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Book Summary and Reviews of 49 Days by Agnes Lee

49 Days by Agnes Lee

49 Days

by Agnes Lee

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Published:
  • Mar 2024, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Agnes Lee has captivated readers across the world for years with her illustrations for the New York Times Metropolitan Diary. Her debut graphic novel is an unforgettable story of death, grief, love, and how we keep moving forward.

Day 1

Gotta get up. Gotta keep moving. This map – it says I have to cross over here. Wait, what's that…?


And so begins a graphic novel story unlike any other: 49 Days. In Buddhist tradition, a person must travel for forty-nine days after they die, before they can fully cross over. Here in this book, readers travel with one Korean American girl, Kit, on her journey, while also spending time with her family and friends left behind.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Lee's unfussy artwork—bold, black line art paired with monochromatic shading—effortlessly conveys movement and emotion, while page turns and two-page spreads are used to great effect in creating mood and suspense. The depth of emotion portrayed here will resonate with any reader who has experienced loss...A moving portrayal of mortality and its aftermath, shown from both sides." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"With spare text and effective use of negative space, Lee crafts a deeply moving exploration of life after death, making peace with regret and life's inevitabilities, and learning how to move on." —Publishers Weekly

This information about 49 Days was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Agnes Lee

Agnes Lee grew up in the Bay Area and is a graduate of Art Center College of Design. She is a former Chronicle Books fellow and was an Art Director at the New York Times for several years where she began illustrating the Metropolitan Diary column. She now lives in Portland, OR with her partner Eric and their cat Muta. In addition to art, she loves the outdoors and playing ultimate frisbee. 49 Days is her debut.

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