49 Days
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $1.99
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
“A deeply moving exploration of life after death, making peace with regret and life’s inevitabilities, and learning how to move on.”
—Publishers Weekly
Best of the Year: BookPage - NYPL - Chicago Public Library - Kirkus - CCBC
Day 1
Gotta get up. Gotta keep moving. This map – it says I have to cross over here. Wait, what’s that…?
And so begins a graphic novel story unlike any other: 49 Days. In Buddhist tradition, a person must travel for forty-nine days after they die, before they can fully cross over. Here in this book, readers travel with one Korean American girl, Kit, on her journey, while also spending time with her family and friends left behind.
Agnes Lee has captivated readers across the world for years with her illustrations for the New York Times Metropolitan Diary. Her debut graphic novel is an unforgettable story of death, grief, love, and how we keep moving forward.
P R A I S E
★ “49 Days is an unusual, profoundly moving graphic novel whose elegance belies its complexity and whose emotional impact only grows upon rereading.”
—BookPage (starred)
★ “A gorgeous, resonating, even mystical creation with little text, overflowing with unsaid feelings... Gently, nudgingly, Lee brilliantly intertwines the past, present, and future.”
—Booklist (starred)
★ “A moving portrayal of mortality and its aftermath.”
—Kirkus (starred)
“Middle and high school readers will relate to the universal experiences of love, loss, and family tradition.”
—School Library Journal
“Expressive, fluid…an exemplar of what it means to trust the audience.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Invoking a Korean Buddhist tradition stating that "a person's soul remains in a state between life and rebirth for 49 days before they can move on to the next life," debut creator Lee chronicles the journey of Korean American Kit, who wakes up on a beach and soon begins traveling toward an unknown destination. Kit's first few attempts to leave the shore result in apparent death—via drowning, heat exhaustion, a tumble, and more—before she begins the cycle anew. As Kit becomes more adept in her survival skills, subsequent days see her journeying through mountain ranges and traipsing across rivers. Interspersed throughout Kit's travels, which are rendered in ink and grayscale washes, are bright orange vignettes depicting recollections of her death and memories from her childhood as well as somber red-toned panels rendering scenes of her family—including her umma, younger brother Tae Soo, and older sister Sam—and friends processing their grief. With spare text and effective use of negative space, Lee crafts a deeply moving exploration of life after death, making peace with regret and life's inevitabilities, and learning how to move on. Ages 12–up.
Customer Reviews
heart wrenching
this book perfectly captures the grief and emotions the characters are feeling. and them moving on in this story felt like a stab to the gut. like after reading this i couldnt stop thinking about it. it changed my perspective