Me (Moth)
Published August 17th 2021 by Feiwel and Friends, Hardcover 256 pages
A debut YA novel-in-verse that is both a coming-of-age and a ghost story.
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.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
[ racism, physical abuse, bullying (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
I was lucky enough to read a copy of this book and let me tell you, you're not ready. Amber's writing is surreal and magical and she will break your heart in the best possible way. Point being: you're gonna cry
Rating: really liked it
This book was sad and it wanted you to know it. It shoved its sadness in your face from the very first second, then rammed its poignancy down your throat till you choked on it. It was far too profound to the extent that the weight of what could’ve been some carefully crafted stanzas became meaningless and empty. The angst was too much, the profundity in excess. The repetitive nature made it a bore as it recycled through the same five themes of dancing and singing, root magic Hoodoo, leaving, that dreaded ‘Summer Song’ whatever
that meant, and the car crash that killed Moth’s family, again and again until I could have predicted and probably written some of the lines myself.
I found it quite ironic that this book constantly clarified people’s names in the same style as the title yet heavily relied on hyperbolic metaphors that made it confusing and difficult to understand what was actually happening in scenes. The constant flamboyant language and convoluted metaphors came across as so forced and sucked any shred of genuine emotion out of the story. The dialogue was also so bare and due to the style of the book it was often difficult to comprehend who was talking, even moreso because the two main characters Moth and Sani had the same basic personality of angst and repressed trauma. They reflected each other too much so it came as no surprise that they couldn’t build off of each other in any way, in fact, there wasn’t any romantic connection between them that couldn’t be viewed as odd or creepy.
The main problem alongside the repetitiveness was the maintained sadness. Emotions are fleeting things, and sadness is more effective and impactful if its filtered in amongst other varied emotions and if it’s built up to and then dispersed. But this book decided to start off with an intense focus on the sadness and sustained it for far too long, to the point that the sadness became a meaningless, dull throb. If that was the point, then I suppose I should have given it a halfhearted congratulations, but even so, it made for a boring and emotionless read.
The plot was a dreary journey that reeked of the aforementioned repetitiveness and presented itself as a neatly numbered list of places so I could happily tick off each one as I prayed for the ending to come quickly. And the ending itself was disappointing; it was not the redeeming feature it had promised to be. Instead, it was a cop out of a creative decision and impressively managed to ruin what was already a terrible book with a smack of illogicality on par with endings that undo their own plot by declaring ‘it was all a dream’.
If it wasn’t for the educational aspect of learning about a few important historical places of Black history in America and Rootwork culture then there really wouldn’t be anything worth reading in here.
(Recommended by Matal Baker)
Rating: really liked it
Wow.
Beautiful writing, I learned so much about Najavo myths and creation stories as well as Hoodoo.
And that ending though!!!
The novel in verse style makes this story a breeze to keep turning the pages and may draw in reluctant readers, too.
Rating: really liked it
Thanks to Edelweiss for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
...which you the readers are probably not gonna like very much.Okay...
Listen.
Rating an OwnVoices book low has absolutely no reflection on me as a person. Anyone with their hackles up can take a deep breath. Merely glimpse at my shelves and tell me I don't read widely or think hard enough about things.
As a work of written story, this book was objectively disappointing.
As a work of crafting sentences, this book was a gilded piece of art.
McBride clearly knows how to string words together. Even when the plot went way out somewhere North of "Huh??" I stuck around for the way these sentences were carefully constructed. The probability for me coming back to McBride's work in future books is 99%. "Only 99, Caitlin?! You're insensitive!"
No. I'm leery.
The main characters showed up. Within two pages of reading them, I physically set aside my Kindle and said, "Oh no." Whenever Moth or Sani spoke, I had the distinct feeling I somehow found my way into a John Green novel. Teenagers
just don't talk in abstract pseudo-philosophical compound thoughts. Would they write in their journals that way? Absolutely! Even I did, once upon a time. But I don't think I've ever once heard a teenager spew words like a second-year philosophy major who's favorite thought-master is Nietzsche.
The character writing needs
work. A lot of work. Sani sauntered onto the scene with his best "wounded badboy cliche" skinsuit on, and Moth was no better in her instalove "hee hee it's so cute that this boy I don't know calls me honey" romper. And anyone with eyeballs--functioning or no--could see the reveal coming.
I just...I wanted to love this book. It has all of the elements that I gravitate towards in anything, from picture books to la-dee-dah literature. It just fell flat. I know I'm in the minority here. Part of me wonders if the five-stars read the same book as I did.
Rating: really liked it
5/5 stars Me (Moth) is one of the most memorable and unique novels to come out this year, and it felt like a bit of an honour to have been able to read it. It is a debut novel in verse, that is both a coming-of-age- and a ghost story about grief and a special friendship between two damaged teens.
Moth has lost both her parents in a car accident and feels herself being eaten away by the survivors guilt she carries over it. Sani has suffered from depression, and wants to track down his roots in hopes of gaining a better understanding of himself and his life. The two find each other on a roadtrip, chasing down the ghosts that haunt them both.
I’ve had very mixed experiences with novels in verse, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but fell in love very quickly on.
Me (Moth) was absolutely brilliant in set-up as well as execution. I had none of the problems I’ve had before with books in verse: the form didn’t distract from the story, and at no point did it feel forced or clunky. Moth’s narrative voice dances and flies across the pages, like the dancer she used to be before her accident. With just the right words, in just the right places, this author embedded her story with so much depth and layers that many an experienced writer would struggle to pull off, even with double the amount of pages at their disposal. Yet Amber McBride seems to do it effortlessly.
As a bonus, I’ve had a bit of a fascination with Navajo creation mythology for a while now, and
Me (Moth) completely reignited that flame and let me down a rabbit hole of researching its references. Let me say: doing so even deepened my respect for this story and the author.
Me (Moth) shattered my heard and mended it in just the right ways and within the context of the story I couldn't have asked for more. I'm highly anticipating the authors sophomore work, set for release in late 2022/early 2023.
Rating: really liked it
AHHHH JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I COULDN'T FALL MORE IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK!
Listening to it on audio this time around really made this story more impactful for me. I'm obsessed.
Rating: really liked it
[Me (moth) is dead. Her life/death is only to serve the purpose of her hipster boyfriend. I'm so glad he made it to Madison Square Garden. Barf. (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
This book had me in tears at the end. First we meet Moth and she is in a tragic accident with her mother, father, and brother Zachary and only one person survived. As Moth lives with this guilt she is always being reminded by her grandfather/spirit who passed on and was a root worker where he could still sense and contact their ancestors and soon enough moth was able to do the same. So since her family is gone her aunt took her in but her aunt is never present and Moth just feels completely alone especially at her new school until she met Sani. Sani is a boy who takes a lot of medication and can't stand his stepfather. Also Sani is a Navajo, which he takes pride in and so since neither one of them don't have the attention of their families during the summer time that take this cross-country trip where they visit parks, Navajo country, and a plantation. As they are on this trip Moth is falling for Sani and Sani is falling for Moth but he keeps taking this medication that makes a rift between him and Moth. So Moth is trying to find out why Sani keeps taking this medication. Then as the return from their trip Sani confesses what the medication is and what it is for. He tells Moth that he sees ghost/spirits and so the only for him not to see them is to take the medication. Then as he says this I realize that Moth is a ghost and she also died in the car accident with her family. Honestly I did not see that coming, but I finished this book so quickly because this book was so good. I highly recommend it.
Rating: really liked it
I was utterly under the spell of McBride's lyrical words as I read this book. She wrapped me in every emotion and took me on an amazing road trip. My heart ached as I became more familiar with Santi and Moth's pain and burst from the love that was growing between them. I was not prepared for that shot straight through my heart towards the end there though. A rather sad story, but there was a lot of beauty in the pain.
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Rating: really liked it
So this is my best friend’s book, which means this review is in no way objective. HOWEVER, I do believe that this story absolutely has a place among titles like The Poet X, The Crossover, and Long Way Down. A lyrical and haunting tale, Me (Moth) is one that will linger in your mind long after you’ve finished.
Rating: really liked it
It's been 2 days since I finished this book and I don't know what words to use to convey to you to pick up this incredible work of fiction. Told in verse and so impactful and beautiful. My full review to come, but this one is worth ALL THE ACCOLADES.
Rating: really liked it
3.5!
This is definitely more of a book that reads more like poetry than it does as a novel. I think you’d have to be in the right mood to read it! It’s kind of one of those books where you need to reread, just to kind of let the language sink in a little more.
Overall, it was a good book!
Rating: really liked it
This was beautiful, and dare I say poignant?
This was a revelation in narrative poetry storytelling.
The images were vivid, and the narrative voices were strong.
The reveal was spectacularly done.
Bravo, Amber McBride. I stand up in ovation for this great literary work.
5 Stars.
Rating: really liked it
Stunningly written . I'll never look at a candy bar the same. These words are achingly gorgeous and I tried to drag out this story as long as I could by reading it slowly, I so didn't want it to end.
Can't wait for more from Amber McBride!
