly relatable (foster care) - Generational parallels - Mother/Son plotline - Finding where you belong - Cultural differences - Reminded me to check my privilege Didn't Like ❌ - Felt like a longer read More in dep...read more