Immigration is a passionate issue in America, with loud voices screaming from both sides. Lisa Ko writes an engaging fictional story depicting what it might be like to "belong" ....and not belong.
Six year old Deming is separated from his birth mother when the hair salon where she worked is raided by ICE. His well meaning "aunt" signs papers for his adoption by a white family, in a small white community...where he doesn't belong. He becomes Daniel and tries his best to be assimilated into a new environment....but he forever misses his Chinese mother.
This story evokes so many feelings as I reflect on my 2 adopted grandsons, and my 2 Ethiopian nephews. Can adoption by parents of a different culture make a difference? How can the parents keep a balance between their love and desire for their kids to become part of their family and culture...but not let the kids' culture and family be left behind? Lots of unanswered questions to ponder in this novel.
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