Me (Moth) is an incredible novel in verse by Amber McBride. Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group / Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I want to shout all of the details of this book and talk about it with everyone I know, but I also don’t because readers need to experience the story for themselves as it plays out so incredibly well. Basically though, read this book!

Moth is a teen who is grieving her family. Sani is a Navajo boy searching for his way. The two cross paths and how it unfolds is just magical and haunting.

This book is unique and important. I do want to note that there is quite a bit of Indigenous content throughout, but the author points out in their author’s note that Native family members helped her with this content and it read as authentically researched and respectful.

This is a must-read novel in verse that will hold crossover appeal for teens and adults!

Content Warnings: Death [by car accident], Grief, Difficult/Toxic Family Relationships

I enjoyed reading this book and thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I absolutely love reading it.

5 stars

Beautiful haunting story about loss, grief and what comes after. Everyone reacts differently to death, and it seems to hit kids the hardest when it's unexpected. But there is still solidary in that. There are others like Moth, and it's a beautiful connection they make with Sani. There are roots that connect us all, even if we don't see it.

Also I am a SUCKER for the road trip trope.

The cover captures but the words entice you. This YA novel in verse was full of beautifully written words engulfing the reader into the world of Moth, a young teenager, dealing with the after effects of her life after a horrific car accident. She comes to befriend a strange, young boy and the feelings and relationship that evolves is breathtaking. I am enamored with this book!

A beautiful, haunting debut! I felt like the book took root in me with its earthy language and ghostly poetry.

Many times I reread lines to listen to the rhythm of them, how gorgeous they sounded, how the beat of Moth's mind matched her movement and love of dance. With two main characters who express themselves through art - dance for Moth and music for Sani - McBride had no small task to make the writing as lyrical and languid as possible. A standing ovation to her on the intensity she kept throughout the book, the shock of the twist, and the whisper she left behind.

Just listen to these beauties:

"So even though my name is strange
I have to live with it.
It has been with my nerves for far too long;
my name is a thick wilderness
of angelica root around me,
crafted for my spirt."

and...

"I leave out the food, an offering for the ancestors.
I hope they sit and eat.
At this point I'll even take
the company of the heated hands of hell."

I want to read every book by Amber McBride; this woman can write!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This one was a real pleasure.

wow. this book in-verse was absolutely beautiful!! the main character, Moth, is such a unique person, and I loved reading from her perspective!! the character dynamics in this novel were brilliant, and the ending was INCREDIBLE!!!! 4.5/5 stars!!!

I actually loved the concept of this book and the ending threw me for a loop. It was difficult for me to switch from reading narrative to poetry to theater script randomly, and therefore I feel it might be a little too advanced for my students to read at their level (3-5). However, I will be recommending it to my advanced readers as a challenge, especially to the style of writing this was.

17 year old Moth is the sole survivor of a car crash that killed her entire family. Sani has been torn from his Navajo community when his mom remarried. They meet in Virginia and connect because of their loneliness, isolation, music and because the ancestors are important to both of them. They go on a road trip when her aunt abandons her and his stepfather beats him one too many times. As they travel, telling stories and learning to take up space they wonder what’s allowed for them. It is transformative. This is a tough yet sensitive read. Do not expect a tidy romantic ending. Moth and Sani’s personal anguish is anchored by history weaving Hoodoo and Navajo traditions into their experiences along with historical events. A good pick for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson’s Monday’s Not Coming.

YA: written in verse. Moth lost her family in a car accident. She feels lost, alone, and unworthy until she meets Sani, who also seems lost. He needs a friend as much as she does. They end up beginning a journey across the country -- hoping to find themselves and leave the pain behind. Beautifully written.

First off, I've never read a book written in verse so I was curious about Me (Moth) from jump. After reading it, I know which every single book was written in verse. THIS BOOK IS MAGNIFICENT. I cried the entire time. Amber's words crawled under my skin and made a home in my heart. Moth is the most relatable character, and so sad but strong. Her character growth is careful, just like Amber's prose. She lives her life carefully because of an accident that left her alone. She is observant, beautiful, queer, and Black. I think I love that most of all. I love that she isn't stereotypical and that she sees the world much like I do. I would follow Moth everywhere. This book broke my heart and put it back together again and isn't that what a good book should do?

I don't read a lot of novels in verse, but this one was beautiful, emotional, and profound. A story of love, grief, and forgiveness, author Amber McBride did not pull any punches with this book. You'll immediately be pulled in by the characters, and be enraptured with the language. Atmospheric, poetic, and stunning. Fans of Elizabeth Acevedo will want to pick this up and get lost in it.

5 HUGE stars to this amazing book! The writing was so beautiful and profound. Every verse pulls at your heartstrings and has you longing for a life you don't know. This book breaks you down in the best way and will leave a big imprint on your soul.

Truly the best book I've read in 2021 so far!

~Thank you to Netgallay and the publisher for sending me an arc copy. All opinions are my own~

Sometimes I find it hard to connect with novels in verse because the author has a hard time with the structure of the artform, but Amber McBride did the THING. I felt totally involved in the poems, could feel Moth's emotion and pain and suffering as if the pages were a movie.

At its core, this is about searching for yourself when those you love have left. It is about friendship, relationships, and being human.

This is perfect for fans of Ellen Hopkins and Angie Thomas.

Fantasic characters. Interesting plot. The story will keep you engaged the whole time. I loved it from the first sentence. Amber did such an amazing job!!!!! I love their writing so much!!!!

This story is struggle of self-discovery will have readers hooked. Told on verse, we travel with Moth and Dani as they try to heal and find strength in and for one another.

I feel this book was beautiful written. It was very descriptive and moving. The ending caught me by surprise. I really enjoyed this book.

This book is beautiful! Just simply beautiful.
Told in verse, it tells the story of love, tragedy, and forgiveness.
It's also about finding yourself again in the midst of grieving.
I like this story because each poem could stand on its own but together they tell a story that gets you all in the feels. I just want to grab Moth and hug her.

A novel in free verse. Moth (main character) recently lost her parents and brother in a car accident and has had to move in with her aunt, who ignores her due to her own overwhelming grief. In fact, the only person who seems to interact is Sani, a new student in her school. Soon, they are embarking on a cross-country road trip.

Road trips are more about the journey that the soul takes over moving a body from one place to another. This one is definitely a journey of the soul. Sani and Moth work on grieving and healing through sharing of stories from their own cultures and adding verses to their collective “Summer Song.” There are many surprises, including a bombshell one that I did not see coming. It is beautiful and lyrical and will stick with readers for some time.

As always I want to start this review by saying I am not own voices and as always go and read those reviews first.
This book was fantastic. The writing style was absolutely breath taking. I was emotional the whole time I was reading this book feeling every drop of grief that was poured into this book. I felt like I was going on this journey with the characters and while it hurt it was so so needed. This was just astonishing all around. My only warning is to grab some tissues because you will be crying.

Magnificently toeing the line between poetry and verse, Me (Moth) is a linguistic and narrative feast. The story could stand alone on the gorgeous plot: a road trip where two lost souls confront centuries of generational trauma, connect with their ancestral history, share the stories that shaped their universes, and become more secure in their own journey of the self. However, the delicate structure of the verse is astounding, and the stylistic risks taken are perfectly at home within the narrative. The author deftly weaves magic and myth into an all-to-real narrative. There are passages from this book that I could discuss for hours, verses that stick in my head like a song. I hope that this book will be much-discussed in book clubs and language/literature classes for years to come. This novel fits perfectly alongside other novels in verse by Kwame Alexander, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Thanhha Lai.