The Leavers (National Book Award Finalist): A Novel | 
pickThis book takes its time, thus taking me a little time to get into it. But it definitely gripped me, moving back and forth between mother and son as we get to know each and their situations. It explores identity, belonging, immigration, and the dreadful way the US chooses to treat undocumented people. #ReadYourEbooks
I ended up with a fun mix for #ReadYourEbooks for August. The Leavers is the one I most want to get to.
pick3.8/5 🌟
This poignant novel examines the life of a boy whose world is shattered when his mother disappears, leaving him to be adopted by a white family and navigate a new identity. As he grapples with the trauma of his past and struggles to find his place in the world, the story offers a heartbreaking exploration of loss, identity, belonging, and much more.
so-soThe subject of this book was interesting and I liked reading about family, adoption, belonging and immigration. I thought it was a little long, would be great on audio!
pickOoh, this one was a heartbreaker and beautifully written. So many challenging themes, adoption, belonging, loss, and social justice. Great on #audio, highly recommend! #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
so-soI had higher hopes for this book, as I was very interested in the interracial adoption storyline, but I felt the story really dragged. It took me ages to read. At least it fulfilled some prompts! The parts I did love was the exploration of adoption trauma, and an example of how inhumane our immigration system is (saying more would border in spoiler territory).
#booked2022 #setinchina
#pop22 #doublelife
pickI‘m at odds with this book because it‘s a pick that left me wanting. On the other hand, it‘s a realistic story of a first gen Chinese American who at 11 believes himself abandoned by his undocumented single mother. He‘s adopted into a family and new community, but micro aggressions further bruise his damaged, as unchecked psyche. …Heartbreaking but sometimes it really is a location that is home.
#Pantone2022 Poinciana
so-soI didn‘t like this book as much as most people did. It‘s a long book and as heartbreaking as Polly‘s and Demin‘s story is (and the foster parents for that matter), I didn‘t feel close to either of them. The author writes in a rather boring, chronological way, without much room for my own interpretation. But I am glad you sent it my way Cindy (loooong ago!), I don‘t think many non-Americans have a BOTM collection as impressive as mine ❤️❤️
#SEAsia
#LitsySpringBreak
NOT a fan!!! 😩😩😩
pickRead this on the Interislander Ferry. This is Queen Charlotte Sound at the top of the South Island (NZ). Very fortunate to come out of lockdown and be allowed to travel domestically again.
This is an excellent book - the writing is great and the characters are complex. It‘s both a tale of immigration traumas and growing up and trying to find where you fit in. It‘s hard to say too much more without giving away what happens ⬇️
pickImmigration, family separation, adoption. Spanning China and New York and several generations, essentially this is Deming‘s story; cast adrift age 11 when his mother disappears, and the profound effect that separation has no matter what comes next. Super readable, but so much to think about too. There‘s a certain lack of emotion from the writing but despite that my heart was breaking for Deming from beginning to end.
pickPolly is an undocumented immigrant living in New York City. The mother of a 6-year-old boy, she struggles to make ends meet by working for meager wages at a mediocre nail salon. Then one day, she simply disappears. This is one of the most touching (and fairly convoluted) family stories I‘ve run across. It would make a fantastic book club read. Wonderful book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickJust finished this amazing heartbreaking story. I rarely give 5 stars but this will go on my list of all time favorites. Loved it!
pick1st book finished for the #24B4Monday #readathon . 7 hrs 3 min so far. There are some hard lessons to be learned in the US that are pointed out in this book regarding immigration and adoption. It was pretty powerful. A lot of times I exclaimed "they did what?" outloud.
@SumisBooks @Andrew65 @jb72
pickEverybody told me this book was amazing, and i have to agree. It‘s about immigration and family separation and adoption, about how the trauma of separation lasts and lasts and changes the people affected by it. You can see so clearly the way both Polly and Deming/Daniel carry their wounds afterwards and it‘s just heartbreakingly real.
pickI read this for book club and we discussed it last night. Overall, we all felt the same--there were a few elements of the book that didn't totally work (the way Polly's story resolved) but overall we thought this was a nuanced look at the life of an undocumented worker, and of adoption. Glad I finally got to reading it, it's been on the TBR for a few years.
pickA remarkable book that is a celebration of the human spirit, an indictment of our immigration system, & a heartbreaking exploration of family & finding where you belong. Ko‘s story about an undocumented Chinese immigrant who goes to work one day & never returns & what then happens to the son left behind shines a light on the desperation, courage, hope, need & more that propels people into the unknown & where that leads them. Stunning. Recommended.
Grabbed the book on the top of my bedside TBR stack for my next read. So, here I go...
Spent a couple hours volunteering this morning at the archive where I did my internship. One of the other volunteers has been ill so I've been helping out when I can. The triple bonus was stopping by the donation/weeding room where I found all these lovely gems! Of course I had to rescue them and bring them home with me! 😍📚💕 #librarylove #librarybookhaul #bookhaul
1. The Leavers by Lisa Ko
2. Passing by Nella Larsen
3. 🤷🏻♀️
4. Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
5. @Hestapleton @Caterina
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs
pickThis was excellent! It was such a melancholy story with two main characters your heart broke for over and over again. So good.
panI did not care for this book at all. The writing is all over the place with changing tenses and time jumping chapters and characters. This could have been told in a better fashion as the concept is interesting. A fairly major thread in the story fizzles and it just feels incomplete. Attempts at flowery, oddly phased descriptions made me ask “huh?” several times in my notes. #litsyAtoZ challenge @BookishMarginalia
pickIt was a little sad, but still a very good read. You still feel for both main characters, and understand where they come from and their way of thinking. Loved it.
pickGreat book - and very timely with news of ICE raids this week. This was a really heavy and emotional book, but so good.
Peilan pregnant at 17 left China for a better life in New York. She disappears leaving her small son orphaned. I couldn't ever imagine what it would feel like being in Peilan's shoes nor son Deming's which made this story so interesting and special for me.
#shesleavinghome #BeatleMaynia
My reading buddies.
They live on the big reading chair.
#dewyreadathon #deweyapril #hourlyphotochallenge
#sadnessinsideout #anxietyblob
April Readathon. Hour 1. The Stack.
#deweyreadathon #aprilreadathon #thestack @DeweysReadathon
It was that kind of mindfuck: to be too visible and invisible at the same time, in the ways it mattered the most.
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One week later, tucked into a double bed sheathed with red flannel, Deming Guo awoke with the crumbs of dialect on his tongue, smudges and smears of dissolving syllables, nouns and verbs washed out to sea. One language had outseeped another...He‘d bled English vowels and watched his mother‘s face fall.
Recent book haul! I‘ve decided I need a break from YA books. Anyone have any recommendations? Bonus if it‘s historical fiction (my current craving).
It was comforting to know that nothing stayed the same for too long, that each day was a new opportunity for reinvention. A person could be transformed by a fresh wardrobe or a different nickname
This was what could happen in a city like this. A woman could come from nowhere and become a new person. A woman could be arranged like a bouquet of fake flowers, bent this way and that, scrutinized from a distance, rearranged.
Trying to get out of my book slump with this title I‘ve had on my bookshelf for more than a year.
pickWhen I gasp out loud as a moment of revelation becomes clear, I know I'm reading a good one. Beautifully written, often heartbreaking, with a way of cutting through to the truth of a relationship, The Leavers is a standout from start to finish.
#nextup Loaned to me from the lovely @Samplergal - I love that I get to see all the passages she highlighted for her book club discussion.... it‘s definitely going to add another wonderful layer to this reading experience 😊👍
pickThis is my favorite book of the year thus far. It brings a human face to immigration. Told from the viewpoints of mother and son, I was drawn into both of the characters emotional worlds. Deming/Daniel has a fierce desire to belong that everyone can relate to.
pickOne of my three TBR books from Book Riot‘s subscription. I really liked the story of Deming/Daniel and his mother Polly although at times the plot felt stalled (maybe it was supposed to evoke Deming‘s feeling of never belonging or abandonment). I happened to have this on audio while also reading Nicole Chung‘s upcoming memoir about being adopted - while the circumstances are different, Chung‘s memoir and Deming‘s story had eerie parallels.
