My Thoughts:
Being "in limbo" can mean many things. There is the liminal space "limbo" between life and death, teen and adulthood. There is even the liminal spaces between countries and cultures. The otherness of being from one country (South Korea) and living in another (America) is part of the many struggles in this memoir by Deb JJ Lee.
This memoir uses light and dark shades, white space and black spaces to evoke tone in this memoir. It reflects the authorʻs struggles in otherness and mental health. It widens the gap in language and understanding. This is about a lonely girl who struggles to make sense of her relationship with her mother and find the right communication style to make and keep her few friends. This aching memoir floats the reader (me) through the islands of my own teen angst.
From the Publisher:
Ever since Deborah (Jung-Jin) Lee emigrated from South Korea to the United States, she's felt her otherness.
For a while, her English wasn’t perfect. Her teachers can’t pronounce her Korean name. Her face and her eyes―especially her eyes―feel wrong.
In high school, everything gets harder. Friendships change and end, she falls behind in classes, and fights with her mom escalate. Caught in limbo, with nowhere safe to go, Deb finds her mental health plummeting, resulting in a suicide attempt.
But Deb is resilient and slowly heals with the help of art and self-care, guiding her to a deeper understanding of her heritage and herself.
This stunning debut graphic memoir features page after page of gorgeous, evocative art, perfect for Tillie Walden fans. It's a cross section of the Korean-American diaspora and mental health, a moving and powerful read in the vein of Hey, Kiddo and The Best We Could Do.
For a while, her English wasn’t perfect. Her teachers can’t pronounce her Korean name. Her face and her eyes―especially her eyes―feel wrong.
In high school, everything gets harder. Friendships change and end, she falls behind in classes, and fights with her mom escalate. Caught in limbo, with nowhere safe to go, Deb finds her mental health plummeting, resulting in a suicide attempt.
But Deb is resilient and slowly heals with the help of art and self-care, guiding her to a deeper understanding of her heritage and herself.
This stunning debut graphic memoir features page after page of gorgeous, evocative art, perfect for Tillie Walden fans. It's a cross section of the Korean-American diaspora and mental health, a moving and powerful read in the vein of Hey, Kiddo and The Best We Could Do.
Publication Information:
Author: Deb J.J. Lee
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
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