The Leavers

 

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

I have mixed feelings about this one. I think it is vitally important to understand the immigration experience, and this one definitely has some new elements, especially highlighting the practice of bringing individuals over and then demanding high repayment prices, amounting to indentured servitude. I am always enraged when I read about ICE raids that leave illegal aliens in deplorable "jails" that hold no regard for children separated from their parents and treat them as less than death row inmates. The fact that these individuals are not citizens (yet) does not give us the right to deny basic human rights to them, and it sickens and saddens me that this happens in this country. (Once again, the fact they they are contracted facilities, not government run, is no excuse). The protagonists in this book are not readily likeable, but in some ways that is ok. Just because not all immigrants are noble does not mean they are less deserving of the American dream. Still, there were definitely some decisions and actions in this book that made it hard to root for them.

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