CW: Discusses mental health, suicide attempts, and depression. Topics are handled with care and result in Deb receiving the needed support. As a graphic memoir, even the darkest moments of the story are lined with the knowledge that Deb is resilient. She will persist, and go on to become an amazing artist and storyteller.

Deborah Jung-Jin Lee's graphic memoir provides a glimpse into what it's like to not belong and how deeply that can affect you. Deb's otherness started after her family moved from South Korea to the United States, and it continued to grow. Soon, she didn't feel Asian or American. Her entire self felt in limbo. She struggles with day-to-day life, family expectations, and the unique hell that is being a teen. Lee's art and use of a limited pastel color palette is absolute perfection!

Put this graphic memoir in the hands of any teen who wants to read stories about artists, mental health or the Korean-American diaspora. Also great for parents and teachers looking to understand mental health and the youth immigrant experience.

I didn’t know what to expect with this other than the gorgeous illustrations. The toxic family and mental health landscape of this book are brutally honest. I don’t know if I enjoyed it in the traditional sense but it touched me. I highly recommend this.

Deb JJ Lee’s graphic memoir In Limbo chronicles her last three years of high school in New Jersey as she navigates complicated relationships with her parents and friends. This was my first graphic memoir. I’m astonished at how well the medium can transmit one’s life story. Memoirs are already an incredibly intimate form of expression. Seeing the scenes laid out on the page added depth and an emotional charge to the experiences the author touches upon that I was not expecting.

It was disheartening seeing Deborah going through all of it. She can't catch a break. Every time she seems to land on stabler ground, ostensibly finding support, the rug gets pulled from under her feet. How traumatic being deprived of protection, backing, encouragement at such a young age. The illustrations were beautiful, soft, filled with movement and feelings. My personal favourite is a page filled with a dozen meal panels in Seoul, towards the end of the graphic memoir. What a delicious page!

I was a little confused by the sequence of events in the narrative. It was not always clear what happened when, especially the whole ordeal involving Quinn. On one page they are best of friends, and on the next Quinn seems to avoid Deborah. It is only later in the book, closer to the end, that the reason is revealed. Maybe I was not attentive enough, or I missed an important tell, but I was left a little bothered that that situation was not more directly addressed in a sequential way, as it was happening.

This memoir does not hold the solutions to life's problems, or the key to successful relationships with those closest to us, yet it is good just as it is. A reflection of life rather than an answer key.

Thank you to Deb JJ Lee, Netgalley, and First Second Books for the ARC.

** Will be published on 2/3/23, one month prior to release
My Thoughts:
Being "in limbo" can mean many things. There is the liminal space "limbo" between life and death, teen and adulthood. There is even the liminal spaces between countries and cultures. The otherness of being from one country (South Korea) and living in another (America) is part of the many struggles in this memoir by Deb JJ Lee.

This memoir uses light and dark shades, white space and black spaces to evoke tone in this memoir. It reflects the authorʻs struggles in otherness and mental health. It widens the gap in language and understanding. This is about a lonely girl who struggles to make sense of her relationship with her mother and find the right communication style to make and keep her few friends. This aching memoir floats the reader (me) through the islands of my own teen angst.

From the Publisher:
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.

Publication Information:
Author: Deb J.J. Lee
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: March 7, 2023

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley. Trigger warning for child abuse, mental illness, and suicide.)

When they were a toddler, Deborah Jung-Jin Lee's parents moved the family from South Korea to America. From the beginning, they felt like an outsider: in Alabama, they were confronted with open racism but, after relocating to the Northeast, the bigotry became more insidious. They fell behind in school. They had trouble making friends. They took up the violin - and continued on, long after the enjoyment had dissipated, because all of their friend group was in orchestra. Weekend Korean classes should have offered a respite, but Deb was "other" there as well: not 'Asian enough' for their Korean-American peers, but 'too exotic' to be wholly 'American.' Plagued by anxiety and depression, Lee would survive two suicide attempts before high school graduation.

Lee's saving grace was perhaps two-fold: art school and therapy. When Deb's mom agrees to enroll them in weekend art classes in the city, Lee is finally able to embrace their passion - and the new friendships that blossom from it. Lee's therapist gives them the tools to form new, more supportive social groups. That is, until her inconsistent (and often abusive) mother stops paying for the sessions.

As someone who's also struggled with anxiety and depression, I expected to connect with the story more than I did. After sleeping on it, I think Deb's melancholic, almost detached emotional state throughout most of the book had a sort of numbing effect on me. (That, or another reading slump is coming on, which is totally possible.) The art's muted color palette definitely suits the mood, but also amplifies the blue and dreary vibe. Ultimately, I think I related to many of the mental health scenes, but didn't always like what I saw and felt. I guess there's still a lot of STUFF from my childhood in need of excavation (*shrug*).

I appreciate how Lee penned the dialogue in both English and Korean; it definitely underscored Deb's alienation from their native culture, as exemplified by their loss of fluency in Korean.

This was an extremely well done graphic memoir that really showcased how in limbo the author truly felt during her younger years and the mental health battle that came with it.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Thank you to First Second Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

The art style and coloring is simple with black, whites, and grays. The panels themselves play with perspective with interesting framing that helps you feel like you are in the author's head.

The story follows Deborah (Jung-Jin) Lee an immigrant from South Korea who is trying to make sense of her identity as American & South Korean. She also deals with struggles with her sexuality, mental health, body image, and the relationship with her mother.

This book was much darker than I knew going in, so be aware that it deals with physical abuse and suicide attempts.

My only critique was some of the pacing and how abruptly it ended, but as it is a memoir she had to stop somewhere and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Korean-American Deb JJ Lee recounts her life through high school experiences with racist bullies, trying to fit in, and coping with mental illness. The graphic novel format helps to convey the author's passion for art and discuss mental illness without being blatantly descriptive in ways that could be triggering. The author is honest in her portrayal of her own illness and how it affected people in her life, which I felt was relatable. The artwork is filled with feeling too, which adds to what is being said in the text without having to explicitly say. It's done well!

CW: racism, bullying, violence, mental illness, suicide attempt, suicidal ideation

This graphic memoir contains a lot of heavy content around mental illness, cultural identity, abuse, friendships, and more. It's raw and painful at times, yet also hopeful in how it depicts Deb's progression from one way of thinking/existing to showing the possibilities and opportunities that exist with even a slight shift. Although a bit disjointed at times, I found this memoir touching and I could see it being a book through which someone else might find their own story reflected back at them.

Well writing, beautiful drawnings. Such a emotional journey of a girl trying to find her space in life, how to live with her parents and all The thoughts on her mind. Love It.

In Limbo is a beautifully illustrated graphic memoir about mental illness, family, friendship, and growing up in two different cultures. A solid entry to the field of mental health graphic memoirs, but occasionally feels a little unsure of its final destination. In Limbo seems rather appropriately named - a little dreamy, a little disconnected, but heartfelt and poignant.

A beautiful book filled with stunningly realistic images. The transectionality of mental health, self-identity, friendship, and just understanding who we are.

Wow.

In Limbo is a graphic memoir about Deborah, a Korean inmigrant in the United States. She is having a hard time in high school and in her home, feeling alone and helpless.

This comic is stunning, everything in it works perfectly. I liked the slow pacing and he composition of the pages (there is a scene with Deb running that almost make me scream, the composition was that good).
I loved the way the artist mixes the background art (kinda photorealistic) with the characters with a simpler but more expressive and flowy style. All the comic is colored with various shades of blue and white, highlighting the melacholy of its story.

I loved this comic, In Limbo has the same tone than other graphic novels like This one summer and Spinning. I couldn't put it down. A masterpiece of a debut. I'm going to follow this artist's career from now on.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

I thought this was a very moving memoir and glimpse into the author’s high school years. She successfully portrays the overlapping complexities of culture, race, mental health conditions and violence in the home. She manages to convey these complex issues through her artwork as she tells this story. It is the kind of story that could be utterly depressing but there is also much hope and resilience as the author tells her story and what she has had to overcome to be who she is. I think the author is very brave and very talented to be able to do this in the way that she does.

I enjoyed the artwork and the way in which it enables the reader to share in the author’s life whilst being a spectator. It tells a powerful story which is very painful in places but as we read we also experience a sense of emerging from a tunnel, perhaps not into dazzling light, but into a place of deeper understanding.

As some one who grew up as a racial minority, I could easily empathise with some of the author’s experiences of racism, the many micro aggressions and the need to recognise these and know when to push back, but unlike the author, for me the home was a place of freedom and safety. I think this is a wonderful story of resilience in the face of layers of pressure. It is painful to read but also powerful.

One thing that strikes me is the author’s lack of judgement and criticism of the adults around her. The author portrays people and events but she doesn’t really judge people, in the way that she could have done, the reader is left to judge.

One thing is clear, darkness and pain can be found in any family, whether they are happy and accomplished on the surface or not. Sometimes the struggles and pains are hidden behind closed doors or buried within a person. It is a really fascinating book especially the cultural issues. I spent quite a bit of time googling eyelid operations. A fascinating graphic novel.

Copy provided by publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The first time I tried to reading this book, I felt the color is a bit "depressed" and the story is a bit too long.
While I was reading, my thought started to change.
I enjoy this book very much. A story about growing up, about esteem, about friendship, about family relationship and about being different races in US.
The illustrations are good. The author is very talent in arts.

A heartbreaking memoir by Lee, In Limbo is a raw, unfiltered look at her life as a immigrant. If you're someone familiar with diaspora literature, the themes discussed in this volume won't surprise you, but it's still heart wrenching to see all the struggles young girls of color have to face, especially in regards to their families. Where the book really shines through is the artwork---Lee is a hell of an artist, I'll definitely keep my eye out for her work in the future.

Lee weaves a thoughtful and contemplative memoir of the struggles of growing up with mental illness and the "in between" feeling of straddling two cultures. With stunning art and minimalist writing, readers can fully sit with the feelings of isolation and even the selfishness that can occur in a mental health crisis. I felt as though I was re-living my own high school experience through a lot of this graphic memoir, and could easily read between the lines with what wasn't said. This is a great read for middle grade and beyond!

In Limbo is a beautiful memoir regarding what it's like to grow up Korean American. The art style is simplistic, yet unique and is able to capture the essence of the emotions Deb JJ Lee wanted to convey to the reader. I cannot wait to handsell it to customers,

Stunningly beautiful both in content and artwork, In Limbo, follows Deb JJ Lee's adolescence as she deals with mental health, high school, racism, and parental expectations - there's so much to unpack with this graphic novel.

This felt very personal to me. I didn't relate on many levels, but the way Deborah conveyed those emotions and real-life experiences felt so genuine and brutally truthful. Whatever Deborah feels, you as the reader feel. You're almost an omniscient spectator watching from above, watching as Dehorah spirals, goes through ups and downs, and her feelings.

Might be one of the best descriptions of feeling lost I've read in a long time. It's not an easy read at all, since it deals with complex issues so read with caution. Still, I do believe everyone can benefit from this- either by relating, feeling seen within Deborah's story, or simply understanding a new perspective.

One of the best graphic memoirs I’ve ever read. A great depiction of how mental health affects friendships. Can’t wait until this title is released.