Have you ever sat down and really thought about your identity? In Names and Faces: A Graphic Memoir written and illustrated by Leise Hook, Leise has written a memoir-in-essays about how in-between she feels being mixed-race and how her attempt to form her own identity forces her to confront the two cultures she comes from.

Names and Faces: A Graphic Memoir by Leise Hook tells the story of one woman’s journey to find her identity. Leise was born to a Chinese mother and a white American father. She grew up in Michigan, Tokyo, and Virgina where she faced intrusive questions about her identity so many times growing up that she started to feel like a ghost. She felt like she never quite fit in with either side of her family: too white-passing to fit in with her Chinese friends and family, while also having the Mandarin skills of a native speaker. In some areas of her life, Leise was extraordinary, but she also felt like she was failing in others. Her face and her hair grew constant criticism from others, especially Leise herself. This graphic memoir-in-essays chronicles Leise’s struggles to find where she belongs and who she really is.

Names and Faces was more academic than I expected it to be, but I enjoyed her stories. Surprisingly deep, Leise had me thinking about what our names really mean and how our outward appearance serves as a marker to others about what they perceive to be our identity, whether it’s true or not. Leise talks repeatedly about how others are constantly trying to put her in identity boxes where she doesn’t fit. Her coming-of-age journey as a mixed-race woman is full of struggle as she tries to find an answer that will make her whole.