Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - The Leavers

The Leavers was a moving story of survival when the world keeps throwing challenge after challenge at you. I really sympathized with Polly and appreciated that we got to see from her point of view. I understand Deming’s challenging, unjust upbringing, but I was really frustrated with some of his actions. Overall, a very powerful read.

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grboph's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was simply a great book. I loved all of the characters, the story was captivating and emotional, and Ko is a wonderful writer - I'd definitely seek out other books of hers. It also sheds light on an important societal issue, and I think it's a very important thing to be aware of. I'd recommend this book to anyone who lives in the United States or anyone who likes good stories about families.

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amberinbookland's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.25

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qmedna's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book which Lisa Ko has based loosely on Xiu Ping Jiang (represented by Peilan/ Polly), an undocumented immigrant from Fuzhou that tried to bring her 8 year old son into US from Canada but got caught. Her son was later adopted by a Canadian family which is reminiscent of our other protagonist, Deming/ Daniel.

Some points of the novel, it was heart wretching to see the decisions that Polly had to make or her arguments with Leon about how much she cared for Deming and her inner conflict as a women who wanted more, a better life for herself and her son. I also liked that there were dual perspectives as well, we could see the inner child appear within Deming every time he thought about his mother and whether she left because of him or due to some other issue. I really wanted to throttle Deming sometimes with the way he talked to Kay and Peter (his adoptive parents) but it also showed the way that even people with good intentions (like K&P), there are some internalized racism with how they perceive immigrants or even countries considered less fortunate than the US.

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ellastimpson's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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madeleinebay's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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hearth_hobbit's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is about a mother and son who are separated by deportation eventually are reunited again .

This book focuses on subjects such as transracial adoption, poverty, addiction, the inhumane treatment of people during deportation in the U.S., and family (found or otherwise). The story is beautifully crafted but extremely heavy emotionally.

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mayab1226's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think everyone should read this book. It paints a beautiful, multifaceted, and realistic picture of topics such as the mother-son relationship, the Fuzhounese diaspora, and the struggle to fit in and find a home, a place where you belong. The book gave me a new perspective on issues like trans-racial adoption that I hadn’t previously considered, and its depiction of

ICE detention camps and deportation

was absolutely harrowing to read.

The characterization of Peilan/Polly and Deming/Daniel, in my opinion, was fascinating and three-dimensional. I thought the narrative device of Deming/Daniel’s parts being written in third person, then Peilan/Polly’s being written in first person with her son as the narratee (“you”), was interesting and well-executed, if a bit surprising at first; it ultimately fit their characters well. I especially liked the unspoken similarities and parallels between them, the things that really make them mother and son—for instance, they both hate silence and find it oppressive (side note: I loved reading about Daniel’s synesthesia, since I have the same type—I see colors when I hear music), they both chafe at the idea of doing exactly what is expected of them, and ultimately

their idea of home and a place of belonging is transient, temporary, for both of them; both of them choose to be the titular leavers

. Ko has created characters that fit this conclusion well and serve it perfectly: Polly craves the unknown, endless possibility, being in motion, and often chooses to leaves her fate up to chance; similarly, while Daniel doesn’t like to be physically adrift, his gambling habit in which he gets himself “lost” evokes the same tendencies. Speaking of Polly’s characterization, it brings up interesting questions about her life story after

Daniel finds her

. From the beginning, she’s ambivalent about motherhood—domestic life is the exact opposite of the freedom and possibility she craves—but she obviously loves her son. At the same time, though

could she have tried harder to find him after being deported to China, or did she just really want to start a new life of her own?

It’s probable that both are true at the same time; both are consistent with her multifaceted characterization; it’s what made my professor call this “a very brave novel”.

Which leads me to a disclaimer — I read this for a college class on Asian American Fiction. This review might also be influenced by my friend in that same class, who loved this novel and cited it as her favorite assigned book of the whole semester. But I genuinely think this was a well-written book that brings up very important issues. And in the end, it made me Feel Emotions—and isn’t that all you can truly ask of a novel?

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