From the Bookshelf of Between The Pages…

The Astonishing Colour of After

Emily X.R. Pan

Start date: November 1, 2021

Finish date: November 30, 2021

Discussion: Member’s BOTM Discussions

Discussion leader: Zitong Ren

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The Astonishing Colour of After discussion
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What Members Thought

Sep 17, 2020 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Review to come once I get home - I’m at a bookstore right now 😂

15 likes · Like · see review

Jul 26, 2019 Zitong Ren rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, adventure, 2019, diverse, fantasy, contains-romance, inky-awards-2019

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Provided by the State Library Victoria as part of the Inky Awards.

There’s so much wonder, myth and things done so incredibly well and yet, I wasn’t as inthralled while at the same time being equally enthralled at the same time. Full review, with spoilers, so beware, below.

So umm, wow! Being completely honest, I’ve never read a book like this before and it shimmers with originality, and the way that it was so beautifully integrated with Asian culture, stories and myths was awesome. Unlike some bo Provided by the State Library Victoria as part of the Inky Awards.

There’s so much wonder, myth and things done so incredibly well and yet, I wasn’t as inthralled while at the same time being equally enthralled at the same time. Full review, with spoilers, so beware, below.

So umm, wow! Being completely honest, I’ve never read a book like this before and it shimmers with originality, and the way that it was so beautifully integrated with Asian culture, stories and myths was awesome. Unlike some books which may only have characters that are of different race, but the story may still be in a western world with western culture, this book is not the case. The ways how Leigh’s mother, Dory has transformed into a bird, and the whole aspect of being ghosts was so magical. The way the words were written almost seemed poetic and flowed really well with each other.

Right at the start, Leigh’s mother commits suicide, after years of battling depression as we soon find out. This book is told from three timeframes I suppose. One is the present as Leigh goes to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time, another is the past, the year preceding the main events of the book and the final one are these little flashbacks to her grandparent’s and mother’s life many years ago. During especially the chapters dealing with the year before the start of the main story, we really get to know and understand many of the characters as everything ties really smoothly with the main story arc, and things are introduced evenly.

My one main issue that I did have(though it may not really be called an issue) was that it was a bit slow for my taste, and parts of the middle was a bit boring as Leigh tried to go everywhere that her mother went, as her goal in going to Taiwan is to remember.

Some of the best parts of the book was certainly the culture and language that was used in this book. The whole dealing with spirits, ghosts and even some of the characters were truely magical. One of the characters, Feng seemed like such an important figure, but in truth, it turned out that she was a spirit of Leigh’s mother’s deceased sister, which was so cool, as it is first mentioned that her mother had a sister, so I thought it was her, and while it was true, it was then revealed that she had died. She was such a mysterious character throughout the book that after that twist I wasn’t really sure what to think, but I find my myself very satisfied with how things played out.

Leigh’s dad seems to be a bit of a nuisance at first, but especially towards the end, everything does change for the better. Beyond that, there was a lot of other aspects, in that Leigh is half white, and half Asian, in where through character interactions we see some things that are basically seen as stereotypes to this very day. The whole ‘tiger mum’ and the whole pursuing a proper career(even though this came from the father). Axel, who is Leigh’s best friend and love interest is a musician, but also loves art like Leigh and the way the two of them describe their feelings as colours really helps give appeal to artists and musicians alike to check out this book.

Other parts, like the pinyin was also really neat and is not something often seen in books and the very clear attention to detail to Chinese and Taiwanese cultures makes it a really believable, yet mystical read at the same time.

A really sweet, magical and heartwarming book. Very well written and that cover is beautiful. 8.5/10 ...more

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Apr 18, 2019 Sylvs (NOVELty Reads) rated it really liked it

"My mother is a bird. This isn't like some William Faulkner stream-of-consciousness metaphorical crap. My mother. Is literally. A bird."

I'm sorry but wait WHAT? ¯(°_o)/¯

Those are the opening lines of the book that I just quoted for you up there and if you were confused or looking perplexed then you would've caught exactly my reaction reading this. On one hand I was amused and the other I was bizarrely weirded out by "You think your mum's a bird????" I mean it's not everyday you pick up a boo ...more

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Jul 19, 2019 cherry purse rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

extraordinary !! magnificent !! I'm actually speechless right now
I just finished reading this amazing book! it's already become my favourite book!
and literally, this is the astonishing first masterpiece that was written by Emily x.r pan
I'm just crying it was the most emotional, magical, touching, hopeful, powerful story I've ever read.
I liked the characters.
I loved how this book talked about memories and bad memories are just not bad after all they are there for a reason and to remind us how ...more

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Jan 17, 2019 Bubbles rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, epic-literature, young-adult, contemporary, 5-star, inky-awards-2019

This book was... beautiful.
Not sunshine, doo-wop music and unicorn kind of beautiful, no. Raw, emotional, lyrical beautiful. The kind of beautiful a broken thing is.

This is a book that doesn’t try to sugar-coat pain and grief. Grief is messy, and that’s the reality of it.

What’s it about?
15-year-old Leigh finally has her first kiss with her best friend Axel at the same time her mother commits suicide. Her life torn in pieces, she follows the instruction of her mother’s suicide note:
I want you to This book was... beautiful.
Not sunshine, doo-wop music and unicorn kind of beautiful, no. Raw, emotional, lyrical beautiful. The kind of beautiful a broken thing is.

This is a book that doesn’t try to sugar-coat pain and grief. Grief is messy, and that’s the reality of it.

What’s it about?
15-year-old Leigh finally has her first kiss with her best friend Axel at the same time her mother commits suicide. Her life torn in pieces, she follows the instruction of her mother’s suicide note:
I want you to remember.
Leigh’s mother, who Leigh is convinced has turned into a red bird, guided her to Taiwan to try and solve the puzzle that is her family history, and to remember.

Thoughts!
- Emily X. R. Pan’s writing is gorgeous. Her writing style makes me feel as if I’m reading poems or song lyrics instead of a novel. She really did transport me into Leigh’s world.
- There are so many colours in this book. Colours are used by Leigh to express how she’s feeling, so one event might have her feeling a cerulean blue or a dark purple or a crimson red. I found the use of colours to be a very effective way of showing emotion.
- Leigh’s passion for art was something I loved to read about. I loved how she knew that she wanted to pursue art because it made her happy, about everything else. This was something I could really relate to because of my passion for music, and it taught me that if you love something, really love something, go for it. Not regrets.
- As for Leigh and Axel, I loved their gradual relationship. I loved how they were already best friends, and seeing how comfortable they are either each other really warmed my heart. I love them, okay? They bring out the best in each other. Also, nothing beats best friend romances.
- FEEEEENG. Whaaaaat. I’m still kind of stunned from that ending, but somehow it makes sense? Still though, she was my favourite character apart from Axel and Leigh.
- This book is really emotional and quite hard-hitting, so if you are suicidal or have lost a parent to suicide I don’t recommend reading. However, in saying that, this book does not romanticise suicide or mental health at all.
- Waffles! Fudge! Chinese pastries! (Aka my favourite things... apart from waffles. Waffles are strange.)
- I fell in love with the setting in the book. Most of the book takes place in Taiwan, and it was so beautiful reading about Leigh visiting all the places her mother loved.

All in all: I loved this book. It is quite long for a contemporary, but as you read more it becomes much more gripping. ...more

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