The Astonishing Color of After
2018 young adult novel by Emily X. R. Pan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Astonishing Color of After is a young adult novel by Emily X.R. Pan, published March 20, 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The novel addresses topics including suicide and mental health through the story of a biracial teenager, Leigh, in search of her mother, whom Leigh believes has transformed into a red bird following her suicide. She follows the bird to Taiwan, her mother’s birthplace, where she meets her grandparents for the first time and tries to learn what the bird is trying to teach her before the end of the traditional Ghost Month. Throughout the story, Leigh uses colors to describe emotions and her art as a way to process her grief. Meanwhile, she is also in conflict with her father, who does not believe she is handling her grief well and also thinks she should be pursuing something more practical than art.
Author | Emily X.R. Pan |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Fiction |
Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
Publication date | March 20, 2018 |
Pages | 480 |
ISBN | 9780316463997 |
The Astonishing Color of After’s Asian-American cultural representation, as well as depiction of topics such as mental health and teen suicide, has led to critical and scholarly discussion of the novel's pedagogical value.
TIME included The Astonishing Color of After on its list "The 100 Best YA Books of All Time."[1]