-
“[A] beautiful, magical journey into the heart of grief.”
— Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author
-
“Portrays the vast spectrum of love and grief with heart-wrenching beauty and candor.”
— John Green, New York Times bestselling author
-
“Inventive and heart-wrenching.”
— Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author
-
“Any suicide is a painful one for the survivors. But here is where Pan’s novel shines most. She never shies away from the awful questions that are left in the wake of such a loss…What emerges is a story about love with all its limitations and complications and the story of how a girl and her passions can survive it.”
— New York Times Book Review
-
“Dynamic, brave Leigh emerges vividly in Pan’s deft hand, and her enthralling journey through her grief glows with stunning warmth, strength, and resilience.”
— Booklist (starred review)
-
“The novel is steeped in its Taiwanese setting…[with] an undeniable message about the power of hope and inner strength.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
-
“Pan’s writing takes readers on a journey filled with so much emotion, color, and such well-developed characters with a touch of magic, readers will come to the ending drained and fulfilled at the same time…[This] novel is not to be missed.”
— School Library Journal (starred review)
-
“Pan travels between the past and present beautifully in this lightly magical and deeply emotional book about grief, family connection, and first love…Highly recommended.
— BookRiot
-
“Sprinkled with magical realism and achingly beautiful passages, Pan crafts a brilliant, lyrical, heartfelt, and astounding debut about grief, love, and the complexity of family relationships.”
— BuzzFeed
-
“This hefty YA novel clocks in at nearly 500 pages, and I still wanted it to be longer. It’s a heartbreaking story about family, friends, and love, all crafted with a splash of magic.
— Paste
-
“Captures the uncertain, unmoored feeling of existing between worlds—culturally, linguistically, ethnically, romantically, and existentially—it is also about seeking hope and finding beauty even in one’s darkest hours.”
— Kirkus Reviews
-
Emily X.R. Pan's brilliantly crafted, harrowing first novel portrays the vast spectrum of love and grief with heart-wrenching beauty and candor. This is a very special book.
— John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down
-
Magic and mourning, love and loss, secrets kept and secrets revealed all illuminate Emily X.R. Pan's inventive and heart-wrenching debut.
— Gayle Forman, bestselling author of If I Stay and I Was Here
-
Emily X.R. Pan utterly transported me to a world reminiscent of Isabel Allende. Haunting at every turn, this is a glorious debut.
— p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times}Renée Ahdieh, bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn
-
An extraordinary debut from a fiercely talented writer.
— p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times}Nova Ren Suma, bestselling author of The Walls Around Us
-
This beautiful, magical journey through grief made my heart take flight.
— p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times}Holly Black, bestselling author of The Cruel Prince and The Darkest Part of the Forest
-
The Astonishing Color of After works a delicate magic. Its portrayal of grief is deeply felt, and so too is its deliciously tricky romance. I loved this book.
— p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times}Marie Rutkoski, bestselling author of The Winner's Curse
-
My heart has never been more pleasantly devastated. A raw and brilliant debut.
— p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Times}Roshani Chokshi, bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen
-
lyrical and suspenseful
— The New York Times Book Review
-
In this dazzling debut, author Emily X.R. Pan has created a spellbinding narrative about love, family, and what it means to grieve.
— Bustle
-
* "Dynamic, brave Leigh emerges vividly in Pan's deft hand, and her enthralling journey through her grief glows with stunning warmth, strength, and resilience.
— Booklist, starred review
-
* "Pan's emotionally charged debut is a compelling exploration of grief and the insidiousness of depression.
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
-
* "Pan's debut novel is not to be missed.
— School Library Journal, starred review
-
* "This novel is as elegant as it is mesmerizing.
— VOYA, starred review
-
* "Pan offers an extraordinary journey that proves real, surreal, and wholly magical.
— Shelf Awareness
-
* "[The novel] pushes the readers' expectations in beautiful and interesting ways.
— School Library Connection, starred review
-
An evocative novel that captures the uncertain, unmoored feeling of existing between worlds--culturally, linguistically, ethnically, romantically, and existentially--it is also about seeking hope and finding beauty even in one's darkest hours.
— Kirkus Reviews
-
I am sure I will return to this book every year, just as I am sure that there will always be something new for me to find in its pages.
— BookRiot
-
In her debut book, Pan communicates what seems many lifetimes of wisdom: the intricacies of grief, how mental illness ripples through families and what it means to find love in the midst of so much loss.
— The Daily Beast
-
The story is centered on a heart-wrenching mystery, yet Pan's prose is as warm and free-flowing as Waipo's oolong tea, making this story a surprisingly uplifting one.
— BookPage
-
Emily X.R. Pan beautifully depicts grief in all its complexities: the numbing sadness, the rage, the confusion, and, most hauntingly, the joy.
— Bustle.com
-
Through Leigh's emotional, illuminating first person narration, Emily X. R. Pan peels back the layers of her grief to expose the heart at the center. The result is a novel as lyrical as it is earnest.
— Tor.com
-
A hypnotic narrative.
— Horn Book