Cover Image: In Limbo

In Limbo

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Member Reviews

Navigating the path of being a first-generation creative Asian immigrant is tough. You are conditioned to please everyone, but you can't pelase anyone.

Deborah goes by Deb in school because people can't pronounce her Korean name or mistake her for being Chinese. Not helping is that she isn't a model child with straight A's and nailing physics. Things seem to change when her mother signs her up for at classes. But are new friends enough to handle her internal turbulance?

My heart broke reading this graphic novel. Deb's relationship with her mother is complicated, and seems to get worse over time. Her father is a nice guy but pretty useless when not at his medical clinic. But she finds ways to make new connections and build stronger bridges. It's just not a linear line. Ups and downs ensue.

I can't believe this is Deb's first book. She is going places.

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This was really beautifully illustrated. A moving story about growing up as a racialized person and experiencing otherness. I loved the MC's relationship with their mom.

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A nice read overall, that felt a bit out of my comfort zone. I could relate personally to the characters, but I can see some of the teenagers that come to the bookstore really liking this graphic novel! I will share this title with some of them that I think might be interested with the subject of cultural identity.

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This book was raw and real. It deals with so many topics that many teens could relate to and even adults. We look at the author's like through high school and her dealing with mental health and how to exist after a certain event in 8th grade.

The art is beautiful and the color choices made sense for the type of story it is, but how the coloring was done made me feel like my glasses were dirty or my vision was blurry. Again, it made sense for the story to make you feel how she felt during this time, but it distracted me and I needed to take more breaks while reading this.

Otherwise, I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book for early review.

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The art style for this graphic novel is absolutely stunning, it truly does wonders to convey the emotions of Deb JJ Lee's story!

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

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IN LIMBO is a beautiful coming-of-age graphic memoir from artist Deb JJ Lee that chronicles her life as a Korean immigrant.

I think this memoir was honest in a way where the author can be seen as self-centered and always claiming the victim. But aren’t (most) teens that way? I know I was. It’s no secret that our brains don’t stop developing and maturing into mid to late 20s, which means areas of the brain associated with empathy, higher-level thinking, and self-awareness are widely underused by teens. It’s biology.

I bring this up because I’ve read some reviews of this book that criticized how much the author is fixated on their own sadness. While I can understand that criticism, I think that entirely misses the point of this memoir, which is baked right into the titleI—IN LIMBO.

The author is in limbo between a lot— feeling not Korean or American enough, giving up music in exchange for art, being a dutiful daughter or being your own person. The teenage angst is there, but there are also real issues and trauma laid out in these pages. The book gets heavy. But it also focuses on healing.

I really enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t until the very end that I understand how special this book would become for me. The last few pages show an interaction between the author and their mom that made me break down and weep. I was immediately filled with so much complex emotion, I didn’t really understand why I was crying. Even now, as I am typing this, I am crying. And as a first time mom, this moment for me encapsulates the depth and complexity of motherhood. And while this book is written from the daughter’s perspective, whom I solidly identified with throughout the entire book, the last few pages allowed me to understood both characters so profoundly within a small and insignificant moment. Honestly, I can write an entire review on unpacking the last few pages. But, I won’t.

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I first found Deb JJ Lee from a collaboration with Adam Ellis on Instagram and I've been wowed by her art since that moment. This book is raw and unbelievably beautiful.

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A graphic novel about a girl from Korea who is relocated to New Jersey and how she feels like she doesn't belong.

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This deeply personal and vulnerable autobiographical graphic novel is about high school, coming of age, loneliness, being a child of immigrants, a feeling of not belonging anywhere, and depression.

CW: suicide attempt, self harm, physical abuse, depression

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"In Limbo" by Deb JJ Lee is a moving and deeply personal exploration of loss and healing. Lee's writing is poignant and evocative as she navigates the emotional landscape of grief. The book's raw honesty and introspective narrative create a space for readers to connect with the universal experiences of mourning and finding solace. Lee's ability to capture the intricacies of emotions and memories adds a layer of authenticity to the story. "In Limbo" is a touching reminder that the journey through grief is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, leaving readers with a profound sense of empathy and understanding.

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This book is an amazing debut graphic memoir that everyone should give a chance. The story is about what life was for Deborah as a Korean American young person with immigrant parents. The writer talks about their struggle with body image, family abuse, depression and the feeling of not belonging. Since the book deals with many serious subjects, it was not very easy to read, but it is definitely a great story worth exploring and the art is absolutely beautiful.

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I've been racking my brains over what to write in my review, but frankly it's just not my place to comment. But since I have to leave feedback for my arc...

The author is honest and unflinching in opening up about her struggles, which I appreciate. But while this graphic memoir sheds light on several heavy and complex issues, I just didn't feel or glean anything much from it. I could not relate to its contents, wasn't fond of the protagonist and felt a disconnect while reading. Maybe I need to read it again when I'm in the right mood and setting.

Giving a memoir a less-than-stellar rating always feels tricky, but I'm giving this 3 stars as an indication of how I feel about the book overall: Good but I didn't love it.

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In Limbo was such a heartbreaking but beautiful graphic memoir. I appreciated Lee's ability to be vulnerable and open about her struggle with depression, especially as a teenager. This is something so many of us go through, and it can feel very isolating, so seeing it displayed in such an honest way felt so important to this book. Reading about Lee's relationship with her mother was devastating at times, and made you want to just reach into the book and give her a hug.

This book accomplished one of my favorite things about reading graphic memoirs by fully immersing us into their world. As readers we understand this is like looking into a memory, and that is something really special

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This book is so tough to rate and write about because it deals with heavy and close topics with such sincerity and honesty. It's giving Tillie Walden, the art is stunning and engaging.

Deborah (Jung-Jin) illustrates what it was like for her as a Korean-American with immigrant (and tiger) parents. It's hard enough being seen as 'other' by her peers because of her Korean nationality, not to mention being pushed by her parents to do better, and be better; the expectations of others are crushing.

Deborah talks about her depression, suicide attempts, therapy, the evolving relationship with her parents, and just trying to cope with life. This isn't just a feel-good book you come away from happy and fuzzy, but it also isn't completely depressing; I think it's more hopeful. In the chaos and upset of life and other people, there is real hope of it getting better, even if it's not a straight path. Also, for many Asian-American people, it shows them they aren't alone in their struggles.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

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A haunting and beautiful story that will make readers more empathic and will speak to people who have gone through similar struggles.

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content/trigger warning: assault, blackmail, body shaming, bullying, child abuse, depression, dysphoria, racism, self-harm, suicidal ideation, xenophobia

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I wish the cover art style wasn't so disparately different from the interior art. I was expecting something colorful and was disappointed to find black and white. Unfortunately, that failure of meeting expectation only continued in the narrative and I wasn't impressed.

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"In Limbo" is the autobiographical coming of age story of Deb Lee, a Korean American with mental health issues and a strict Korean mom. Their story starts on the first day of high school where we see Deb's general struggles with friends, peers, and teachers, and also with school classes in general. Not far into our story we also see that she plays violin in the school orchestra, which is how she's made most of her friends at school, but she has since fallen out of love with the violin and wishes to make art instead. Through her story, we can see that Deb's mom must also suffer from some mental health issues of her own, as she bounces back and forth between acceptance and violence towards Deb, even resulting in her mother beating her on more than one occasion. The story progresses through Deb's high school years where we see her start going to an art school where she meets new friends, and also comes out of her shell and accept herself a bit more, though still not entirely. Deb eventually meets Quinn, who quickly becomes one of her best friends, her only friend, the person she is joined at the hip too. During their senior year Quinn starts hanging out with other people more, and though she invites Deb to join in, they don't have anything in common and Deb feels awkward and out of place. Quinn essentially "moving on" puts Deb in a weird place, and eventually leads her to attempting suicide- something that she openly blames Quinn for. As the years pass and Deb spends time in therapy and grows as a person, she apologizes Quinn for blaming her, and also to her old friends for not paying more attention to their struggles in high school or being a better friend. In the afterward, Deb explains that the real Quinn mend their friendship temporarily, but it eventually fades out as some friendships do, while her old friends from orchestra (before Quinn) are still strong even today.

When I write reviews of someone's biography I tend to rate them 5 stars, as who am I to tell them that their life story is "bad" or "not entertaining enough". This is a real person you need to consider here. That being said, If I were to give this a star rating, I would probably give it a 2/5. The beginning of the story is all over the place and generally doesn't make sense. Who is Sam? Why do I care he is also taking violin lessons? Characters are brought in and introduced for no reason with no explanation, and then disappear without notice or reason either. Other than this story being an autobiography, I can't seem to understand the why? Why was it necessary for this to be written and shared? Simply because it was one Korean American's experience and story of growing up? I want to give Deb the benefit of the doubt that she was young and immature and that was why she tried committing suicide because her friend got other friends, but this happened when she was 17? 18? There comes a point where immaturity cannot excuse poor actions. And her apology to Quinn is also quickly glanced over and not dwelled on, it just happens on a page and then all is hunky dory after. Deb needed to take responsibility for her actions instead of blaming someone else. Especially with how she treated and reacted to Quinn after telling her that was why Deb attempted suicide- Quinn understandably distanced herself and was upset. I unfortunately feel like "In Limbo" was a one sided autobiography used as a way to explain away Deb's (for lack of a better word) shitty behavior, and act as a catch all "oops I'm sorry". I just simply wasn't a fan.

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This is a great book but it can be dark and tended to drag. I feel that fell more on me and where my head was at while trying to read it. I just wasn’t in the mood and I had to take breaks while reading it. The book itself is a lot. We follow a korean American girl as she struggles with her identity and mental health. I definitely recommend it for those interested.

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