Review on 🏆 The Leavers: A National Book Award Finalist Novel by Josh Ramos

Our son grew up with an Asian-born boy who was adopted as an infant by a middle-class American family. He had very nice parents and an adoptive sister of a different race. Our son told us that the boy was sad, wondering why his mother left him and how he struggled with being the only Asian in school. There was always something sad about the boy. I thought of this boy-turned-man as I read Lisako's debut novel The Graduates. The book is an exciting journey into the life of Deming/Daniel, a Chinese-American child adopted by an American family, and his biological mother, Pelian/Polly, who is brave and strong but whose passionate love for her child drives her cannot save from the forces of... Poverty and the law is what inevitably separates them from the child. Pelian/Polly Gao is an unforgettable character born in rural China to a fisherman's daughter. She represents the possibilities of another life and will do anything to fulfill her dream. She could have agreed to marry a country boy who loved her, stay in China and take care of her aging fisherman father. She could have an abortion and stay in a Chinese factory dorm and work overtime. Instead, she takes out a loan to go to America. Their son Deming was born in New York. But Polly's debt meant working long hours for low wages. She sends her son to his father in China. After the death of his grandfather, Deming is reunited with his mother, who lives with her boyfriend, his sister, and his nephew. These years are the happiest for Deming. He loves his mother and has a "brother" for his best friend. One day Deming's mother disappears. He comes into a foster family and is adopted by an educated and wealthy family. Now his name is Daniel, and the boy never feels at home in his new world, just as his mother didn't feel at home in her rural village. Daniel struggles in life. Then he comes into contact with people from his past who led him to search for his mother. And finally he learns about the painful events that led to their separation. Illegal immigration, the immigration experience, the love between mother and child, the search for authenticity and the place they belong are themes of the novel. well-deserved praise and I bought it to read. The beauty of Koh's writing and the memorable characters made this book stand out.