The Astonishing Color of After in Buddy Reads

Jan 26, 2020 Rahma rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointed, did-not-finish

DNF @40%
Honestly, I can't find it in me to care for the MC or the story. I'm sorry, but this is boring. ...more

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Sep 14, 2018 Aysha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: you-have-changed-me, you-stand-a-lone, 2018-favorites

Major TW– for suicide and depression in this book.

It's been a while since I've written a review for any book. It's also been a while since I've read a book. But I felt like this one deserved the attention.

I didn't know what to expect going into this novel, I didn't know I'd come out of it bruised with emotion and a face aching with tears. It's also been a while since I cried over a book. This one made me cry, unbearably.

Pan manages to captivate every single one of my emotions throughout this Major TW– for suicide and depression in this book.

It's been a while since I've written a review for any book. It's also been a while since I've read a book. But I felt like this one deserved the attention.

I didn't know what to expect going into this novel, I didn't know I'd come out of it bruised with emotion and a face aching with tears. It's also been a while since I cried over a book. This one made me cry, unbearably.

Pan manages to captivate every single one of my emotions throughout this book. It was achingly beautiful in its descriptions, it was horrifying in its details, and it sent me on a journey that I didn't think I was prepared enough for. The Astonishing Color of After paints the colors of depression in a painting that you can't look away from, the author somehow manages to make you so hyperaware of everything Leigh's mom is going through, everything Leigh is going through, and everything that follows. There were times that I felt uncomfortable, that I felt like I wanted to stop reading because the events in this book struck so many cords within me, but I kept on reading.

By no means is this book flawless, it has its ups and downs, but it also managed to do something that I rarely find in books these days: to care. I cared so much. I cared about everyone this book. I cared about Dory, I cared about Leigh and her father, I cared about Axel and Caro, I cared about Waipo and Waigong, I cared and I cared because that's what draws you in. The sadness etched into some of these characters is what allows you to care. The imagery and magic that manifests itself into the lines of each paragraph is what allows you to care. The story develops in such a fascinating way that you're left wondering of the aftermath that follows.

I loved this book, to put it into simple basic terms, I loved it. I loved it and I hated it. I hated it for making me care so much I felt like I lost an internal organ every time Leigh talked about her mother, but I loved it for being so unapologetic about the rawness of depression, about the toll mental illness takes on a person you know so vividly well. I love this book and I hate how much I love it. ...more

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