In Limbo [Paperback]

A debut YA graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl's coming-of-age storyand a coming home storyset 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 wasnt perfect. Her teachers cant pronounce her Korean name. Her face and her eyesespecially her eyesfeel 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 ofHey, KiddoandThe 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

Deb JJ Leeis a Korean American artist currently living in Brooklyn, NY. They have appeared in theNew Yorker,Washington Post,NPR,Google,Radiolab,PBS, and more. Books they have illustrated includeThe Invisible Boyby Alyssa Hollingsworth (Roaring Brook Press, 2020) andThe Other Side of Tomorrowby Tina Cho (HarperCollins, 2024). They enjoy reality tv, sparkling water, and pretending to be an extrovert.

An Asian Pacific American Award for Literature Young Adult Honor Book
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

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