Me (Moth)
(National Book Award Finalist)
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE
A debut YA novel-in-verse by Amber McBride, Me (Moth) is about a teen girl who is grieving the deaths of her family, and a teen boy who crosses her path.
Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.
Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones.
Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. The way each moves forward is surprising, powerful, and unforgettable.
Here is an exquisite and uplifting novel about identity, first love, and the ways that our memories and our roots steer us through the universe.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Forget everything you know about YA fiction and prepare to be moved by this weird, beautiful journey. Moth lost everything in a car crash: her family, her future as a dancer, even her own sense of identity. Then she meets Sani, a Navajo teen who’s carrying just as much hurt as she is. Drawn together like, well, moths to a flame, the pair embark on a cross-country road trip full of healing and self-discovery. This rich story vibrates with themes of love, spirituality, and utterly relatable teen angst. We loved how much reverence Moth and Sani carry for their roots (respectively, the Hoodoo religion and Navajo heritage); Amber McBride describes this in beautifully sparse, almost poetic prose. Each chapter has a unique and distinctive style and format, making for a seriously unforgettable reading experience as they come together into a gorgeous, uplifting story. From these two captivating characters to the surprise twist ending, Me (Moth) will leave you awestruck.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Two years after a devastating car accident killed her family as they drove from New York to northern Virginia, aspiring dancer Moth, the Black granddaughter of a Hoodoo root worker, is still navigating the accident's fallout, which includes a mark on her face "as crisp as the tip of a whip from jaw to eye." Poignant free verse details her resignation to a "bland" existence in the suburbs, where she's ignored by classmates and her aunt Jack, who has developed an alcohol reliance. When a new student—talented Navajo musician Sani—shows up in her junior homeroom class, Moth finds a kindred spirit whose similarly painful past and physically abusive stepfather compound his depression. Desperate for a change, Moth and Sani embark on a road trip out west to the Navajo Nation, where Sani's biological father lives. As the two travel, visiting national landmarks that connect them to the ghosts of their ancestors, a tender love story unfolds, one that debut author McBride skillfully renders while covering serious topics such as grief and mental health, including suicidal ideation. Ages 12–up.
