In Limbo

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 23 GEN 2023

Korean American illustrator Lee chronicles their life growing up in a predominantly white New Jersey neighborhood in the early 2010s via this insightful debut graphic memoir. Jung-Jin, who goes by Deborah or Deb, immigrated to the U.S. with their family when they were three years old. Since then, they've dealt with microaggressions from teachers and classmates, intense educational pressure from their mother, and frequent feelings of isolation, which only increased upon entering high school. When their mother's expectations turn Lee's love of the violin, their only safe space, into another academic stressor, they quit. After surviving a suicide attempt, Lee starts attending therapy sessions to help manage their anxiety and depression, and begins weekly art classes in N.Y.C.; both changes provide necessary refuge from life's mounting pressures. Nuanced, frequently wordless illustrations rendered in inky grayscale tones are jam-packed with background details that artfully convey the passage of time and Lee's growing anxiety. The creator portrays their complex mother-child relationship through candid dialogue, using the pair's language differences—they often communicate using a mix of Korean and English—to depict their varying interpersonal barriers. An emotionally tender, viscerally illustrated look at one teenager's struggles with identity and mental health. Ages 14–up.