by Lisa Ko
First published 2019
Eleven-year-old Deming wakes up one morning to discover his mother Polly has disappeared. She left for work at the beauty salon and never returned home. Polly, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, vanished without leaving any trace behind. Deming faces unanswered questions, confusion, and loneliness. A well-meaning professor couple eventually adopts him, and he moves from the Bronx to a small town. His new parents rename him Daniel Wilkinson. But changing his name cannot erase his past or help him forget the mother he left behind. The story alternates between Deming's perspective as he grows into a rootless young man and Polly's voice as she becomes one of the world's loneliest, lost mothers. Polly makes impulsive choices that shape her destiny, driven by love and selfishness, determination and fear. The narrative splits between New York and China, exploring family, belonging, identity, and immigration through the eyes of outsiders.
Genres: family, american-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, adoption, asian-american
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Bronx, China, New York
Period: 21st-century
432 pages · Paperback · Timaş Yayınları