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readwithneleh's review against another edition
5.0
This graphic memoir is an honest look into an adoptee’s difficult journey of finding their birth parents. Lisa Woo-Rim Sjöblom, adopted into a Swedish family, has always wondered about her parents, her heritage and her home country of South Korea. And as she begins her search for her birth parents, she is met with lies and deceit at every turn from the institutions that were set up to help her.
As Sjöblom compresses her trauma into muted artwork and succinct text, she manages to pack each illustration and word with all of her frustration, confusion and grief. It is powerful, enlightening, and beautiful. Before this book, I was completely ignorant about the dark side of international adoption — the illegal selling and taking of children, the fabrication of documents and the conspiracy to cover up any illegal activity. While this book does bring to light the struggles of an adoptee, it is a deeply personal account of Sjöblom’s experience which makes this painful to read, but also extremely rewarding.
As Sjöblom compresses her trauma into muted artwork and succinct text, she manages to pack each illustration and word with all of her frustration, confusion and grief. It is powerful, enlightening, and beautiful. Before this book, I was completely ignorant about the dark side of international adoption — the illegal selling and taking of children, the fabrication of documents and the conspiracy to cover up any illegal activity. While this book does bring to light the struggles of an adoptee, it is a deeply personal account of Sjöblom’s experience which makes this painful to read, but also extremely rewarding.
layiling's review against another edition
5.0
holy shit. this book which i read in one night has already changed my life. details tk.
flamingo_and_owl_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
sophiesticatedselections's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
mybookworldtour's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
dereksilva's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I learned a lot about the experience of adoptees and would certainly recommend this book to others. I would say this wasn't a traditional graphic novel — for example, there are full-page copies of letters and forms that the author received from adoption agencies — but I think that the story being told visually did help to deliver the content in an interesting way.