Reviews

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

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thescenery's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

this was boring for the most part and im not really a fan of books abt teens but it also made me emotional. grief is weird.

jess_mango's review

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4.0

This book counts towards the Reading Women 2019 Challenge Task #2: A book about a woman with mental illness

The Astonishing Color of After is a stunning YA novel about grief, love, and family. Leigh is a high schooler who enjoys hanging out with (and crushing on) her best friend of 5 years, Axel. Leigh's life is all about art and color. Axel and Leigh frequently describe moods and experiences using colors. Leigh is shattered when her mother takes her own life. After being visited several times by a red bird after her mother's death, Leigh is convinced that the bird is her mother and that the bird is trying to tell her something. Leigh and her dad travel to Taiwan to visit her estranged maternal grandparents. There, Leigh uncovers ghosts and family secrets.

The novel moves back and forth between "current time" and earlier times in Leigh's life. The novel is a beautiful piece of magical realism. At some points I questioned if Leigh was a reliable narrator but whichever way you take her experience, the author perfectly evokes Leigh's grief and confusion. In the afterword the author mentions that she tapped into her own emotions from when after one her loved ones died by suicide. She also addresses how many in Asian culture still don't fully acknowledge the problem of mental illness.

I land around 4-4.5 stars for this book. I recommend it to YA fans and even people who typically don't read YA (as it is not cliche YA).

nikkigribuste's review against another edition

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5.0

unbelievably beautifully written.
i had never heard of this author before and one of my favourite booktubers recommended this on her channel and, as a loyal viewer with a large trust in this woman, i had to check it out. i did not expect it to be as emotional as it was- i was expecting sadness, but i did not expect to be as moved and sympathetic as i was. the storyline was amazing and so poeticly written- the descriptions made you aware that this author has personally experienced a similar situation. the love between family and spending time and effort in getting to know them despite language barriers is my favourite type of human decency- i loved how leigh constantly tried to communicate with them even though she barely understood the language.
leigh was an amazing character who i related to passion wise as i am an art student myself, however, axel won the award for me in the best written character department. he was everything a human being should be, far beyond decent and caring- his personality was wonderful. it was bringing me hope that there are infact people like him in the world.
overall, i was impressed with the outcome of this book and i know a lot of people will find it moving and emotional, especially those who have suffered with the loss of a loved one through suicide. it deserves the amazing reviews it has received- definitely a top favourite this year currently.