The Leavers by Lisa Ko
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A white sheep comes home to roost" - A.

The Leavers by Lisa Ko is told from an very unique dual point of view. Half the book is told from Daniel's "Deming" (the son of a Chinese immigrant) point of view and half the book is told from his mother's "Polly" point of view. The narration is very unique and adds interest, but I am not sure if I really liked it. In my opinion, it was a little hard to follow. However, the point of view definitely lets the reader see "both sides of the story."

Part of the book happens in New York and other parts of the book is set in China. The dual setting definitely gives the reader some insight into where Daniel and Polly came from and what obstacles were overcome to integrate into American life.

"The Leavers"' theme is exactly what the title suggests, - leaving. Leaving one's homeland, culture, family, loves, etc.

I have never read any of Lisa Ko's previous books. I enjoyed her writing in this book, but I am not sure if I would seek any future books by this author just because it was written by her.

"The Leavers" goes back and forth in time between a young boy "Deming" or "Daniel" and his mother, "Polly". Deming was born in America, but was sent back to China to live with his grandfather so his mother could work. After he was brought back to America when he was school age, the reader learns of many struggles he faces as a child growing up around a strange culture and language. His mother abruptly leaves him for apparently no reason one day. Much of the book is spent on Deming's search of his mother and the reason why she left. After Deming is left by his caretakers, he is eventually adopted by white, older, American college professors who have never had children. Deming becomes "Daniel", a Chinese American who struggles to live up to the standards of his new parents. Daniel spends his adult life going in and out of his adoptive parents' care. He has another adopted Chinese friend named "Angel" who emphasizes with his struggles, but adapts much better to her new life than he does. They joke that maybe it's not the "black sheep" that are the bad ones, but maybe the white ones that are the real trouble-makers. After Daniel comes home once, Angel says, "The white sheep comes home to roost."

My Literary 2 Cents...

The best part of this book for me was the ability I had as a reader to "walk in the shoes" of an immigrant boy. I am an ESL teacher and work every day with children who struggle to fit in with others because they don't speak the same language as everyone else, or are in the minority because of the color of their skin. I deeply feel for these children, but I think hearing this story told from Deming's point of view really hit home for me. I felt that I came away from this book with a deeper appreciation of what my students must feel every day.

I only gave this book 3 stars because the book got a little drawn-out and tedious at some parts. By the end of the book, I was just ready to be done with it. The ending was a little anti-climatic and I wished it had a little better ending.

As a Christian, this book spoke to me because I want to be able to minister to people who are different than I am. I Cor. 9:19-20 says, "for though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law.." I don't feel like one can effectively empathize with anyone else until you have walked "2 moons in his moccasins". This book gave me a different perspective on those children that I am around every day and for that, I am grateful and walk away a better person.


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