This book wasn't my cup of tea, but I don't think that makes it any less important. Magical realism is a concept about which I am apparently incredibly picky. Off of the top of my head, I cannot think of any books in that genre that I particularly enjoyed. I picked this book up not knowing that there would be such a strong thread of the otherworldly, so perhaps if I had known what to expect I wouldn't have questioned so many things and been removed from the story while doing so.
I love that this book features Taiwanese culture and that most of the book takes place in Taiwan. I love that the main character is multiracial, as is her best friend. I love that it shines an unflinching look on depression and that even though Leigh's mother suffers losses in her life, there is no true cause for her depression or suicide. The conversations this book can spark are important and wholly necessary.
I disliked that colors are forced into descriptions and metaphors when they don't belong there. I can understand that this is supposed to show us Leigh's artistic mindset, but it felt forced and awkward to me. How am I supposed to invision "raw sienna hope"? Also, why a brownish orange color for hope? Wasn't their color for anger a vivid burnt orange? These seem too similar to me and they didn't enhance description or the image forming in my head. Instead, these instances only further removed me from the story.
I was not a huge fan of the unrequited romance arc. It felt like this was almost a separate story that was squished into the main arc of discovering Leigh's family and dealing with her mother's mental illness and suicide. I feel the book would have been far better served without the romance aspect. It made the ending feel cheap.
The timeline of this story can also be a bit confusing. The story is told mostly through flashbacks or memories. At times these are Leigh's own memories. At other times they are her mother's or her grandmother's as revealed to her through incense. Again, I'm not a major fan of magical realism, and this felt like a super convenient plot device instead of the mystic experience it was intended to be.
That said, I did enjoy the book, mostly. It wasn't awful. It just wasn't for me.