This Moth Saw Brightness
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A weird and revelatory debut that vividly captures the dislocation of growing up BIPOC and neurodivergent in a country awash in both conspiracy theories and genuine conspiracies.
"The invisible D in my name is my mother’s second most lasting contribution to my life."
‘Wayne Le—known as "Invisible-D 'Wayne" at school—has been invited to participate in a seemingly ordinary, innocuous adolescent health study by a prestigious university. The study has a few nice perks, but most important to ‘Wayne, is the opportunity to give his immigrant father an accomplishment to be proud of—something that's been in short supply since 'Wayne's mother left.
But the study quickly proves to be anything but ordinary and innocuous, and ‘Wayne, his best friend Kermit, and a fellow study participant named Jane (a girl who shall not be manic-pixied) find themselves sucked into an M. C. Escheresque maze of conspiracies that might be entirely in their heads or might truly be a sinister government plot.
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
High schooler 'Wayne—called D for his name's "invisible D"—is adrift, and his hyper-organized single father worries about D's lack of drive. So when D is invited to participate in a clinical research study at Johns Hopkins University, his dad rejoices at the prestigious opportunity. Meanwhile, D's best friend Kermit wants him to accept the invite out of curiosity: what does a clinical study on "teen health" entail? But D only agrees to join after learning that his crush, Jane, an analytical girl with a love for origami, will be taking part as well. The program seems strange but simple: D is fitted with a wristband that monitors his vitals as he completes daily puzzles and tasks. The most unsettling variable requires that he take a daily pill with unknown effects. As the study progresses and strange events occur, D teams up with Jane and Kermit to uncover more about the program's purpose and origin. Utilizing cheeky footnotes and fourth-wall-breaking asides, and deploying shocking twists and turns, Vacharat delivers a propulsive and unnerving debut. Depictions of government corruption and manipulation are tempered by D's wry narration as he grapples with his mental health, sense of self, and future anxiety. Characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up.
