Leigh’s father nonetheless buys her tickets to meet Leigh’s Taiwanese grandparents, Waipo and Waigong (grandmother and grandfather in Mandarin, respectively). Leigh’s father, Brian, refuses to believe that her mother has turned into a red bird, even after a bird visits their home.

Leigh is an artist and relies only on pencils and charcoal, refusing to add colors to her artwork. This is because, in Leigh’s mind, their friendship has become complicated because she kissed him on the same day of her mother’s suicide. Leigh experiences trauma from these events and feels that she cannot confide in her best friend Axel. TIME included The Astonishing Color of After on its list 'The 100 Best YA Books of All Time.' Plot Summary Īt the novel’s opening, Leigh states that her mother Dory has turned into a red bird after her suicide, after leaving a note with the crossed-out statement: “I want you to remember”. 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. 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. Throughout the story, Leigh uses colors to describe emotions and her art as a way to process her grief. 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. 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.

Pan, published Maby Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The Astonishing Color of After is a young adult novel by Emily X.R. ( January 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

The astonishing color