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"Dad inhales sharply. 'Sometimes it seemed like you were just pretending everything was fine, like the problem might fix itself. But things like that don't go away on their own.' He made a sound like he was quietly choking. My voice cracks. 'We needed you, Dad.' There's both a pain and release in saying it out loud….When he speaks again, his words are shaky. 'I never meant to let my work take over. But you're right. And when I finally realized something was broken.... I didn't know how to make it better. Every time I came home, there was this unbearable weight. It was easier to be gone, you know? To be a family via the phone. Like we were in our twenties again, keeping it up long-distance, separated by the pacific." After this conversation, Leigh and her Dad feel a lot more comfortable with each other, and Leigh's Dad even begins to support her art more-a big change from the start of the book where he didn't.

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The final main theme, that of improving the future, is mostly shown towards the end of the book-when Leigh's dad returns to Taiwan to come get her, she has a heart-to-heart talk with him.

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The novel deals with both the past and the future, and not just Leigh's past-it deals with the past of her grandparents and her mother, and the futures of all of them, too. Leigh goes through multiple memories of both her past and her grandparent's past, and with these she recognizes how to better deal with the various situations plaguing her present and how to help fix some of her strained relationships, particularly the ones with her father and Axel.The main overarching theme is moving on from the past to have a better future. This is shown through how she reflects on the memories after seeing them-"I gather up what I can: just three pieces of incense. Three more chances to call up the memories, see the colors of the past, and try to understand." (272). That quote essentially summarizes two of the main themes of the book in two sentences; calling up memories to understand the past.

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The book doesn't explain what America's economic climate was like at that time, as America was not the focus, but we can assume that it was likely in its own depression period at around that time-though, we can't make an accurate estimate, as we don't know how old Leigh's grandmother is. In both America and Taiwan, Leigh gets pointed out somewhat often for being mixed, and it makes her rather uncomfortable. In Taiwan, she gets called "Hunxie-mixed blood", and in America, people treat her as something exotic for being half-taiwanese.

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In The Astonishing Color of After, there are two major settings that the story takes place in-Taiwan and America. Both of these countries appear to be the same socially and economically as they are today, however, Leigh gets to see some flashbacks to her grandmother's past in Taiwan, and the social and economic climate is very different from the one that exists in her present-day. Children getting sold for money is seemingly somewhat common, and her grandmother herself was sold for money-"'A daughter,' her husband says. 'Do we keep this one?' The woman brushes away a bit of gunk sticking to the baby's nose. 'No. This one we sell.'"

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She didn't want things to change or get weird between her and Axel, and she didn't like how her dad tried to police what she wanted to do in the future-"'What exactly do you see yourself doing? In, say, five years. Twenty years. The rest of your life.' 'Making art.' It felt good to say it out loud. 'I've been thinking that…maybe I'd want to go to art school.' 'Leigh, you need to be serious.' I wanted to scream, but I didn't. 'I am serious.'" These moral dilemmas help express the theme by showing how she needs to move forward from her past issues to help improve the present and future for both her and the people she's involved with.

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Leigh is characterized as a creative, kind, and caring individual, although she does have a little bit of an attitude-"Someone needs to make it illegal for parents to throw things you once said back in your face." ( 60). I think her behaviors and character traits help the plot move forward, as she is shown to be creative and open-minded, leading to her being able to easily believe the fact that her mother has turned into a bird. Her later revealed moral dilemma over whether or not to confess to her childhood friend Axel is also affected by her personality and characterization, as well as her tenuous relationship with her dad. Though, the way Leigh deals with her dilemma is unique in the sense that she is a very driven person, and doesn't really tend to debilitate between two options for long, if ever.