by Amber McBride
ASIN/ISBN: 9781250780362
Publication: August 17, 2021

After losing her family in an accident, Moth switches schools to live with her Aunt Jack. It isn’t until she meets Sani that she finally feels seen and heard because he’s going through similar issues of his own, feeling alone and as though no one understands him. They decide to go on a road trip to better understand their heritage.

Written in verse, I was wrapped in the emotions and the images the book evoked. Not a single word is wasted or used to merely fill empty space. It forced me to feel every word. The words reached out and calmed my restlessness but also wound themselves deeper into the crevices of my thoughts as they pushed me to examine my present by embracing my own ancestral heritage alongside Moth and Sani.

My heart hurt. It hurt for Moth, for her survivor’s guilt, for believing her will to live was so great and she was too greedy to leave enough for the rest of her family to also survive. It hurt for Sani, for all he endured and was still currently enduring, for feeling like it was his fault, as though he was able to control the actions of those around him.

Me (Moth) is about self-acceptance, learning from the past and where we come from to understand who we are today. It’s about trying to find where home is and learning what it means to live again when it feels like those we love are all gone. But, even in death, those who love us never truly abandon us. As ancestors, they continue to guide us.

Me (Moth) is so many things, including one of my best reads this year.