The Leavers (National Book Award Finalist) - A Novel

I wish I could get back the time I wasted reading this book but I kept going on and on hoping that it would turn into something interesting. Unfortunately he didn’t. I’m sorry but I did not find this book at all interesting or anything worth holding my curiosity. I thought it would be more about refugees and how they fared in foreign countries etc. but just didn’t seem to do that.

THE LEAVERS is at first a story of immigration/deportation, social justice, adoption, but it is so much more: it's about heart, family, culture, and dare I say: required reading.

It's hard to believe Lisa Ko's THE LEAVERS is a debut. It's eloquently crafted, well-researched, and absolutely beautifully executed. Honestly, there's so much to it--deep stuff--that I'm not even sure where to begin.

Timely, topical...and oh, so emotionally rich, it's really hard to categorize this book--but ultimately, it's darn good fiction with well-developed, fully dimensional characters; I loved every one of them and for different reasons.

The summary: Deming Guo's mother, Polly (Peilan), an undocumented Chinese immigrant, fails to come home from work (a nail salon) one day, and he's left on his own. He's eleven. (On a personal note, I have 10 and 12 year old daughters--I couldn't imagine!). He's in limbo for awhile while family friends decide what's best for him. Deming is eventually adopted (first fostered) by 'older' American (white) professors at a local college, Kay and Peter Wilkinson. They change his name to Daniel. They give him an all-American life. They love him. But Deming/Daniel struggles to accept his new life. What happened to his mother? And why does he feel so out-of-place?

Told in sections, traversing NYC and China, from the POV of both Deming/Daniel and Peilan/Polly, we learn just what happened to his mother and a bit about why (though it's still pretty unfair and ambiguous). The part about what happened to Peilan/Polly doesn't really emerge until later in the story, so don't expect this to come up front.

While THE LEAVERS was inspired by recent, real-life stories of undocumented immigrant women whose U.S.-born children were taken away from them and adopted by American family, this story is fiction...but there are so many truths within these pages. It's a tough read. It's hard to fathom things like this are still going on. It's all a bit heart-breaking.

Music lovers, you'll rejoice in the music world Deming/Daniel clings to, a way to identify himself...a sort of universal melding of life and experience.

THE LEAVERS is truly a book for everyone: mothers, children, adoptive parents...and most of all, the human spirit. It's about finding oneself, reinvention, doing what's right and adhering to expectations.

A few 'comps' come to mind, though they are not identical reading in form or style...but *similar*: Jodi Picoult's SMALL GREAT THINGS (Fall, 2016), and also A NARROW BRIDGE(J.J. Gesher, Prospect Park Books, Feb 2017).

I don't know what all the rave reviews are about with this book. I could only stand about 25% of it on my Kindle, and found even just that much boring. It was hard to engage with any of the characters. The relationship between the characters is hard to pick up on, and the timeline hard to follow. I got really tired of all the references to a kind of music that not everybody cares about., and the part I did read seemed to go on and on ad nauseam about it. I didn't even want to give this one star, but it deserves at least half a star for at least getting published. Disappointed, and wish I had spent the money on something more enjoyable.

I received The Leavers complimentary through Goodreads. It is a novel about people who are leaving. These people leave by choice sometimes but others are forced to leave.
It is a story about immigration, poverty, foster care, adoption, deportation, and child rearing. It provides insight how a Chinese child (the protagonist) goes through the foster care system and adoption. It deals with the child not knowing what happens to his biological mother and missing her tremendously. He has to adapt to his adoptive parents. The angst he feels in trying to please his adoptive parents and the conflict he feels in having his name “Americanized” (from Deming to Daniel).
This story also describes life for Deming’s mother who is deported after his place of employment is raided. Her story tugs at your heart strings.
The book is a little slow in developing but is a moving story once the characters are developed. It provides insight into the challenges of immigration especially for the children born in the US. I recommend everyone read this book. Once it draws you in, you will root for Daniel (Deming) to the very end. I was fortunate to receive The Leavers through Goodreads’ Giveaways.

*****Contains Spoilers***** I am really torn on this book, I like the fact it exposes some of the dark sides of immigration, that was a strong part of the book. The mother and protagonist Pelian /Polly always leaving without solid reasons was difficult to root for, the downside of the novel. The story is invigorating and very readable despite the tense changes and person perspectives. But it feels like the book is over blown, yet you will want to keep reading. That is the torn issue. Pelian first leaves China to come to New York, she faces the hardships of being an "illegal "immigrant and thus can't seek proper employment that would provide a decent paycheck and perhaps a chance . She makes the difficult decision to send her recent born son Deming back to China to stay with her father, until he is old enough to begin school. It was too difficult to try and raise a child in New York and work in sweatshops. She sends for Deming to return to NYC when he is six years old. He falls in love with NY and things are going ok, although he is not a very good student but otherwise a good obedient child.

Pelian has upgraded her work to a nail salon (a glorified sweat shop) by the time Deming is ten and speaks of wanting to go Florida to carve out a better existence. She goes to the shop one day and never returns. Deming ends up being adopted by an upstate white couple who change his name to Daniel and readers are left wondering what happened? The adoption is not a utopia and doesn't turn Daniel into a success, great decision by author Lisa Ko to avoid that popular trope. Why did she walk out on her son? Turns out she was placed in an immigration camp after a raid at the nail salon. The fact that her then boyfriend and his sister never bothered to look deeply into her disappearance is disappointing but necessary to keep readers engaged. Daniel has trouble finding his purpose and longs to reconnect with his mother. He eventually travels to China to reconnect with his Mom after a ten year absence and the circumstances of her "leaving "are fleshed out in conversation with Daniel. But it is written more like Pelian is talking to the reader about the exchanges with Daniel. Interesting. I am between 3 and 4 stars, so let's settle on 3.5. Not your typical novel with a linear direct storyline, be prepared for the challenge when you start this book, but the gauntlet of the circular novel usually makes for interesting reading and this one is no exception.

I too often find that books that win major literary awards are not worth reading as they tend to focus on form over story.

That is not the case with Lisa Ko's <em>The Leavers</em>.

Deming Guo, later named Daniel Wilkinson, is searching for his mother. Polly Guo was an undocumented Chinese immigrant who left for work one day at a nail salon and never came back. This book is the story of Deming searching for his birth mother. Despite a good upbringing, he is steadfast in his belief that something must have happened to her - that she wouldn't have simply walked out on him. And it is the story of Polly - her own upbringing, pregnancy, and resolve that her son will have the best she can possibly give him and the later lesson to live with her own mistakes.

The book takes place in both China and New York and author Ko manages to make both of these places a familiar home and a strange land at the same time.

What draws us into this book are the characters - specifically Polly - and Ko's writing. The story is told so simply and so straight-forward that we believe we truly are listening to Polly telling us of her early life in China, and of Deming's life as an 'all-American'. And because we feel a connection to these characters, we sympathize and empathize with them (Polly never asks for sympathy - she's a strong woman and determined and when things go wrong for her, we [and she] believe that she will turn things around).

This is not a world that I would ever understand - not being a mother, not being an immigrant, not being of Asian descent - and yet Ko pulls me into the story in such a way that I do feel as though I understand it. And once there, how can I not be moved by what I understand?

This voice of Ko's reminds me of my early readings of Anne Tyler. In a very similar way, I entered the books as an outsider but left feeling as though I knew the characters extremely well.

This was an enjoyable and recommended read.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Leavers</em> by Lisa Ko is a story of strength, loss, and family and well worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Ko’s debut novel, THE LEAVERS, was selected by Barbara Kingsolver as the most recent winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize, founded by Kingsolver to award fiction that addresses “issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships.” It’s hard to imagine a more suitable choice than THE LEAVERS, which --- using effective literary techniques and beautiful language --- powerfully illustrates the impact that social policies and injustice have on the lives of individuals and families.

THE LEAVERS opens the day before 11-year-old Deming Guo sees his mother, Polly, for the last time. Polly, a manicurist at a Bronx nail salon, has lived in New York City since months before Deming’s birth. Deming, who was born in the United States and is consequently a U.S. citizen, spent much of his early childhood with Polly’s father in the Chinese city of Fuzhou. Like many undocumented Chinese immigrants, Polly was in thrall to the loan sharks who paid her way to the U.S., and she quickly found that she couldn’t care for a young child and also work enough hours to pay off her monumental debt.

But now the two are back together again, and things seem good, at least to Deming. He likes his mother’s boyfriend, Leon, and even if their apartment is crowded, he enjoys his friendship with Leon’s nephew, Michael, and his mother, Vivian. So when Polly fails to come home from work one day, everyone is mystified, especially Deming.

Fast forward 10 years, and Deming is now known as Daniel Wilkinson. Months after his mother’s disappearance, he was put in foster care with two professors in a college town in upstate New York. The only Asian kid in this lily-white small town, Daniel never really felt like he belonged, and after a series of bad decisions (largely spurred by a gambling addiction), he now finds himself a college dropout, back in New York, playing music with his childhood friend, Roland. He hasn’t seen Vivian, Leon, Michael or his mother in a decade, but that doesn’t mean he’s stopped thinking about them. So when he’s unexpectedly contacted by Michael just when his self-doubt is peaking, he’s not sure what to do. Does he pretend that that part of his life is over? Or does he seek out answers that he might not actually want to find?

Near the end of THE LEAVERS, Polly (who narrates significant sections in the novel’s second half, episodes revealing why she came to the U.S. and why she left Deming) wonders whether it might not be harder to figure out how to stay in one place than how to leave it. Her whole adult life, after all, has been one of upheaval and relocation, of migration and reinvention, one that her now-adult son, Daniel, has knowingly or unknowingly adopted as well. The two of them are both groundless, aimless --- and even though, near the end of the book, Polly seems outwardly stable and Daniel anything but, the two are still far from anything resembling stasis or even stability.

Exploring such topics as nature vs. nurture, language and identity, loneliness and belonging, THE LEAVERS is a novel that puts human faces on issues whose public debate too often remains abstract and theoretical.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl

This book presents the case against interracial or international adoptions. It is a convincing position.
The author reinforces her position by presenting Kay and Peter as dummies. Their initial mistake is a bad one -- changing Deming's name. (I am surprised Foster Care Services permitted this.) After that their mistakes are reading books in bed, wearing light colors, fumbling Chinese cooking and language, not having local friends. I think they get a bum deal.

In Lisa Ko's The Leavers, Deming Guo doesn't need any help to know where he came from. Born in the United States to Polly Guo, who had herself smuggled to America to escape a dead-end life in China, Deming was actually sent back to his mother's home village for a few years to live with his grandfather while Polly worked endlessly to try to make some headway on her debts to the loan sharks that got her to New York City in the first place. When we meet Deming, he's in elementary school, living with his mother, her boyfriend, the boyfriend's sister, and her son, Michael, who's about the same age as Deming himself. Then, suddenly, after Polly starts talking about maybe moving to Florida for a job in a restaurant instead of the crushing grind of the nail salon she's been working in for years, she disappears. Already economically strapped, Polly's boyfriend and his sister can't afford to keep Deming with them for long, and he's soon adopted by a pair of white upstate professors, where his new parents dub him "Daniel", ostensibly to help him get along easier in the overwhelmingly white town he finds himself in.

We next catch up with Daniel in his early 20s, back in NYC and doing musician gigs after he dropped out of college because of an online poker problem. He's crashing with his bandmate, Roland, the only other person of color that he went to school with, and trying to figure out how to avoid going back to school like his parents want him to. He's never found out what happened to his mother, but after a chance reconnection with Michael, his curiosity is reawakened. As he starts to pursue the issue, the perspective changes and we get Polly's story...how and why she came to have Deming, how and why she came to America, and what actually did happen when she disappeared.

I never DNF (do not finish) books, but if I did, I would have dropped this one after about the first 50 or so pages. While the way his childhood played out would give anyone emotional scars, Daniel himself is not an enjoyable character to spend time with. He's whiny, he steals money from his friends, he's a coward. I really did not enjoy reading about him. But when the story switched to his mother, the book took off. Polly is a dynamic, interesting character who practically springs off the page, and her story is easy to get emotionally invested in. I wish Ko had either started with more of Polly or just made her the primary focus of the book overall...starting with Daniel seems like asking to lose a decent chunk of your audience straight out the gate.

And to miss this book entirely would be a shame. Although it's uneven, there's really solid stuff here. Like I said, Polly's story is a great one: she's a fantastic character and her struggles to make it are compelling. Ko also had me cringing in recognition at the way she painted Daniel's adoptive parents and their friends, who adopted a baby girl from China...the self-satisfied pats on their own backs for helping their children "connect with their culture" through food and dance classes, the way Deming is renamed like he's a puppy they picked up at the pound instead of a person. By the end, Ko has developed Daniel into a more understandable character and I came around to appreciating the book, but it really makes you slog through some bad (not even just like challenging, but bad) content to get there.

The leavers by Lisa Ko is ultimately a story of love, loss and finding yourself when you feel that you don’t fit in.

At ten-years-old, Deming Guo has already had an eventful life. His mother Peilan (Polly) Guo was an immigrant from China to the USA, arriving whilst pregnant with Deming. Unable to support him he was sent to live with her father back in China until the age of six when his Grandfather died. He then returned to New York to live with his mum, her boyfriend Leon, Leon’s sister Vivian and her son Michael.

One afternoon Polly goes out to work and never returns home. Soon afterwards Leon takes off to China, leaving Deming in the care of his sister. When that becomes too much for her, she goes to the authorities where Deming is put into care and eventually adopted by white, rich couple Kay and Peter who are both professors.

He is brought up as an American and even his Chinese name is changed from Deming Guo to Daniel Wilkerson. This leaves Deming/Daniel growing up with mixed emotions. He never feels that he fits in anywhere and always feels at a loss. He lost his mum and then he lost his Chinese heritage.

Told from alternative viewpoints, from Peilan/Polly and Deming/Daniel, and back and forth in time. We follow Deming/Daniel as he grows up from a young boy into a man surrounded by mystery, and a hole in his heart that occurred the day his mother left. He has always wanted to know what happened to her, but growing up no-one knew. He also lost his Chinese heritage being brought up by white, rich family who wanted him to be just like other young American boys.

This is a tale of one young man trying to find himself, not only on the inside but the outside too. Who is Deming/Daniel really?

The book is exceptionally thought-provoking and had me interested in the lives of Peilan and Deming. I was intrigued as to where Lisa Ko was going to take her story.

The plot is emotional and all the characters had lots of depth to them. I enjoyed spending time and getting to know them all. I was rooting for Deming, this young lad who had been through so much in his life, I’m not surprised he was mixed up.

The book is touching and so poignant. It is powerful and original too. All the little details are expertly woven together to make this a wonderful novel. It certainly made me stop and think about life.

Book Reviewed on Whispering Stories Book Blog
*I received a free copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed

Lisa’s Ko’s wonderful debut novel offers the reader a powerful exploration of the theme of identity. Through the often-heart-rending story of Deming and his mother, Polly, Ko focuses on the plight of illegal immigrants and compels the reader to reconsider these issues. It’s difficult to believe that there could be a novel more relevant to our world today.
The story is told in four parts, the first from the perspective of the 11-year-old Deming, living with his mother in the Bronx. They share a shabby apartment with Polly’s boyfriend, Leon, his sister Vivian and her son, Michael. Deming is in search of an identity from the start of the novel, for he has already been shunted about like a parcel – born in New York but, as an infant, sent back to Polly’s childhood village, Minjiang, to live with her father, to enable Polly to work.

When the old man dies, Deming is handed over to a relative and returned to his mother in New York. No sooner does he begin to find his feet in this multi-racial, ghetto-like community (gravitating towards trouble – the identity he seems to be forging is one as “badass Deming”) – than his mother disappears. She goes out to work at the nail salon and doesn’t return and no one has any idea where she has gone. Vivian, unable to cope, takes Deming to Child Services and he is fostered and finally adopted by a middle-class white American couple, Kay and Peter Wilkinson.

Ko’s depiction of Deming’s adoptive parents and her exploration of mixed-race adoption is, I think, masterful. She never ridicules their attempts – we are left in no doubt that the liberal, do-gooding pair of college professors intend nothing but the best for Deming, but they could not get it more wrong. Their attempts to mould Deming in their image, including renaming him Daniel Wilkinson, are condescending and worse, deny him the opportunity to mourn the loss of his mother. Deming/Daniel’s subsequent emotional confusion is drawn very clearly. He clings desperately to the memory of his mother and believes that if he could just talk to her perhaps that would help him decide who he really is.

The second part of the novel where Polly addresses her son in second-person narrative, and tells the story of her life, begins to answer some the questions, we, like Deming have been asking. Polly’s story is tragic – born into extreme poverty in China she migrates from the country to the city to work in a factory but gets pregnant and then makes the decision to go to New York to give birth. Her subsequent story never really makes the reader feel any better about her abandonment of her son, but it does make us brutally aware of how very little choice she had.

This is a very skilful piece of writing – the prose is dense with wonderful imagery, the characterisation is subtle and challenging and it is cleverly structured, keeping the reader, like Deming, in quest of all the answers until the end. Ko depicts a part of New York rarely glimpsed by visitors and the poverty of rural China in great detail. It doesn’t always make for comfortable reading but it does offer you a real insight into how those marginalised in society are forced to live.

This novel is well written, with two point-of-view characters' stories intertwine. The son, Deming/Daniel, is a boy living in New York and whose Chinese mother, Polly, mysteriously disappeared when he was ten-years old. He was adopted by an American couple. The mother, an illegal Chinese nail technician, was actually caught by ICE and, after a harrowing stay at a detention center, was deported.
Of these two stories, the mother's is by far more interesting than Daniel's who, at twenty, is floundering, given to gambling addiction, and can't hold a job, even as a musician in a band that he loves. In the novel he flounders and fumbles for too long, with no change, before he sets out to find his lost mother.

After finishing the book I read the interview in the back and the author's essay that shed further light on her intention. I must say that as such, the novel fell a bit short because I missed some of the drama she said she wanted to convey. Also, as much as I liked Polly as a character, I make a distinction between legal and illegal immigration, which the author failed to make in these additional pieces. Polly's story is heart-wrenching, but the fact that she thrived after returning to China shows that the she had options, albeit limited.

"...to acknowledge his mother's regret meant he had to think of what her leaving had done to him..."

I'd guessed THE LEAVERS would be an emotional read for me, but I read things that hit close to home often. This one felt like it both got into and came from somewhere deep inside my bones.

To keep me out of this as much as possible, suffice it to say that my life has a lot of parallels to Deming Guo's. I was/am primed to be completely on the side of the child (Deming) here. I knew that going in. I was talking back aloud to the book when Polly Guo (Deming's mom) started telling her story.

Lisa Ko's talent is such that I shut up fairly quickly. She brought me around. She made me feel for everyone involved. Left to my own devices, I would have actively hated Polly Guo. I would have made every excuse for Deming's behavior. (OK, I'm still going to make excuses for his young behavior.) The adoptive parents weren't as well fleshed out, but this was not their story. They'll need to find their own writer. I'll guess some adoptive parents have trouble with this book, but Deming's feelings are true, to my experience at least. He loves everyone and wants to please everyone. When you're the kid who is desperately needed by the parents who choose you, it can get sticky. When all of your parents crowd into a space that's meant for a smaller group, the conflict can get excruciating. Meanwhile, adopted kids are told how lucky and unconditionally loved they are - all the time, when in fact, that's not always the way it feels.

The real gift Ko gives us is the lack of a wonderfully huge bow at the end of this novel. The answer lies simply in finally figuring out who we, as characters or people, are and finally allowing ourselves to be OK with that.

This was an incredible start to the month of May! I loved this book so much!

It is a captivating life story of Deming Guo and his mother’s immigration into the United States of America. The story telling is not linear, we jump back and forth between characters and between different time periods.

We see the story from Daniel Wilkinson’s point of view, of him struggling to understand what he wants from life, who he wants to be, and then we jump back in time when Daniel was still Deming Guo, living in a poor part of New York with his mom, her boyfriend, his sister and nephew in the tiniest apartment.

The characters were not flawless! More than that they made some very big mistakes in their lives. This made them astonishingly real, someone who I could have known, someone who could have lived next door. They weren’t totally likable, like any other human being. I would sympathize with them at one point of the story and maybe critic and despise their act at the other point, but they made me care and that is what I liked the most!

Immigration is never easy as it is. You need to drop everything and start from scratch somewhere new, somewhere where you don’t know anyone, sometimes don’t even speak the language. There is no need to make it even harder than that. But unfortunately, most of the times, there are dozens and hundreds of challenges created by different governments, by people around you that make you feel like you’ll never overcome them, there never will be a “better life” you were so hardly looking for.

highly recommend it to anyone looking for some new books in Adult or General Fiction genres. It was a full 5-star read for me and I couldn’t be happier for starting this month on such a high note (hopefully it will stay this way).

Immigration is rarely a journey done without pain and struggle. As a nation of immigrants, we Americans have stories handed down to us that almost always include tragedy. For many of us, those stories are so far removed by generations of history that we have woven them into our life tapestry and simply feel grateful for the sacrifices made and the journeys endured. Lisa Ko has created a story about the life of an immigrant fashioned after a real life story. It is deeply emotional and troubling, filled with pain, humiliation, and injustice. The novel aptly portrays how people suffer the experience of trying to cleave together a life that is tolerable and worth the journey of leaving their birthplace for a safer life in a foreign land.
Earlier this year, I marveled at the writing of Imbolo Mbue in her novel Behold the Dreamers. Lisa Ko has created yet a different kind of novel that is equally powerful in the characterization of the immigrants. The Leavers. is one of the most complex stories I have read about immigration. In alternating chapters, we learn about the lives of Polly and Deming Guo. They live in the Bronx. Polly works in a nail salon. They live in a one bedroom apartment with Leon, Polly's boyfriend, and his sister, ​Vivian, and her son, Michael. Their lives are intertwined, broken apart, and put back together across world borders. This novel will be lauded in 2017 when it is published. It deserves the attention of everyone who wants to know what immigration is really all about. Immigrants are more than pawns thrown around in the political arena. Immigrants are women and children, vulnerable and human. It is up to society to find a humane way to offer these people safe passage or a permanent home.

I was recently asked why I read fiction. Lisa Ko's novel The Leavers is exactly why I read fiction. First, reading this book made me feel alive. I was able to be part of an emotional world that is not mine at the moment. As a reader, I touched on joy, despair, frustration, anger, fear, and more. I felt what it feels like to be abandoned, to be on the outside, to be brave, to be lost, to forgive, and, yes, more. I read fiction to know that I am alive, to know that I am a human being and connected, in some mysterious way, to all human beings. The Leavers makes that clear.

This connection with humanity didn't just happen. It exists because, under Ms Ko's skillful direction, the characters in The Leavers are very real. Deming, Polly, Leon, Vivian, Michael, Peter, Kay, Yong - all of them - are believable. From the beginning I care about each of them. I can feel their despair, their sadness, their anger, their fear. It's that awareness that makes them real.

I also read fiction because it opens my eyes to worlds other than my own. I have never felt abandonment by parents. I have never had to fear deportation. I have never been a major cultural outsider. I am baffled by how the circumstances in life are dealt out at birth. Why did I get my life and someone else got theirs? When I read a book like The Leavers, I am privy to a whole different world view. It makes me a more compassionate, more open, more understanding person. Ms Ko did a masterful job of continuing to open my eyes to the world of immigrants and privilege.

Fiction can inspire me as well. The Leavers continues to inspire me to open borders and experiences to each and every world resident. These novels should be required reading for all political leaders . Being aware of the hardships of immigrant life is a prerequisite to strong and compassionate governing on Earth 2017.

I read fiction to be reminded of basic truths. The reality of thoughtful humanity is uncovered in The Leavers. "Everyone had stories they told themselves to get through the days." That is the truth in this novel and in life. We all have stories we tell ourselves and I find it useful to be aware of my own version of my own story. I was honored to be a witness to the stories of these characters. One of the main characters, Deming, realizes at one point that "All this time, he's been waiting for his real life to begin." That sentence is followed by a lovely, evocative paragraph that speaks to all of us who wait for our lives to begin. And, finally: "It was a funny thing, forgiveness." Again, an evocative , well written paragraph follows and you want to cry because it touches the mysterious in life.

I noticed that, in the acknowledgements, Lisa Ko gives first recognition to Barbara Kingsolver. How appropriate that one of the finest writers on contemporary social justice issues should be acknowledged in this debut novel. Ms Kingsolver's writing has influenced and touched many readers over the years. I am looking forward to a similar future for Lisa Ko.

One morning Deming (Daniel) Guo's Mother, Peilan (Polly) goes to work at the nail salon where she is employed and does not return. For awhile Deming (Daniel) continues to live in the home they shared with Polly's boyfriend, his sister and her son. Just where did Polly go? Before she went missing she was talking about moving to Florida to earn more money and have a higher standard of living. She wanted the American dream of having a better life for her and her son. Having a better life was hard as she was an undocumented Chinese immigrant.

Initially no one really knows where Polly went. Did she leave? Did she abandon her son? Is she in Florida? Is she alive? Why did she leave without telling anyone? What will happen to her son? Who will look after him? All Deming/Daniel knows is that his Mother is gone. He thinks that if he becomes a better student, she will return. She doesn't return and one day, Vivian (Polly's boyfriend's Sister) takes him for a walk. A walk that ends with him being placed in Foster care. This is a hard and confusing adjustment for Daniel (previously Deming). He is a child, he does not know where his Mother is or why she never came home. His foster parents also have an adjustment to cope with. They have been married and child free for twenty years. Are they making the right decisions? Are they suited to be parents?

Daniel grows up with pressure to do well academically and struggles tremendously with this goal. He also wants to pursue music and has a problem with gambling. He is a lost young man, unsure of himself in the world and with questions that have never been answered.

But then there is his Mother's story. Polly was an unwed Mother at the age of nineteen. She worked hard to make a life for her and her son. She had to send her son to live with her father until she could afford to raise him. She wanted to be a good Mother but fate was not on her side. She wants to go to Florida in order to have a better life. She works hard at the nail salon and has no idea that one day her life will be changed forever.

From the title it is obvious this book is about leaving. What does it mean to leave a place you call home behind? To leave those you love behind? To leave your hopes and dreams behind? What does moving on entail? There are a lot of themes in this book: immigration, family (what makes a family), hope, new beginnings, deep sadness, identity, loss, etc.

This is one of those book, that stays with you after you read it. I found that I liked the book more after I sat and thought about it. There were parts I enjoyed more than others. I enjoyed learning Polly's tale more than Daniel, mainly in part because it answered some questions for me. This is a debut book which is quite impressive as it is very polished. The above mentioned themes along with the story-telling are what shine in this book. Where Polly went is not a real mystery or surprise here. I think most readers will have figured out what happened, but the magic of this book is about how it affected a young boy/man's life. How one's path in life can be changed. How does one cope when their life changes instantly? How does one cope when their name is changed? When their idea of family is changed? What happens when you are removed from one culture and placed in another? That is where the magic in this book occurs.

I received a copy of this book from Algonquin Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Deming Guo was a young boy when one day, his mother disappeared. That morning, he went to school and she went to work. The difference? He came home.

"The Leavers" is a coming of age story about a Chinese American boy named Deming Guo (n/k/a Daniel Wilkinson). Deming had to grow up faster, and learn to shut off his feelings and thoughts in a way that no child ever should.

He and his mother Pelian (Polly) were always very close. They were, like two birds of a feather, two peas in a pod, best friends. They lived in an apartment with Polly's boyfriend Leon, his sister Vivian and her son, Michael and they became an instant family. The day his mother failed to come home, everything changed. His life was taken away and all of a sudden, he was sent to live with Peter and Kay Wilkinson and he became Daniel Wilkinson. Peter and Kay tried to "Americanize" him. Thereafter, Daniel struggled to find himself and be accepted by his "parents."

Polly Guo's history was a difficult one. Moving to New York, alone and pregnant, working menial jobs, while speaking very little English? Its hard to imagine.. yet it happens everyday. Her struggles were real. And she faced them alone.

This is a story about family, the family you are born with v. the family that you're given. You know the saying, you give what you give and you get what you get. Every. Single. Character. in this book can identify with that. It's also a story about choices. The choices we make v. the choices that are made for us. It's a story about letting go when doing so seems like an impossible feat. And last but not least, its a story about our hopes and our fears as well as loss and love and how we handle both. To summed it up, it's a story that touched me in a myriad of ways. And I am better for it.

Lisa Ko has written an exquisite novel. And a debut at that! Her words envelop you. They evoke emotions that are so rarely felt. The characters are rich, well thought out, descriptive, beautiful. That's not to say that they are all perfect however, some are quite flawed. And well, Human. I listened to the audiobook (the narrator was phenomenal) and I will be buying the hardcover simply because I must have a copy of it for my bookshelf.

I can't possibly recommend this novel highly enough. It might just be my favorite book of the year so far.

Published on Goodreads and the store on 6.7.17.

One of the truly excellent novels I have read in a long time. A Chinese boy in New York, abandoned by his mother, an illegal immigrant, is raised by a white professor couple upstate. Pressured by his adopted parents to be an academic, he wants only to explore his love of music -- and to resolve his emotional scars from abandonment. Some of the fantastic elements of this multi-layered book include:

* Information on the horrors of US holding camps for immigration detainees, which are a lot like concentration camps (I had no idea we treated our illegal immigrants like this, and really want to learn more)

* Exploration of the emotional loyalties of a child abandoned by its parents, and how difficult it is to accept the love of foster or adoptive parents

* Great descriptions of the way musicians "hear" the world in colors, and live for the musical world

* An intense discussion of the new China, and how things have changed there (including the rising middle class)

In addition to being a coming-of-age novel, this is also sort of a coming-of-culture novel, examining how people with roots in two very different cultures straddle them, or rather come to grips with a great cultural divide.

The descriptions in this book are amazing -- unforgettable metaphors that are completely appropriate for an urban setting. Although I kept wanting to stop reading to appreciate the descriptions, I also felt pulled mercilessly by the plot and character development, which hit me with great emotional wallop. Bravo to Lisa Ko for this amazing accomplishment of a book.

"Everyone had stories they told themselves to get through the days."

Finding one's place in the world is hard enough for anyone, but it's especially challenging for Deming. Abandoned by his mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, at the age of 11, Deming is then adopted by a well-meaning older American couple who change his name to Daniel and lay out clear expectations about the path his life will follow.

Once Deming reaches young adulthood, he's understandably plagued by the circumstances of his life. Not only does he lack a true sense of identity and purpose, but he can't let go of the memories of his mother and why she left him.

After getting in touch with an old friend, Deming finds a lead on his mother's whereabouts, and this further disrupts his aimless life.

The Leavers is told from the perspective of both Deming and his mother, Polly, giving the reader the opportunity to understand both of these characters. Gradually, we learn the truth about why Polly left Deming—and it turns out it's more complicated than it originally appeared.

One of the things I appreciate most about this novel is that there are no easy judgments or convictions to be reached about the characters. They are flawed, they make bad decisions, they hurt each other. And yet they are each deserving of empathy. Life is complicated, and not everything can be neatly categorized as right or wrong. Sometimes things just are what they are, and we do what we can to keep moving forward.

This is, for the most part, a compelling character-driven novel that ranks somewhere in the middle of the immigration literature from the past few years. There are times when the dialogue is stilted, the pacing off, and the transitions from Deming's to Polly's perspective too abrupt, but the themes of belonging and reckoning with one's past are handled with the complexity they deserve.

The Leavers puts a face on illegal immigration and the challenges of belonging in a world where you speak a different language and may not resemble your peers in culture or appearance. This is the story of Peilan/Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant who came to America with hope for a brighter future. She was also single and pregnant. Initially ambivalent about having the child, when her son is born, she loves him fully and without hesitation. Polly's life is filled with hardship and fatigue, forcing her to acknowledge she cannot adequately care for Deming/Daniel, so she sends him back to China to live with her father. When her father dies, Deming returns to his mother in New York City and an unknown culture.

Five years later, Polly disappears, leaving Deming at the mercy of Polly's boyfriend and his sister. He ends up in foster care, and is adopted by a white couple who live in the suburbs in a completely different environment than he has ever known, and he is renamed Daniel. These adoptive parents provide support and encouragement throughout the years, but Deming/Daniel continues to wonder about his biological mother and where he belongs. This story evolves into the mystery regarding his mother's disappearance and how her abandonment has permeated his thoughts and actions.

Algonquin fiction rarely disappoints its readers with the quality and substance of its novels. This one is no exception. Lisa Ko is a talented author who writes with confidence about a subject that is heartbreakingly real and very timely. She won won the PEN/Bellwether prize for Socially Engaged Fiction for a novel that reminds us of the struggles many among us endure.

I can't believe I finished this book. The story was slow, boring, and at times, tedious. Timelines were hard to follow and I didn't like any of the characters. The music piece went on too long; I had no interest. Also, I didn't always know, at the beginning of a chapter, who was narrating. I found that very annoying. Lisa Ko can write, hence, the 2 stars and not 1, but her chapters are long and rambling. I should have given myself a pass to stop reading by the halfway mark. I was baffled by so many great reviews. Oh well. Reading tastes are definitely subjective. Sadly, this book was a waste of my time.

The Leavers was very well written as it told the story of the lives of Peilan and her son, Deming. Their American names were Polly and Daniel.

The book depicts how their lives were affected by the choices that were made. (Isn't this the case with us all.). Ms Ko kept the story interesting at all times by peeling back the layers of their lives.

Especially interesting to me were the struggles faced by immigrants to our country and how they must overcome these obstacles in order to acclimate themselves to a new world and a new life.

Also interesting are the dynamics between Deming/Daniel and his birth mother along with the relationship between Deming/Daniel and his adoptive parents.

One thing I did not like, however, was the lack of motivation by Deming/Daniel and his indecisiveness on what to do with his life.

The Leavers has all the things I enjoy about a book: a good story, well developed characters, good writing, and a good ending. Well done, Ms Ko.

<b>I've had a great reading year in 2017, and The Leavers is in my top favorites.</b>

Thanks to my reading friends who strongly encouraged me to read The Leavers because I never tire of books on immigrant experiences. Forgive my idealism here, but I believe this is one of those empathy-building/perspective-taking books you wish everyone would read just to make the world a better place. Being an immigrant in a foreign country is not easy for Peilan, and add to that coming here illegally and already owing an enormous debt. I don't want to give away too much about the plot as it unfolds in a masterful way that takes the reader on quite a ride through illegal immigration, mother-son relationships, foster care/adoption, Chinese and American culture, finding your own way in life, and healing relationships. Lisa Ko's writing is beautifully engaging, and her characterization was flawless. Deming and Peilan, Leon and Michael; these characters will stay in my heart for a long, long time.

Deming Guo is a 11 year old Chinese boy who is being raised by a single mother who works in a nail salon in Bronx, NY. They live in a crowded apartment with other people, but for Deming, life is good and he is happy. Then one day his mother Peilan (Polly) seems to disappear without a trace.

Although Deming is eventually adopted by a well meaning white, academic couple who wish to give him a well-rounded American life and, although he is renamed Daniel Wilkinson, he cannot forget his mother and stop wondering why she left him without a word.

The story begins on the day Deming's mother disappears and is told mostly from his POV and then later by his mother. Part mystery, the story deals with current social issues and the dreams of a birth mother for a better life for her child. A very timely novel and pretty effective although I do wish more of the focus had been on the mother's POV. Worth reading.

The story was interesting, and I would like to know how realistic it is as far as how illegal immigrants are treated in America. I don't believe that to be very accurate.

Also, the author never explains why Deming's mother left her life after Deming returned. She seemed to be very selfish and ungrateful.

Also, it would have been good to know exactly where Deming's career path takes him. Does he become successful with his music or does he resign to becoming a music teacher as his career?

I had heard good things about this book for a while, so I added it to my TBR and even chose it for my book club's next meeting. I hope the rest of the group enjoys it as much as I did. From page one, I was drawn into Deming's life and how much it changes after the fateful day his mother disappears. I liked that there was a dual perspective so we could see what really happened to Polly and the effect it had on their mother and son dynamic. The characters feel so real that they practically jump off the pages for me. I even got an armchair adventure to China. The story just felt really honest and I like that Lisa Ko gave her characters flaws that made me cringe sometimes. I feel there's a lot to discuss with my book club about this novel.

I enjoyed this book, altho I got a little tired of Deming/Daniel. Get over yourself comes to mind. It seemed everyone was doing the best they could for him, and he was unhappy with everyone. The gambling addiction was also a bit contrived.
Polly’s story is just so sad. What a survivor! I admit, I didn’t really understand her behavior at the end. However, I have nothing in my life to compare it to. We often forget how lucky we are.

As a Chinese American adoptee this book is everything to me. There are very thorough discussions of complex themes of families. The characters are amazingly deep and refreshingly real. The world is wonderfully detailed and as someone who grew up in NY State even to me it feels immersive. Bravo.

One of maybe only a half dozen books I have not finished in the past decade. I usually enjoy this genre but I just did not really care for or about the characters. Gave myself permission to move on to something that I would enjoy.

This is a book about immigration and social injustice. It's a story about what family is and isn't. It's about finding your place in life. It's about prejudice. It's about trusting and losing everything and finding your way back. It's about a young woman who tries very hard to make a new life for her and her son. With limited options, she borrows a lot of money to move from China to the US. Once in the US, she shares living space with a bunch of women with similar goals. In spite of this, she's alone. She doesn't speak English but works incredibly hard every day for very little pay to get back on top. Then ICE sweeps her nail salon. To her young son, she goes to work and just never comes back so he thinks she's chosen to disappear. He thinks she doesn't love him any more. The story goes back and forth between her story and his as they scrabble hard to make sense of life. Not an easy read but, I think, an important one.

Lisa Ko’s debut novel titled, The Leavers, packs a wallop. Set in New York City and China, the novel tells the story of a mother, Polly, and her son, Deming, from both their perspectives. Polly became an undocumented immigrant who was deported to China, leaving Deming behind in New York where he is adopted and renamed Daniel. Ko presents the stories of Polly and Deming, their separation and reunion, with finely written prose and astute insight into the immigrant experience, especially the travail of the detention of undocumented workers. The emotional depth of the shared loss of years of separation for Polly and Deming is one of the strengths of this finely written novel.

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

It has been a while since I have read a novel with such vividly drawn, multi-dimensional characters as The Leavers. Lisa Ko is a master of the writers’ “show, don’t tell” rule.
Polly is extraordinarily annoying at times, but Ko’s skilled portrayal allowed me to view her with both compassion and empathy. Her son, Deming, is presented with less depth and complexity, but if Ko had dissected him more than she did, his image would have appeared forced. He was, after all, a child throughout much of the book, and a young man, still evolving, at its conclusion.
Some reviewers have suggested that the book was too long. Yes, it could have been fifty pages shorter, but Ko’s spare yet flowing style makes every word a pleasure to read.

The story of Deming and his mother. The story is told from both points of view, past and present, alone then together.

I did not care for any of the characters. Deming as a child is great but as an adult, as Daniel, he is a jerk. His adoptive parents are also jerks. I felt bad for Polly, his mother, but she did not have her act together either. Had I not read this for book club I would probably never picked it up. The story was interesting enough but I never developed any empathy for the characters.

Lisa Ko has written an award winning story that is both timely and compelling. Eleven year-old Deming Go lives happily with his mother, a Chinese illegal immigrant. One day she does not come home from work and she just disappears. Deming, placed for adoption with an American couple, becomes Daniel Wilkinson and looses his identify. This is a story about his struggle and that of his mother who had been sent to an immigrant prison and later deported back to China. This story was tedious in spots but the last part of the book makes up for it.

It is hard to believe that this powerful, beautifully written and timely book is a debut novel. It was awarded the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for fiction by Barbara Kingsolver for a novel that addresses issues of social justice.

The novel is told from two points of view. We learn about Deming’s life in the Bronx where he lives in a small apartment with his mother, Peilan/Polly, her boyfriend Leon, his sister, Vivian, and her son, Michael. It is a hard life, his mother always struggling to make ends meet on a nail technician’s salary. But Deming has grown used to the life he has and feels as though his mother might finally settle down with Leon and they can become a real family. All of this changes when one day she doesn’t return home from work. No amount of searching reveals what has happened to her. Deming is eventually adopted by two well meaning professors who change his name to Daniel and try to give him a good life in a nice home in the suburbs. Daniel, however never feels that he fits in the suburb of Ridgeborough and this school and when his is almost 18 he leaves. He eventually goes to China to try to find his roots, his mother and eventually Leon.

It isn’t until the last quarter of the book that we learn what happened to Peilan/Polly when she narrates the book in first person. The truth is a revelation in what she has had to endure to survive in China. Deming lives with her for a while but eventually returns to the Bronx and his old friend Michael and begins to figure out where he belongs and what he wants to do with his life.

“An emotionally harrowing debut novel that explores assimilation and loss, immigration and homeland, independence and connection.”

I would recommend this book to everyone, especially those who enjoy historical fiction and reading about issues which are very timely right now.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, thank you.

It was so nice to end the year with a really good book. I found the story line to be engaging, the characters well-defined and, for me, the best book of 2017. This was one of the 2017 National Book Award books shortlisted for fiction. It was so good that I can’t imagine how it did not win first place. This was a real page-turner for me, I wanted the story to go on & on. I hated for it to end. It is a story of belonging, not belonging, misunderstanding and how false assumptions made by the main characters affected their present lives. Highly recommended.

Polly immigrates illegally to the US from China hoping to give her unborn child a better life. Instead it is a life of poverty, uncertainty and fear. I don’t want to be a spoiler
so I won’t write much more but her story, as well as her son’s story reveal how confusing life can be as they try to find each other after being separated by unforeseen circumstances. This book lends itself to book clubs and book discussions. Very poignant.

“The Leavers” is a novel about racial identity, immigration and lost souls, with a touch of musical spirit.

Peilan (Polly) Guo grew up in a poor village (Minjiang) in a poor province in China. Her father was a fisherman and her mother had died when she was six months old. At a young age, Polly left the village and went to the city of Fuzhou to work in a garment factory. In Fuzhou, Polly worked hard, sent money home, made friends and had a romance. After becoming pregnant, Polly returned to the village and from there emigrated to America.

While in America, she gives birth to a son, Deming, and sends him back to China to be raised by her father. Deming returns to America to be with Polly when he is six years old.

Polly becomes involved with a man from China, Leon, and Deming and Polly move into an apartment with Leon, Leon’s sister, Vivian, and Vivian’s son, Michael. Michael and Deming grow close and treat each other like brothers.

Polly disappears when Deming is eleven years old. Nobody seems to know where she has gone and, at the age of 11, Deming is adopted by two white college professors. They change his name to Daniel Wilkinson and thus begins Deming/Daniel’s perpetual identity crisis. He is introduced to another family who has adopted a Chinese girl, Angel and Deming/Daniel and Angel become friends with a complex relationship.

He loses touch with Vivian, Michael and Leon and struggles through his new life, disappointing everyone along the way. His best friend, Roland Fuentes, starts up a successful band, Psychic Hearts, and Daniel/Deming drops out of college to join in. In the meantime, college professor parents, Kay and Peter are pressing him to continue his college education.

After many years go by, Daniel/Deming receives a text from long lost Michael which results in him reconnecting with his birth mother and learning that she had been deported and begun a new life in China. He visits her in Fuzhou, China and continues to struggle with who he is and how to avoid disappointing everyone in his life.

The one constant for Deming/Daniel is music. All sounds are color to him and that concept and those descriptions are probably the best parts of the book. He describes the sounds of Fuzhou as “deep yellow, blues, and oranges…Pastel sounds drifted from the windows of other apartments.”

The story ends with Deming/Daniel and Polly continuing to move around and everyone continuing to disappoint each other, although Deming/Daniel does reconnect in a meaningful way with Michael. The book is broken down into 4 parts and twenty chapters, with some chapters focused on Polly’s story (told in the first person) and the rest of the chapters telling Daniel’s story. The book had some potential but each theme is handled in a frustratingly superficial way, and the identity issues seemed almost like a toss in.

Good first sentence, "The day before Deming Guo saw his mother for the last time, she surprised him at school." Well written prose. Alternating narration between mother and son, from NYC to China. A story first of abandonment, immigration then redemption. I will admit to becoming bored mid-end, and sped read the finish without regret. Difficult to like the characters. OK story.

Just finished reading the book "The Leavers" by Lisa Ko, and highly recommend it for all who read. It is about more than I can describe, and is impossibly well written. On the surface it is about a birth mother and her son. It is about immigrants and how hard they work to make better lives for themselves and the painful sacrifices made for their children and families back home. It shows the pain inflicted when "laws" are enforced that break up families, ruin lives, and the widespread rippling effects that are left by heartless policies and institutions that treat people as less than human.

The Leavers is also about adoption. The pain for mothers and child. The grief. The good intentions. The happy times and benefits of comfort along with the emotional costs. Unanswered questions. Holes left in hearts that seem like they can never be filled. Parents trying hard, yet making mistakes they don't understand yet still causing harm. Kids and grown men and women balancing worlds, and coping with seemingly incompatible feelings of gratefulness and celebration with loss, grief and anger. Families broken, people broken. People trying, people failing, people suffering, and most of all people being unimaginably resilient.

The book describes how hard life can be for some, and seemingly easier for others. It makes palpable the full range of humanity and experiences of people that remain unseen and not understood by most. The story shows the struggle of trying to juggle cultures, languages, and identities, and the rewards of being able to integrate and accept that which can be balanced. It shows that even during good times for those whose lives are "easier" there are hard times and we are all connected by these joys and pains. It is a book that is full of layers and complexity like the characters of the story, just like actual people. It is about all of us. It is a fictional story about real life.

Really a 3+ star book but I bumped it up to 4 stars because of the glimpse it gives into the personal complexities of illegal immigration. Reasonably well written, but occasionally suffers from a one-note presentation of certain key characters and situations. And (Editors!) somehow, towards the end, a boy who never learned to read/write Chinese becomes instantaneously literate.

Deming is a young Chinese American boy living with his mother, her boyfriend, his sister and her son in New York City. It is not a life that Deming has grown up with. His mother Peilan (Polly), got pregnant when she wasn’t married and had sent her son back to China to live her father. She brought him back when he was of school age and they lived a life that wasn’t always easy but he was happy. Until the one day she doesn’t come home, he is put into foster care and then is adopted by two American professors. He becomes Daniel Wilkinson but not really. He feels as if he doesn’t really belong in either world.

Across the world in China, Polly has married and is doing very well. Her husband has no idea she has a son. When Deming calls her out of the blue, she is happy and scared. She too feels as if she doesn’t really belong in her world. Deming makes his way to her but can they mend the separation between them? It was such an interesting take on how the cultures look at each other. How well she could do in China and yet have to struggle in America just to get by.

As we find out exactly what happened to Polly when she didn’t come home, we really see the racism and fear that many people have had to deal with. Even with Deming’s adoptive parents, who are trying hard, they look at things in black and white. The story is about both of these lost souls finding themselves. There were times I didn’t like Polly very much and Daniel, for that matter. They were both so locked up in their own wants but as you read more into their stories, they both became so much more understandable. That mother/child bond is immense, even if time and space separates them. I also loved the ending. It was wrapped up perfectly.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review.

Whatever you do, avoid the recorded version of this book on cd. The actor/reader spits every sentence with overly dramatic venom, no matter the actual content, speaker, or situation. I made it through 2 cds out of 12. I may or may not pick up the text.

I really wanted to like this book more. So many people have raved about it. I enjoyed it. I did. However, there were many times I wanted to smack some of the characters and say grow up, move on. Maybe that's how I am supposed to feel. The plot is certainly a lens into a culture and group of people that I do not identify with. I just couldn't get past my frustration with the characters to enjoy the book more.

Yes, this is a novel that is relevant for our times, and I can see how that has added to the (well-deserved) publicity for the book.
But here's what impressed me: the two main characters, Deming and his mother Polly - they are flawed. They are not sailing through life doing the right things and making the right decisions. Yet, they are portrayed so sympathetically that you can really get into their head and empathize. I often get frustrated by characters in novels, and in The Leavers, I was simply rooting for them.
In addition to that, the structure and pacing of the book (after a slightly slow first 20 or so pages) were spot-on. There was just enough suspense to keep things moving nicely without feeling contrived. I heard that the author spent many years working on this book and it shows (in a good way!)
Finally, I love it when a book shows me a number of new and unfamiliar environments. It was fascinating to have the scenes in China, both during Polly's teenaged years and then during the present day as well (I actually looked at a map of China to see where they were). The strangeness of being in a new country was also really well-depicted!
I would have never guessed this was a debut novel because it was so well-plotted, compassionate, and delightfully readable. Looking forward to more!

Very powerful novel about immigration, adoption, identity, abandonment and family. Very apropos in light of current national discussion on immigration and treatment of undocumented immigrant and children born to them in the US. It follows the story of a woman who tried to make a better life for herself and unborn son but gets twisted along the way. Well written but hard to like snd embrace some of the characters. Overall, very interesting read.

I was pleasantly surprised by the relevancy and depth in this novel. Deming (Daniel) and Polly were dynamic and engaging characters, although I felt a great deal of frustration with him from time to time. This novel touches on several important topics regarding immigration, heritage, and the importance of being ourselves rather than forced into perfect little boxes.

Well-written, well-paced, polished, timely, sensitive novel. Ko treats her characters complexly and with respect, with the partial exception of Kay and Pete, Daniel's white adoptive parents. In places they seem to be just exemplars of condescending American white liberalism. Their dialogue is frequently on-the-nose simplistic. Ko should have extended them the same broad empathy she gives the novel's Chinese characters.

I found this book to drag a bit. I wanted to really like it but the narrative jumped all over the place chronologically. In some of the places I wanted more information it wasn't detailed like Daniel's/Demings Mother's deportation. We find this out at the end but it's a really big part of his life. The book was ok and I'm glad I got to read it.
I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

The story itself is by no means unique or special, actually the events and the experiences of the characters are rather ordinary and at times even cliché, right down to the cultural insensitive but well meaning white adoptive parents with the savior complex. But the way the author weaves through the emotions and inner dialogues makes this an enjoyable read.

I thought this was an interesting, well-written novel. The characters were developed and kept my interest. My only criticism is that I thought the author went into too much detail concerning the main character's music. On another note, I can't understand why so many reviewers on this site feel they have to give a detailed rendering of the book's storyline. It is already given before the reader reviews.

Our country has been enriched and nourished by emigrants since the first boat load arrived in 1607. (For the indigenous tribes whose lands were being invaded and whose people were being slaughtered it was not an equally enriching experience.) But in our present political situation we don't often take the time to understand how the experience of immigration affects those who have given up their homes in the hopes of gaining a better life.

Polly Guo emigrates to the US from her native Fujien, China and gives birth to her son, Deming, shortly after her arrival in Manhattan. They somehow survive in a crowded dormitory while Polly tries to pay back the loan sharks who paid her emigration expenses. Eventually they share a small apartment in the Bronx with other emigrants, also sharing child care while Polly works two jobs to keep them afloat and reducing her debt. Deming grows up as an American, attending schools, playing video games with friends and getting what he needs to grow and thrive.

But, one day, while in late elementary school, Deming's Mom doesn't come home from work and after awhile the adults that he lives with have no choice but to put him up for adoption. Soon he becomes Daniel Wilkinson, the son of well-intended middle-aged professors in upstate New York.

Lisa Ko is a gifted writer and her early chapters document very skillfully the struggles of this immigrant mother and son. We are alternately astonished and appalled by the dangers and the struggles of living life on the edge of a cliff, but the novel takes on an accelerated pace as we follow Daniel as he deals with this unexplained disappearance of his mother and the challenges of living with his very loving but always unfamiliar new parents.

How do you cope with abandonment, your mother leaving your life in an instant? How does that play out as Daniel graduates and leaves his small town and moves back to Manhattan? And what actually happened to his mother? And ultimately who is Daniel or Deming and where does he fit in?

"The Leavers" is aptly titled and ultimately a joy to read. I came away feeling that I had been allowed the privilege of entering these lives and understanding the motives, the confusions, the hurts and the intentions of so many characters, but mostly growing to understand Daniel himself. This novel was the worthy recipient of the PEN / Bellwether Prize for "socially engaged fiction". It is a very worthwhile investment of time to read the other winners of this remarkable prize as well.

Demming, a middle schooler comes home from school one day to discover his mother has disappeared. He, who came to NYC from China when he was about 10 to see his mother for the first time in 7 years, is adopted by a couple in upstate New York who teach at a small private college. The book that follows is the story of Demming's search for his place in the world and his birth mother's journey through life. It is a powerful story with well-drawn sympathetic characters.

I really liked this book. I think it's particularly difficult to make readers care about characters who are flawed and possibly even unlikable. There were basically two parallel stories-one of a boy who had been abandoned as a child and then also the story of the mother who had abandoned him. I thought it was a powerful, poignant story of family and identity.

This is a love story (between family) and a horror story about the immigrant/deportation experience. Beautiful and poetic storytelling. I got so caught up in the life of Polly/Peilan and her son Daniel/Deming. I just read Yaa Gyasi's masterpiece Homegoing and didn't know if I could find a book as rich and captivating, but this book was right up there. The characterization felt so real and you go on such an emotional journey with them. The ending (no spoilers) was not a cliche but so satisfying. You know it's a good book when you can't wait to see how it ends but don't want it to end either! Highly recommend and now I need to find a book that's on this level...

Even though Ko started writing this book in 2009, the themes and issues are still timely. An interesting read that provides depth to the two main characters while exploring how it feels to be unmoored—by choice or circumstance.

I tire of the many books this year in which the authors string out a series of obviously bad decision-making by annoyingly ambivalent, type-laden, unsympathetic characters to expand what are poor novels into truly awful ones. Here, the writing was wooden and laden with clumsy phrasing and incredible turns-of-events that made me at times want to hurl the book across the room. I lump this book with The Great Alone in this new genre of the awful, appropriately airborne novel.

The book is good, but honestly starts a little slow. If you can make it past the first part, it does pick up. Deming's character is frustrating, but reasonably likable. Even when you're annoyed with him, you find yourself cheering for him. While reading, I was sort of frustrated with the distance with which his adoptive parents are written. After reading the book and having time to marinate on it, I wouldn't have them portrayed any other way.

The ending of the book kept me one night to finish - as the book progresses, you'll find yourself committed to know the ending.

The topics in The Leavers are as relevant now as ever, but the story isn't engaging and the characters are flat. Credit to Lisa Ko for bringing up so many interesting things to discuss, but I simply didn't enjoy reading this.

Deming's mother leaves for work one day and never comes home. When Chinese Deming is adopted by two white college professors, they change his name to Daniel and try and turn him into the son they have always wanted. The book then shifts to his mother Polly's point of view, outlining her childhood and how she came to America.

I didn't think the back and forth between Daniel and Polly really worked. It may have been different if the author introduced Polly's pov earlier, or alternated in smaller chunks. Instead, it was jarring when Polly was introduced, and she seemed somewhat alien. Overall, not a bad book, just not one I would re-read.

I loved this book. It was my train read and I couldn't wait to jump on the subway to get immersed in Deming and Polly's lives and almost miss my stop. This is saying a lot considering the state of mass transit in NYC. It was incisive, real, surprising, and written with so much heart I teared up several times. Also, says a lot being that I have soot-blackened heart. This novel is motherhood, childhood, adolescence, hard choices, missteps, music, surviving, thriving, the Bronx, Fuzhou. Above all, perhaps about love, the way all things are once you distill them. If you believe that one of the aims of literature is to live many lives and many experiences, this book is a life and experience well worth the time it asks for.

I almost gave up on this book early on, because it was bleak and a bit slow, but I'm so glad I didn't. I think I'll be remembering this book for a long time, not just scebes, but the feeling and experience of being "foreign." A modern classic.

I am sorry but i found this book incredibly boring. The characters were so one dimensional and to be honest i kept looking for the story and couldn't find it. The author flips between the characters past and present but there is no feeling to her writing. And in the end I just skimmed the pages. Each page was filled with this is what i see looking out my window or something like that, and you keep reading and the story goes no where. I do not recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. The opportunity Deming gained and lost, the feeling of abandonment, be able to forgive. But the it was Pielan aka Polly whose life story reminded that you can be dealt a terrible hand but you can find away to make the best out of life given those circumstance.

Gives you a strong sense of being adopted and how important it is to know your roots, your story, to complete you identity. I liked this book. It has a sense of hopefulness in finding one's way through life -- whatever your past.

I enjoyed the book, although I suspect that some of the words were excessive. It was quite a slog and I think I'd have enjoyed it more with tighter editing. A satisfying ending and an interesting story.

Captivating story told from the perspective of an undocumented immigrant mother and her US born son. Some very good parts, especially when told from the birth mother’s point of view, which provide some insight into the extreme challenges faced by undocumented immigrants seeking a home and living in the US. The perspective of Deming/Daniel who is caught between several families and struggling with adolescence in addition to adoption, abandonment, and cultural isolation was interesting as well. I don’t believe the author wove the pieces together as well as I would have liked, and decisions made by the characters, especially at the end of the book, were not clearly understood.

Really enjoyed the story it’s definitely timely with what is happening to immigrants today. It almost felt more like non fiction especially in regards to the adoption issues which must be all too real.

This story is so relevant for today. If you have no future in your native land, and come to the US illegally, you end up living a shadow life. You can’t expect to have much of a future. When Polly leaves China for what she hopes will be a better life in New York City for her and her unborn son, she finds it’s a heck of a hard climb to survive. When she is caught by INS she is sent back to China, and her son eventually ends up being adopted. What happens to the two of them creates a drama that many people are facing.

Great read, a beautiful novel about family, real and acquired. Even though the characters were faced with broken dreams and many challenges they still kept their love and hope. Very believable story and characters.

What a story. Really beautifully written, engaging, hard to put down. As a mother who has not experienced immigration first hand, I found a lot to learn here ... and a lot that also rang true to aspects of my own experience.

I read this book in one day, and I loved it. The heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful story of Deming and Polly and their supporting characters really drew me in. Can't give any plot details! No spoilers. Beautiful writing, and I couldn't put it down.

Hmm, I"m seriously wondering where these fabulous reviews are coming from. I found the concept interesting and the writing OK. However, I had to keep checking to see if this really was a Young Adult Book because there is little complexity of character and a lot presumptive stereotyping. International adoption and adoptive parents are drawn in the most cursory way. It is unrealistic to presume that a NYC older child would have been fostered outside of the city and adopted so quickly. Thank goodness it was a short and fast read.

This story follows Deming Guo and his mother, Polly (a heroine as true and good as any superhero), on their journey after immigrating from China to America. At the heart of it, this is a gripping story about identity, what it means to belong, the strength and raw power of a mother’s love, and the holy purity of forgiveness. The Leavers manages to showcase the immigrant experience, while also highlighting the commonality in all of us in a deeply affecting and human story. I clutched this book to my chest when I finished it, hugging it in gratitude for the gift that Ko gave me. It is simply exquisite. A must-read, especially for mothers. -BrimmingBlog.com

I loved this novel. I don’t know if it was post partum hormones or just a moving story, but I couldn’t put this book down. The characters were interesting, flawed, but beautifully real. The relationships were layered and complex. Great book.

this product did not meet my expectations. some of the thing that I expected was for the product to be versatile and for it to be stylish and to fit in with the current social quota. The fact that it did not meet my standards was disappointing I was hoping for it to meet my standards. it was not the most stylish thing I have ever had but there were a few good sides to the product one of the good sides to the product was the usability the product was very useful and I have been able to use the product throughout my entire experience with the product. if i were to give the makers some feedback I would tell them to make the product more stylish.