In Limbo: A Graphic Memoir

A debut YA graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl’s coming-of-age story--and a coming home story--set 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 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.

Deborah Jung-Jin Lee is a Korean-born author and illustrator. Her clients include The New Yorker, Washington Post, NPR, Facebook, Radiolab, Scientific American, and PBS. Books she has illustrated include The Invisible Boy by Alyssa Hollingsworth (Roaring Brook Press, 2020) and The Tune Without Words by Tina Cho (HarperCollins, 2023). In Limbo is her debut graphic novel memoir. debleeart.com