I really loved the art style from Mari (I especially love the cover art) and the story was compelling. I felt for Chirstine's character despite not personally relating because she did such a wonderful job at articulating her struggles, her emotions, so it was easy to understand her inner turmoil. I think a lot of biracial people would love and probably relate to this story in one way or another but I also think graphic novel lovers and/or memoir lovers, like myself, will enjoy it too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Christine Mari's graphic memoir about her struggles with anxiety and identity is a well-written, well-illustrated, and relatable story with appeal to many readers. While it was a difficult read at times, not everything in life is easy.

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

First off, I can say that as a lily-white American, I cannot relate to being mixed race and all that society pushes upon those who are. But the themes of feeling like you don’t belong, and confusion and depression when hitting major milestones (adulthood, yay!) are universal.

Mari does a great job of showing how, as a Japanese American, returning to the country where she was born was hard. She had the barest memories of speaking Japanese (she moved to the United States when she was 5) and really didn’t prepare herself for living in Japan beyond hanging out with her grandparents. She shows how, at first, she goes with the flow at university, but silently bristles at being called a halfu, the term used for mixed race in her circles. Other young adults who are mixed seem to be succeeding, or at least appear to be, and that confuses Mari, who feels a bit like a poser, but mostly just wonders why she isn’t enough, why she doesn’t fit in, why she isn’t more popular.

Even though this book is non-fiction, the excellent illustrations, as well as this personal story, is very relatable to the target demographic. I even handed off my tablet to my three teens/young adults still living at home because I thought they could relate to all the feelings brought forth in this graphic novel.

Halfway There will be added to my list of graphic memoirs I recommend to my viewers. The author is half American, half Japanese and goes on a journey to find herself in Japan. What she thought would be an amazing life there turned into something much more. The exploration of identity and mental health were sometimes brutally honest and I loved to see that on the page.

This is a deeply personal story, and I'm honoured that the author chose to tell it. I think there are many who will relate to the themes found within. I loved the art style.

Halfway There is an emotional and beautiful story about a girl struggling with her self-identity and depression. I may not be able to relate to her story of self-discovery as a biracial person, but I heavily related to her battle with depression and anxiety. Mari depicts the struggle of sinking into your thoughts so well. Her descriptions of how she felt really aligned with my own experiences. I can not wait to get this book for my library.

A very poignant exploration of identity and mental health that will appeal to adults and teens alike. I particularly appreciated Christine's relationship with her grandmother and the artistic yet forthright depiction of depression -- Mari doesn't pull any punches when it comes to relating her experience. Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

A beautiful graphic novel memoir about being half Japanese, half American but feeling like you don't belong fully in either culture. The art is stunning and the story itself very moving, but just a bit heavier than I thought so definitely read your trigger warnings. Mentions and depictions of depression, self-harm, intrusive thoughts.

Great depiction of how hard it can be to find one’s self in regards to race and ethnicity and how the journey to self acceptance can be hard but very rewarding.

Mari does a great job of showing the vulnerability of someone not only struggling with mental health but also their identity. Her honesty in how a search for who you are may take you to unexpected places but also may not be a simple journey. The use of light and dark in the art also does a great job of conveying the story and her struggles. I loved that she grew closer with her grandmother through out the story but also began to love herself. I think that the discussion of identity is one that will resonate with many today.

This was a great depiction of the feeling of being "other"/not fitting in anywhere, depression, and anxiety. The art work really enhanced the story. I would have liked a little more though - a little more about Christine, and some other conflict. Overall a book I thought was important, and I would absolutely buy for my collection.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley. Content warning for depictions of racism, depression, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.)

Comic book artist Christine Mari was born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and an American father. When she was five, the family relocated to America. For much of her life, Mari has struggled with her self-identity: she's "too Asian" to be fully American, but "too white" to be fully Japanese. In Japanese parlance, she's a "half": and "how can someone ever feel whole if they've always been told they're only half of something?"

When she's nineteen, Mari decides to spend a year abroad in Japan to "find herself" - and also relearn the Japanese she lost when she moved to America. As she struggles with both the language and feelings of loneliness, isolation, and unbelonging, Mari's infatuation with Tokyo quickly fades. She develops depression and experiences suicidal ideation and self-harm. Luckily, she reaches out her her baba, who gets her the help she needs. Though she carries many of her questions and doubts back to America, Mari seems better equipped to deal with the uncertainties ahead.

HALFWAY THERE is a touching memoir about Mari's search for identity and belonging as a biracial, first generation immigrant. It's also a pretty keen look at one person's journey through depression - something I found especially relatable. The artwork is lovely (especially the use of colors) and Mari's observations are cutting - albeit in a gentle sort of way. I can't wait to see what she does next!

Halfway There is an introspective graphic memoir that deals with feelings of depression and isolation. The author conveys her memories gracefully and elegantly. This is a wonderfully executed memoir about an experience that not enough books discuss.

Christine Mari does a great job of exploring how the main character in the book feels about being Hafu (half Japanese and half something else) both in the United States and during the year that she visits Japan. Even though these were not feelings or situations that I have ever experienced, it was easy to step in the shoes of the character and to understand what her world is like. At one point in the graphic novel, it takes a darker turn that was unexpected. However, it makes sense within the arch of the character and her journey. This graphic novel goes a long way toward building empathy for people whose life experiences may be different from their own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC!

half American half Japanese, Christine never felt wholly accepted by anyone, wherever she was. In America she's seen as Japanese, and in Japanese she's seen as American. she's always "halfway there". this book took readers to Christine's journey to self-discovery and navigating her identity. it's very raw yet heartfelt.

Halfway there is a story about a girl struggling to find herself in the world as she struggles with self identity and depression. In a society that is super judgmental, she is constantly being told she's American or Not Japanese because she can't speak the language. She even feels like an outsider in her own family when she goes back to Japan. This is a book that covers some topics that might make some people uncomfortable, though is an excellent book to understand someone else's story that might be similar to someone else also feeling these kinds of feelings in their own life.

Growing up in the US, Mari always felt *other*—half Japanese and half American, born in one country but raised in another, part of her wondered whether she'd have fit in better if her family had stayed in Japan. And as a young adult, she had a chance to try out a different life for herself: she moved to Japan to study abroad, to buff up her Japanese, and to see if Tokyo was a place—THE place—she could be the person she dreamed of being.

But as so often happens: wherever you go, there you are. Some things about Tokyo were just what Mari remembered or envisioned or loved—and other things were just like being in the US again but the reverse, and she didn't develop magical fluency in Japanese overnight, and, well, being a young adult is hard.

I picked this up partly because I have no resistance, natural or acquired, to moving-abroad books (whether expat or moving-back-to-homeland or otherwise), and partly because of the cover (read: I am shallow)—how pretty is that cover? The art inside is simpler, but still pretty, done largely in shades of grey and purple. I may eventually look up Mari's earlier travelogue about time spent in Tokyo as a teenager, but it looks like her art style has matured a lot since then, and for the time being I'm pretty happy keeping the art from "Halfway There" foremost in my memory.

Not always a happy memoir, but one that will resonate with teens and young adults who are struggling to find their way and their place in a world that doesn't always feel welcoming.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I haven't cried this hard with a book for a minute. As a content warning, this graphic novel discusses SH and depression, though no SH is depicted in the art. As a 100% Caucasian person in the US, I feel like I can't speak much on the main bulk of the story: being half Japanese, half American, except to say that the way it is discussed made it easy for me to understand the struggle of being "mixed" ethnicity from an outside perspective. Christine quite openly and honestly explains her experience, and paired with a beautiful artistic style, I felt the turmoil. The other aspect that's heavily explored in this story is depression, a topic I can definitely speak on. She captured the essence of depression and the struggles of working through it so perfectly with her words and pictures. I feel a sort of kinship with her that I wasn't expecting to get from this book. I highly recommend this book.

I thought this book was quite beautiful. The art was gorgeous, and the emotional journey was well written. YA graphic novels don't have too many graphic memoirs compared to middle grade. So this is definitely a good recommendation to have in my pocket. I can't wait for it to be out in the fall that way I can buy it in print!

Halfway There is a really interesting graphic novel that explores being a young biracial American as well as mental health struggles for the main protagonist. This was a really well done book, and the illustrations were super clear at conveying emotions and concepts. It was A LOT more intense than I thought it would be. At some point the focus of the book seemed to be less on the main character's heritage and more on her depression and mental health. This isn't a bad thing, but it is good to know going in that this is not a relaxing read.

That being said, I think it did handle that subject matter really well, and I loved the relationships between the main character and her family. That was super sweet! Thanks to NetGalley, Christine Mari, and Little, Brown Books for the opportunity to read and review. My opinions are my own.