The Leavers (National Book Award Finalist): A Novel

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This award-winning novel from the author of Memory Piece is a moving story of how a boy comes into his own when everything he loves is taken away, and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of the past.  

One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to her job at a nail salon—and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. 

With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left mystified and bereft. Eventually adopted by a pair of well-meaning white professors, Deming is moved from the Bronx to a small town upstate and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. But far from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his adoptive parents’ desire that he assimilate with his memories of his mother and the community he left behind. 

Told from the perspective of both Daniel—as he grows into a directionless young man—and Polly, Ko’s novel gives us one of fiction’s most singular mothers. Loving and selfish, determined and frightened, Polly is forced to make one heartwrenching choice after another. 

Set in New York and China, Lisa Ko’s The Leavers shares a vivid examination of borders and belonging, which earned it the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction, awarded by Barbara Kingsolver for a novel that addresses issues of social justice.
“Required reading.” —Ann Patchett 

National Book Award finalist

Named a Best Book of 2017 by NPR, Entertainment Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, Bustle, and Electric Literature

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The Leavers: A Novel

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More PEN/Bellwether Winners from Algonquin
“Drives home a lightning bolt of empathy.” —Barbara Kingsolver “Packed with drama.” —People “Affecting, exquisite.” —The Miami Herald “A joy for readers.” —Chicago Tribune “Audacious and compelling.” —The Washington Post “A calculated nail-biter.” —The Washington Post

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Algonquin Books; Reprint edition (April 24, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 161620804X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1616208042
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 870L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.55 x 0.75 x 8.2 inches

Customers say

Customers find the storyline compelling, forgiving, and informative. They also praise the writing as brilliant, complex, and well-developed. Readers describe the characters as deeply and complexly realised. They describe the story as powerful in its examination of culture, identity, perseverance, and love. They mention the reading pace as fast-paced. Opinions are mixed on the emotional tone, with some finding it poignant and heartfelt, while others find it boring. Reader opinions are mixed also on the movement, with others finding it fast-moving and others slow-movin.

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