My Name is Leon is set in the 1980s in the United Kingdom. It follows a young, mixed-race boy named Leon, who lives with his brother, Jake, and his mother. However, his mother is not able to care for him, leaving Leon to care for himself, his mother, and Jake. Leon is largely content with his life; however, things change when the authorities come and take Leon and his brother away from their mother and place them in the foster care system. Despite a tumultuous socio-political environment, Leon and Jake work hard to survive and thrive in a difficult environment.
Jake, a young white boy, is quickly adopted, while Leon, who is older and mixed-race, remains in the foster system. Their separation, grounded in the harsh realities of racial prejudice and the bureaucracy of adoption in the era in which the novel is set, forms the emotional core of the story.
No matter what was going on in his life, Leon wanted nothing more than to reunite with his beloved brother. His adoption also underscored for Leon how different his experience was from his brother's simply because of his color. That leads Leon to go on a search for his identity and what family means to him. Through it all, Maureen, his elderly foster carer, is a source of warmth and stability in Leon's otherwise turbulent life. Through her, Leon, for once, feels loved and cared for.
Through Leon's innocent and child-like perspective, de Waal sheds light on adult prejudices and systemic issues—two issues that only adults typically talk about. This is a novel about the resilience of the human spirit and the possibility of finding belonging and family in unexpected places. Leon's story is also emblematic of many stories that people of color experience in the adoption system.
