the leavers

I don’t typically read books in the same genre as The Leavers, but lately I’ve been loving testing out different genres within the Adult and YA world and getting to have a fresh perspective on a new favourite or maybe, stumble upon something I wouldn’t have read in the first place. When I was offered the chance to be on the tour, I jumped at the chance. I love getting to celebrate an authors hard work and spread the word when I’ve loved a book. And did I love The Leavers? Read below to find out… (hint: it’s good news)

One morning, when Deming Guo’s mother, who is a Chinese immigrant and also happens to be undocumented, goes to work, she never returns and can’t be found anywhere. He feels lost in a world where his Mother isn’t in it. She’s the only person he’s been that close to, and without her, the pang of loneliness kicks in from the get-go. He doesn’t understand why she’s left, so he tries to change himself, hoping she’ll return…but she never does. In her absence when the people that Deming and Polly, his mother, lived with, can’t look after him anymore, he is renamed Daniel Wilkinson and adopted by two white-American professors, moving from the Bronx to a town upstate. He’s only human, but he understands the world around him far better than his Mother, Polly. She was alone when she came to America with her son, and in a world where he understands it more than her, she’s lost as well. Deming thrives in a way that she struggles to in a new country, and the two stories that The Leavers weaves for us couldn’t be more different and alike at the same time.
I was stunned by just how fast I turned the pages of The Leavers. I didn’t think I’d connect with the characters because of our vast differences in age and upbringing, but somehow, I felt a part of myself resonate with them so clearly through the pages. The pain of not fitting in, of having to sacrifice a part of yourself and the sense of trying to find a place you belong in a big world…I nodded so many times and felt myself feel for the characters.
Overall, The Leavers is more than a novel. It’s a gem. It’s a story of loss, love, belonging, loneliness, family and borders. There’s so much beneath the surface of pain and love, from the backstory of Polly to the current day of Daniel. Lisa has written a rare find that I absolutely loved. This will tug at your heartstrings all day long. Huge four stars!