Details

Length: 480
Story Build: slow burn
Character development: strong, descriptive 
Age Recommendation: 8th grade (with parent approval), high school 
Reasoning: suicidal content, language, sexual content 

Summary and Review

The Astonishing Color of After is a heartbreaking tale of a girl in search of answers, particularly one: who was her mother and why would she kill herself? The main character, Leigh, is an artist who travels to Taiwan after her mother’s death to meet her extended family and hopefully discover more truth about her deceased parent. Pan does a wonderful job of infusing the artistic portion of her character’s personality into the novel as Leigh experiences many situations and emotions by describing their colors.  

Furthermore, Pan infuses magic realism into her story with some details that make the reader question: is that real? Did that happen? This addition to her novel allows Leigh’s journey to an even more emotional resolution. 

Readers will connect with the flashbacks to Leigh’s high school situations, especially with her best friend and now crush, Axel. You find yourself rooting for them while also feeling simultaneously frustrated by Leigh’s desire to push him away when she needs him the most (also relatable). They might also find themselves relating to Leigh’s frustration to prove to her father that what she desires to do is what she loves–art–and he may not truly know what is best for her when it comes to her passions and career aspirations. 

Celebrations

Pan does a wonderful job of creating her characters through their actions, speech, and realistic thoughts. She also has a poetic way with words, especially when infusing the art and color images into the novel. Suicidal is a sensitive and difficult subject, and Pan addresses it with care and tremendous sympathy. 

Hesitations

The novel is long, which is not necessarily a low point with books; however, this one seems to be too long. Pan could have glossed over some parts and made it more concise. Furthermore, I found the addition of “magic” to be a bit much, but that is more opinionated and is up to each reader.