Our Favorite Books of 2017
What astonishes us about this year's best books is their audacity, their inventiveness, and their ability to delight and devastate in equal measure. In a field rich with powerful voices, these spoke to us most urgently.
By Natalie Beach, Hamilton Cain, Leigh Haber, Claire Luchette
6 of 11
The Leavers
By Lisa Ko
352 pages;
Algonquin Books
Here
is imperative reading: a vivid fictional exploration of what it means to belong
and what it feels like when you don't. In her central characters, an
iron-willed undocumented Chinese immigrant and her American-born son, Ko gives
us an unsparing portrait of the resilience and grit it takes to risk everything
to break free of tradition and start over in a foreign land.
Published 11/10/2017