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rat_girl_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
tashsquatch's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kelsielovesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Death and Mental illness
nikolas_fox's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
laura_corsi's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely adored this book!! Chinese mythology and religion mixed with the heartbreaking loss of a teenage girl's loss of her mother to suicide. Lyrical, artistic, brimming with color and emotion. This one is all the things!
perusinghannah's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I purchased The Astonishing Color of After way back in 2019, a little before my mother was diagnosed with a life threatening illness right at the start of the initial stages of the pandemic. Given the main subject of this novel I just couldn't bring myself to read it, and so it stayed on my tbr until now, when I finally felt I could.
I think Pan got a lot of the elements of grieving someone lost to suicide exactly right. There's a really angry and guilt-ridden undertone to our main character Leigh that was spot on, and I personally also appreciated her strained relationship with her father. There's a level of parentification in here that was handled very well on top of that, so in terms of all these family dynamics and stacked grief, I have nothing but praise for this novel.
However, I did think the heavily present romance felt very out of place, and I just did not buy into it. At the one hand I do appreciate the author including romantic feelings alongside grief, as it does underline the complexity of it, but these two characters just didn't seem to like each other all that much or treat each other particularly well until the very end of the novel. I also found their interactions very repetitive, and it really made me feel the length of this 450+ paged YA in a way I wouldn't have otherwise.
So definitely not a perfect read for me, but certainly one I'm happy exists out there in the world for all the kids going through similar hardships. As for me, I'm happy I finally read this one, but I don't think I'll be picking up more works by the author.
I think Pan got a lot of the elements of grieving someone lost to suicide exactly right. There's a really angry and guilt-ridden undertone to our main character Leigh that was spot on, and I personally also appreciated her strained relationship with her father. There's a level of parentification in here that was handled very well on top of that, so in terms of all these family dynamics and stacked grief, I have nothing but praise for this novel.
However, I did think the heavily present romance felt very out of place, and I just did not buy into it. At the one hand I do appreciate the author including romantic feelings alongside grief, as it does underline the complexity of it, but these two characters just didn't seem to like each other all that much or treat each other particularly well until the very end of the novel. I also found their interactions very repetitive, and it really made me feel the length of this 450+ paged YA in a way I wouldn't have otherwise.
So definitely not a perfect read for me, but certainly one I'm happy exists out there in the world for all the kids going through similar hardships. As for me, I'm happy I finally read this one, but I don't think I'll be picking up more works by the author.
reneelewis22's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely imagery. This book was unlike any other I have read.
lilli_w12's review against another edition
3.0
The Good:
-Beautiful writing
-Realistic characters
-Everything in Taiwan (the culture, food...)
-Magical Realism
-Message
-Dealing with grief
-Beginning/end
The Bad:
-The romance (took up WAY too much book space)
-The slog of the middle
-Unnecessary flashbacks (not the incense ones, the regular ones)
-Magical Realism
I really enjoyed this book. I have two cousins who lived in Taiwan, so all the scenes set there were amazing to read. There were some things I didn't love, but books like these give me hope for the YA genre.
-Beautiful writing
-Realistic characters
-Everything in Taiwan (the culture, food...)
-Magical Realism
-Message
-Dealing with grief
-Beginning/end
The Bad:
-The romance (took up WAY too much book space)
-The slog of the middle
-Unnecessary flashbacks (not the incense ones, the regular ones)
-Magical Realism
I really enjoyed this book. I have two cousins who lived in Taiwan, so all the scenes set there were amazing to read. There were some things I didn't love, but books like these give me hope for the YA genre.
harper11's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0