49 DAYS
by Agnes Lee
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.
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.
Type: Graphic Novel
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Publication: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781646143740
Type: Graphic Novel
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Publication: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781646143757
PRAISE
★ “A gorgeous, resonating, even mystical creation with little text, overflowing with unsaid feelings... Gently, nudgingly, Lee brilliantly intertwines the past, present, and future.”
—Booklist (starred)
★ “A moving portrayal of mortality and its aftermath.”
—Kirkus (starred)
“Expressive, fluid…an exemplar of what it means to trust the audience.”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“A deeply moving exploration of life after death, making peace with regret and life’s inevitabilities, and learning how to move on.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Agnes Lee’s storytelling is like her brushstroke, bold and deceptively simple. 49 Days captures the longing nature of grief; the unbearable loneliness in feeling close when we’re furthest apart. I didn’t want it to end.”
—AJ Dungo, creator of In Waves
"49 Days is a quiet, emotional graphic novel that beautifully explores grief, death, loss, and love. Kit is a Korean American girl who is embarking on a journey — for 49 days she is traveling after death in order to move forward and cross over, in accordance with Buddhist tradition. 49 days of rebirth and journey for the dead and of mourning and grief for the living. Agnes Lee's writing and illustrations are sparse yet incredibly effective. 49 Days is a poignant yet hopeful journey, and an experience that the reader will never forget."
—Christine Bollow, Loyalty Books
About 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. Agnes can be found at ahjlee.com. 49 Days is her debut.
