by Deb Jj Lee (Author)
A debut YA graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl's coming-of-age story--and a coming home story--set between a New Jersey suburb and Seoul, South Korea.
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.
This powerful memoir explores:
- immigration and cultural identity
- mental health and emotional isolation
- family expectations and generational pressure
- adolescence and self-discovery
Author Biography
Deb JJ Lee is a Korean American artist currently living in Brooklyn, NY. They have appeared in the New Yorker, Washington Post, NPR, Google, Radiolab, PBS, and more. Books they have illustrated include The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth (Roaring Brook Press, 2020) and The Other Side of Tomorrow by Tina Cho (HarperCollins, 2024). They enjoy reality tv, sparkling water, and pretending to be an extrovert.
Number of Pages: 352
Dimensions: 1.1 x 8.4 x 6 IN
Publication Date: March 07, 2023
Award: Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (2024)
Accelerated Reader:
Quiz Name: In Limbo
Interest Level: Upper Grades, 9-12
Reading Level: 2.7
Point Value: 1
