Purchase to Support Our Program

“In this graphic memoir, a young biracial woman recalls her complicated emotions when she returns from America to her childhood home in Japan. Nineteen-year-old Christine is excited to study Japanese in Tokyo, where she lived until age 5. Being “half”—with a Japanese mother and a white American father—has long been a source of pain because it’s been the main lens through which other people, both Asian and white, see her. …As she’s variously judged to be too Japanese and not Japanese enough, Christine begins to feel alienated and hopeless and slides into depression. Christine’s portrayal is appealing and true to life; Mari captures her fragile emotional state with care and accuracy, and her self-loathing, self-isolation, and endless rumination are brought to life in strikingly realistic ways. …Identity issues and mental health crises portrayed with depth and authenticity.”

– Kirkus Review, Starred Review

Halfway There: A Graphic Memoir of Self-Discovery

Written by Christine Mari
Illustrated by Christine Mari
Published by Little, Brown Ink

Christine has always felt she is just half: Half American, half Japanese. As a biracial Japanese American who was born in Tokyo but raised in the US, she knows all too well what it’s like to be a part of two different worlds but never feeling as though you belong to either.

Now on the brink of adulthood, Christine decides it’s time to return to the place she once called home. So she sets forth on a year abroad in Tokyo, believing that this is where she truly belongs. After years of feeling like an outsider, now she will finally be complete.

Except…Tokyo isn’t the answer she thought it would be. Instead of fitting in, Christine finds herself a fish out of water, as being half of two cultures isolates her in ways she’d never imagined. All she can do is try to stay afloat for the rest of the year—still figuring out who she is, what she wants in life, and whether she’ll ever truly be more than halfway there.

Author-illustrator Christine Mari explores what it means to lose and find yourself in this moving narrative of belonging and home.

Primary ISBN: 9780316416658
Publication Date: October 2024
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook
Young Adult, Graphic Memoir, Age 13 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: United States, Japan (Tokyo)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Immigrant, Home Country

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

Click here for details about how we define our titles.

Engagement Projects & Resources:

Share your favorite resources for this book with info@imyourneighborbooks.org.