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A review by qmedna
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment