Addicted to YA discussion

What did you think of it? Favorite or least favorite characters? Favorite or least favorite part?

To be completely honest, it took me ages to get through the first two thirds of the book. I can't even pin point why but I couldn't really build a connection to the characters. The last third however had me completely captivated and I couldn't wait to find out how it all ended!

This book was one of those that was hard to read. Not because it was bad an any way, but because I couldn't always stomach it. The idea of leaving your family, leaving a daughter, is something I cannot fathom. I read the book in about 3 days and couldn't think or read anything for a week after. This book is truly a masterpiece of writing and I'm happy to have read it, even if it was hard. Especially since it was hard.

Nomi wrote: "To be completely honest, it took me ages to get through the first two thirds of the book. I can't even pin point why but I couldn't really build a connection to the characters. The last third howev..."

I had the same experience when I was reading it. While I thought that it was very interesting and I loved the overall message of how important family is, I also thought that it was very slow and at times hard to connect to. My favorite things about the book were the descriptions of all the food and the culture. I also loved the unexpected twists that the book had, ( which I will not spoil here ).
I gave The Astonishing Color of After three stars.

I kind of agree that it took me a while to really get started. I liked it as a whole, but it's not like one of my favorite books. But it's also AP testing and finals time, for those of us in high school, and so I kind of blamed that? I've been stressed and really haven't had that much time to read, so I don't really know if it took me so long because it was slow or because of finals.

Also, I loved how it was written, but it also really confused me. Like, were the memories and everything real? They must have been, but how does that even work..? Also, I was confused if both Leigh and Axel have synesthesia. They kept talking about colors and everything and I couldn't tell if they actually saw the colors or if it was more of a feeling the colors gave them. But even so, it was still really interesting.

I’m reading it now and while I love the writing and emotion, I realized how huge this book is and it seems like it may drain me of all the energy I have haha. It seems like people like it as long as they can get through the whole thing.

I can understand the point about having a hard time getting into the book, you realize after reading the beginning that there is going to be heartache and you are not sure you will be able to read through the heartache. Ms. Pan writes about a very intense subject.

As to the point of being able to see the colors I have lived with an artist and yes they see and feel color. They dream in color so yes I say you can see and feel color.

I liked the book and I loved the characters. Death is hard enough but to have someone commit suicide that puts added point to death that makes it even more vivid.

I liked how Ms. Pan handled the characters ,with a death they would try to do something or make something up that would help understand why? and handle the pain. She showed how each character would handle the pain in their own way just like it would happen in life.

The way Ms. Pan takes us through the grieving process step by step was really amazing that is not easy to do. And how she showed the family coming together in the end was wonderful.

Ok I thought this one was poetically written and just... f*cking beautiful. I can't say enough good things about the melodic writing... Emily XR Pan is goals. Yes, it's not your traditional YA - it's almost too sophisticated, but that's the beauty of it!

I am about 1/4 of the way done. It is a book that requires time, it is beautifully written but so sad. I cannot spend too long in it, reading it in short bursts.

Exactly beautiful but sad

Had a bad sleep night, ended up pushing through, just finished last 20 pages. I have no words just now, am absorbing. So much speaks to me, our house is full of creative people & she captures that part so well...will post a review soon. I studied Emily Dickinson in depth, her poems are old friends, yet always fresh to me. They always hit me wherever I am emotionally. I liked how the mom mistakes her last name for Dickens, it feels like a tip of the hat to Sophie’s Choice where Sophie goes to the NY library & asks for the poems of Emile Dickens & then faints, to fatally awaken to Nathan. Another profoundly beautiful book full of pain, with suicide.

I think YA, which is a category created for the convenience of the marketing people in publishing houses, encompasses all levels of writing, from simple to sophisticated, just as young adults themselves are both and all the levels between. I would have read this book anywhere from 10 on, I was reading in the adult section of our college library which served the town as I’d read my way through all of the books in the “children’s library” and most of my parents’ books. We did not have “YA”, really, back then, & what they thought suitable all too often involved the death of someone’s beloved animal, or something equally heart- or gut-wrenching.

I thought this book was beautiful and amazing. I read a Goodreads Friend's review and picked it up, and WOW. I couldn't put this one down. I thought it was rich and multi-faceted with all the colors, art, ghosts, cultural heritage, language barriers, love, loss, oh! Just lovely! This one is worth re-reading.

I found it to be beautiful and thought provoking. I liked how it described emotions using colors and thought it did a really respectful job on discussing depression and suicide and showing how it is a mental illness and is not caused by one external force. However I didn't care much for Leigh and Axel's drama and honestly skimmed most of those scenes. It may not be the funnest YA of 2018 but it is definitely one of the deepest. Also as soon as it started talking about ghosts I figured out that Feng was a ghost

Personally, this was one of my least favorite books. I never made any personal connections with any of the characters, but the plot was amazing. I judge a book heavily based on its characters, and this book lacked in that department.