The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

"Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. 

Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.

Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love." (Goodreads.com)

The Astonishing Color of After had an interesting way of processing grief. Pan did a lovely job of creating a magical twist to how families grieve, especially when there is a cultural divide. Even though the main character wasn't my favorite, and the romantic plot wasn't really necessary, the story of her family and her grief kept me hooked.

Meghan McCabe

Children & Youth Services Librarian

Available at the Langley-Adams Library