Damn damn damn spoilers! Even though the blurb and reviews don’t come out and say exactly what happened, a couple of buzz words kept loudly buzzing around in my head. Unfortunately, they landed on the exact right spot. Bingo! I figured out what had happened almost as soon as the story started. It spoiled the mystery, that’s for sure.

But luckily this story isn’t primarily a mystery. It’s a well-written and interesting coming-of-age story about a Chinese-American kid, Deming (aka Daniel). It’s also a story about his mom, who disappears when Deming is eleven. I love it when a book lets me peek into lives that are so different from mine. Oh god, that sounds so sweet and touristy. Sure, I appreciate, like a detached but curious student of anthropology, a fine peeky-peek into their every-day lives. But way more important is the shiver I feel when I sternly glare at some atrocities, some rugged truths, they faced. I’ll stay vague here, on purpose, so don't ask. I’m dying to talk about this book—so please read it soon!

The story makes you think about a lot of things—what home means, what belonging to a tribe means, how it feels to try to become part of another tribe, how it feels to be separated from those you love. Deming had such a rough deal. I can imagine how sad and hard it was for him to be constantly wondering where his mother went, and why. Did she abandon him because she didn’t love him? Did she get killed? The uncertainty was there, torturing him, for a long time.

Daniel faces some heavy stuff—the loss of a mother, the oddness and awkwardness of being adopted, and guilt over not getting his act together. And of course confusion over who he was, where he was going, what he wanted to do. Throughout most of the story, he’s sad, lonely, and insecure. He feels alienated. Could anyone blame him, though, since his mom disappeared out of thin air and he was suddenly thrown into a whole different culture?

One drawback—I didn’t relate to or particularly like Deming or his mother. They both seemed stoical, which made me feel stoical and detached in return. Still, there were well-drawn and complex characters. I don’t have to love the characters to love the book.

Deming’s life was pretty quiet, but his mother’s life, now that’s a different story. Her life had been riveting and I was completely drawn in. I had pretty strong emotions about her, and they weren’t all positive. I’m not proud to say it but I was constantly judging how good a mother she had been. At the same time, I felt so deeply for all she had to endure, and I felt really sick about the brutal unfairness she faced. As the story progressed, I started to understand her choices and cut her some slack. Her powerful story isn’t told until the last part of the book, though, so I had to spend most of my time hanging out with Deming. Structurally, it makes perfect sense to have the mom’s story at the end. I just wish I had cared more about Deming.

The language is straightforward. Maybe a bit too much description, but it’s done well so I didn’t get bored There are super nice metaphors throughout, though there was one time the author went overboard. She uses multiple metaphors to describe a view of the city. I had to construe too many disparate images in my mind. Seriously, she compared things to masking tape, a greeting card, and a band of mismatched toys all in one paragraph. My mind was jumping all over the place! Using just one metaphor would have been a lot stronger. The paragraph seemed sophomoric, like an exercise you’d have in a creative writing class. Maybe the author was over-enjoying her skill of being able to describe things in a super interesting way. Kill your darlings, I want to whisper to the author, it will be okay. Luckily I only experienced (or tuned in on?) the metaphor madness that one time.

I loved that the story mostly took place in New York City (which might be my favorite story locale ever), and I was fascinated when the story moved to China.

I recently read and enjoyed the short-story collection, The Refugees. Although the stories have a different feel and focus, that book is similar to this one in that it’s about Asians coming to America. Both books are excellent.

I purposely tried here to be plenty vague about the plot; I don’t want to spoil it for you. But I will say that this is a really good book that you’ll want to get your hands on. It’s hard to believe this is a debut, but it’s not hard to believe it has already won an award.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

P.S. Does the title bother anyone else? Who has ever heard of leavers? I know it’s a real word, but it sort of sounds made up. Plus I just don’t even like the sound of it . . .

This was a good, but tough to read book. A heart-wrenching, coming of age story. But also one of loss, forgiveness and being true to one's self. Lisa Ko did an amazing job with the characters. It was a little difficult at first to jump back and forth between 3rd person and 1st person POV, but once I got that figured out it was a very beautifully written story. I definitely felt for and could see where everyone (Deming/Daniel, Peilin/Polly and even Kay and Peter) were coming from. Well done!

This book was beautifully written and is right on time with what is going on in the world. I enjoyed this book I look forward to future books by this author

This was a struggle to get into at first, but eventually I found myself fascinated by the characters and their story. It's nice to see the views of the people on both side of a dramatic separation.

I loved the premise, but the book dragged after a while. Still, great views on immigration and deportation, especially through a less common perspective.

I was not able to get through the book. The characters did not appeal to me and the story too, a turn that made me lose interest.

Good book of both the immigrant and adoption experience. Young boy's Chinese born mother is deported and he is then adopted by a professor couple. The boy struggles to fit into his adoption, then finds bio mother in China and is hesitant about fitting in there also.

This is an important novel about social justice and the inherent problems of immigration, loss and finding one's place in society.

While very intrigued by the premise of this book before reading it, I was slightly disappointed at the end of it. I didn't end up caring enough about the characters in this book. In fact, some of them really annoyed me. There are parts of the book that I really liked and though it was heart-wrenching to read what so many immigrants go through, I feel like it's an important book for bringing these issues to light.

This was on of the best books I've read in a long time. I think this will be one of 2017's biggest books. I'm excited to see where this goes.

Quite an ambitious plot. Ko does an excellent job balancing the details and executing the arc of character development.

At 11 years old, Deming Guo's is abandoned by this undocumented Chinese mother. No one knew where she went or why she left. His mother's boyfriend and his sister try to take care of him, but end up putting him into foster care and he goes to live with an academic white couple, who change his name to Daniel and try to get him to put the past behind him. But Deming can't forget his mother and yearns to find out why she left him. The book alternates between Deming and his mother, revealing a story of sadness, confusion, and guilt. It's an engrossing story of two people trying to find themselves.

As a first novel, this book reminds me so much of wonderful works like Zadie Smith's White Teeth or Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated, in that you can so plainly see it is the work of a writer who has a Story to tell, a Story she has spent an entire lifetime building and growing, telling different versions of the Story over and over again, all the while, honing a Craft and researching a History and learning the Characters. It is fully formed from beginning to end, with characters that are all--despite the disparateness of the worlds they live in--completely believable. It's the story of maternal love, of immigration, of growing up, of boyhood, womanhood, tragedy and joy. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

I absolutely loved this book. I feel that The Leavers is one of those the right book at the right time deals. Between the identity issues and the immigration issue, I predict that this book will be well recieved when it hits shelves. Lisa Ko is an author to keep your eye on.

Reading the description of this book made me desperate to read it, and luckily, the publisher offered me a digital ARC through Netgalley. This book and its author already has a lot of buzz because Lisa Ko won the 2016 PEN/Bellweather Award for Socially Engaged fiction. I started reading this book just a few days after the immigration ban was announced by the Republican administration, so I was instantly drawn into this story about a young boy named Deming, whose mother, Peilan, is an undocumented immigrant from China. One day she disappears, and in the chaos of trying to track her down, Deming is turned over to upper middle class white foster parents.

Although the writing was good, and the story intriguing, this whole book was just OK. The characters felt just a little out of reach for me, which was frustrating since I so wanted to get into their story. I wanted to feel the horror of the immigration camp, I wanted to feel the awkwardness of growing up with a clueless white couple, I wanted to feel the pull and drive of a gambling addiction. Instead, the only thing I knew of these situations were the characters narrated they felt about it. I knew Deming was uncomfortable with Kay and Paul because he said he was. I knew Peilan felt claustrophobic after months in the ICE camp because she said she was. I didn't feel it. Many times I was confused by the switch in voice, particularly in the chapters narrated by Peilan. Where were we, and what was going on? The whole story seems the skate over the surface of a much deeper, much more devastating story. Part of the problem is that the backgrounds of the main characters don't feel fleshed out. We get a little insight into Deming's time with the Wilkinsons but suddenly he's grown up. We get a brief look into Peilan's life, but then suddenly she's in China, and there's very little to fill in the gaps.

There were some great moments in the story though. The scenes between Deming and his white adoptive parents are very well done, especially at the end of the book when Deming realizes that his main problem with the Wilkinsons is that they assume that everyone needs saving, and they are desperate to put the Chinese race into as small a box as they possibly can. Just because you're a well-meaning white person doesn't mean you aren't as racist as the white nationalists. I also liked the relationships that formed between Peilan and Leon, and Deming and Michael. The network of immigrants was inspiring to read about, the way people come together to help each other even though they have nothing.

Despite my complaints about this book I hope a lot of people read this, and seek to learn a little more about the deportation process (such as it is) for undocumented immigrants, and the horror it brings to everyone. This book does a pretty good job of putting a face on the so called "problem" of immigration. #weneeddiversebooks

A well written, thought provoking exploration of a young man who is born to an undocumented Chinese immigrant mother and how his life is radically changed by her deportation. Both main characters, Daniel/Deming and his mother Polly/Pelian have 2 names, 2 cultures, 2--or more-- identities and both struggle to reconcile both their relationships and their lives as they move deliberately and unintentionally between China and the US. There is a theme of debt--the literal debt that is paid to immigrate and the figurative debts that permeate their lives. Daniel is adopted by well meaning parents after his mother is deported, but his life continues to be a struggle of understanding and acceptance. The ending is an exploration of the concept of family--the resolution is complex, as is fitting for this book--there are no simple answers. A very relevant and timely book and one that lingers.

The Leavers is a novel about identity and how it is shaped and reshaped. The main characters, Deming and Polly, are expertly fleshed out. As their circumstances change, the novel craftily persuades the reader to be concerned for the mother and son duo and their outcome. I approached the end with a great amount of nervous anticipation.

Topics of immigration and adoption are treated carefully. There is nothing new here about either one, but I did sense in myself more empathy after reading The Leavers. I think the reality behind Polly's experiences as an undocumented immigrant are especially relevant and necessary to know about.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes contemporary fiction. There was some annoying hipster jargon when Deming's bands were being described, but otherwise The Leavers is an engaging read.

Thanks to NetGalley which provided an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a review.

This was an amazing book and story, well written, deeply moving. I loved it and will be recommending it to students.

This is a wonderfully rich story told through the eyes of a mother and son, separated early in his life. As it unfolds, they try to find - and define - themselves, one another, family, and home. The author does a fantastic job of portraying the complexities of a situation we rarely get to see the full truth of.