This was a beautiful and emotional read that explores grief in such a unique, but hard-hitting way. In fact, there is a LOT of hard-hitting content in this book. There is examination of mental health and discovering one's identity. Despite this amount of deep content, it is delivered in such a graceful and soft way. I loved the writing and the fact that the book just seemed to flow in a calm, natural way. The pacing was perfect for me. It wasn't too slow or too fast, but had just enough intrigue to keep things slightly tense and enough detail and examination of atmosphere and character to keep it from feeling overwhelming.

Leigh is a great character. She has a LOT to deal with for a teen and I think she handles it incredibly well. There is a good balance between her abilities to compartmentalize and function and her feelings of confusion, anger, sadness, and fear. She is complex and blatantly amazing. This girl has a LOT thrown at her in a short period of time and she does not just shutdown. She works through it at her own pace and in her own way. I think this serves as a good example and narrative for teens to consider. While some readers have apparently been annoyed by it, I LOVED her relationship with her best friend and how they used colors to describe their emotions. Because sometimes THERE JUST AREN'T WORDS...and that's okay.

I just loved this book. The magical realism was well-written and propelled the plot in interesting ways. There will definitely be a reread in the future. Beautiful. Magical. Wonderful.