“Once upon a time we were the standard colors of a rainbow, cheery and certain of ourselves. At some point, we all began to stumble into the in-betweens, the murky colors made dark and complicated by resentment and quiet anger. At some point, my mother slid so off track she sank into hues of gray, a world drawn only in shadows.”
This book hit me in the feels like a semi-truck.
Usually, I read good books at a faster pace, but I could
only handle this book little bits at a time. It was so intense. Leigh’s mother struggles with depression, which hit so
close to home. I have struggled with depression at times—including one point
when I was reading this book, so I had to set it down for a week. But while it
was difficult to read, after I read another book or two in-between, it was very
well-written. And I like it when authors write a note at the end talking about
mental illness instead of just leaving readers alone with the story.
Book:
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan
Genre:
Magical Realism, Mental Illness, Contemporary, Young Adult
My rating: 4/5 stars
Awards:
None (yet!)
One-word description: *internal screaming*
When I first opened the book, I found myself groaning like
the kid from The Princess Bride: “Is
this going to be a kissing book?”
The magical realism elements of the book were particularly
mysterious. More than once, I was left wondering if Leigh wasn’t just imagining
everything. Other times, she held physical evidence, and even though I’ve
finished the book I still have my doubts. Magical realism, at the end, should
leave readers wondering what’s real and what’s not, even if they’re used to
reading fantasy, and the author, Pan, did a wonderful job!
The story takes place both in America and Taiwan, which I found to be excellent because usually
multicultural books deal with one or
the other. And Leigh was easy to relate with, as she loves her parents and her
art, despite all the difficulties. Though there were times she wasn’t perfect,
it actually made her easier to relate with.
I also particularly liked the book’s dialogue. At times, the
characters spoke their minds but other times, they had difficulty speaking and
communicating at all. Most often, I didn’t feel like I was reading a book at
all. It felt so real.
However, there were times when the book got repetitive,
repetitive, repetitive. I’m not sure repeating certain words again and again and
again was really necessary, though I did like the use of the phrase “I want
you to remember”. Another problem I had was that I took so many breaks, I
actually started confusing this story’s characters with another story’s.
Reaching the end of the book was almost like the end of The Princess Bride:
Grandpa: And as they reached for each other... *closes book*
Grandson (aka ME): What? What?
Grandpa: Ah, it’s kissing again. You don’t want to hear that.
Grandson: I don’t mind so much.
Grandpa: Oh, okay. *continues reading*
In all, I gave The
Astonishing Color of After 4/5 stars for an excellent story,
well-developed characters, and great themes. I would recommend this book to
fans of young adult books, magical realism, and accurate stories about mental
illness. However, I would strongly caution readers who may struggle with
depression and/or readers who know somebody who does. While this book addresses
suicide and depression in such a way that had me silently thanking the author
at the end, it can be rather intense.
Doesn’t The Astonishing
Color of After sound intriguing? Have you read it yet? You might also
enjoy these books: Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Tell Me Something Real
by Calla Devlin, and A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness.
Let’s chat! Has The
Astonishing Color of After made it to your to-be-read list yet? Anybody out
there read it? Have any book recommendations featuring characters with mental
illness?
***
Similar book reviews: Goodbye Days, A World Without You, and The Snow Child