Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee

45 reviews

jialianyang's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Lushly illustrated, a pensive coming of age book that touches on belonging, mental health, friendship, family and art. Read this if you are ready to dive into a memoir that will demand empathy and holding space for swirling emotions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

novella42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

5.0

Powerful. It's always so heartbreaking to me that I can read a graphic novel in two hours, that took the author/illustrator a FIFTH of their life to create. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Domestic abuse

sissizc's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

Minor: Infidelity and Body shaming

potatodel's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Alcohol

growing_haru's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Minor: Body shaming and Racial slurs

libriinks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

endemictoearth's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Hard to rate memoirs, but the art was lovely.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Racism, and Mental illness

poemsandponds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

This book did its job well. Too well, actually. I left it feeling that same heaviness that pervades the entire book, basically feeling depressed. I knew this book was about mental health and the cultural reckoning that happens growing up an immigrant in America,  but I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so graphic in certain ways. Honestly, I think this book is slightly mis-represented in the synopsis and marketing. First of all, it's marketed as a YA book, but it felt a lot more adult in terms of tone and content. Kids should definitely be allowed to read it, since a kid who's struggling with the same mental health and home life issues could see that they're not alone. But I strongly feel that on the whole, this isn't a YA book. Also, the synopsis makes it sound a lot more hopeful and lighthearted than it actually is?? There aren't many moments of levity to break through the gloom, so this book in reality is pretty dark.  The author does such a good job of setting that mood, which covers every part of their life in a blue grey cloud. I wouldn't say that I liked it. But I actually don't think it's a book you're supposed to enjoy. I felt a sense of detachment from the story since the author themselves was so detached from their life and emotions due to trauma. Because of that it's not a story that could ever be a favorite for me or that I'd ever want to read again, even though graphic memoir is my thing. All in all, it is a well done book, but it isn't for everyone. If you get triggered by reading about graphic depictions of suicide attempts, depression, self harm, and child abuse, this isn't for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism and Bullying

Minor: Body shaming

matildahasopinions's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

lprongs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

I'm glad this exists because I think the author needed to write it, and I think a lot of people probably need to read it. It didn't really click with me though - I struggled to follow the thread of a lot of the more jumbled panel compositions, and I often felt like I couldn't quite figure out what the author was trying to say/show, even when it felt very important. However, this book was not written for me.

I will also say that a lot of my own trauma from severe depression, a suicide attempt, and an unstable, formative relationship with my own mother informed a lot of my response to this book. It made me uncomfortable in a bad way and reminded me of things I'd rather stay forgotten. I think if I'd read this a few years ago, before I moved back in with my parents, I would have enjoyed it more. Now it's a little too close to home, and I think that prevented me from really sinking into it and understanding more of it as I kept a lot of it at arm's length in my head.

It was not an enjoyable read, and like most memoirs, it feels wrong to rate it. But I do think it's a valuable addition to the world: it introduces and discusses some very complex and important topics, the art was beautiful, and the inclusion of Korean was cleverly done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse