Book: ME (MOTH) by Amber McBride
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Release Date: August 17, 2021
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
ISBN-13: 978-1250780362
Position in Bibliography: This is Amber McBride’s debut novel.
Numbered Pages: 248
Chapters: 147
Word Count: Approx. 22,000 words
Jacket Art: Rich Deas
Jacket Design: Rich Deas
Book Design: Michelle McMillian
Genre: Contemporary
Setting: New York City & Virginia suburb
Tense: Present
Point of View (POV): First Person
Themes/Subjects: Identity, Belonging, Grief, Time, Acceptance, Life, Reflection, Love
Triggers: Car Accident Death
Purchase: Bookshop I Barnes & Noble I IndieBound I Amazon
Add it to Goodreads: Here
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Synopsis:
Moth has lost her family in an accident. Although she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.
That is, 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, perhaps she too will uncover the history she carries in her bones.
Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. Both separately and together, they embark on a journey that 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.
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Dedication: For my gray-bearded grandfather, William McBride (1937-2019)
Find the Acknowledgements: End of Book
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Characters + Identifiers (In Order of Named Appearance):
Moth – Main Character, Black, High School Junior, has a scar from jaw to eye (page 4), used to dance ballet, has “long green locs, which resemble seaweed or Medusa’s snakes” (p. 12), brown eyes (p. 37), bony knees (p. 39)
Gray-Bearded Grandfather – Moth’s Grandfather, Deceased, Rootworker
Jim – Moth’s Father, Deceased
Marcia – Moth’s Mother, Deceased
Zachary – Moth’s Brother, Deceased, a pyromaniac (p. 2)
William – Moth’s Grandfather
Juliet – Moth’s Grandmother
Jacqueline “Jack” – Moth’s Aunt on her Mother’s side, Single, Began drinking after the car accident (p. 6)
Sani / Mr. Hardened Lava Hair – Boy, Long black hair, golden eyes, “He doesn’t look Black or white or any of the boxes” (p. 14), thin red cut to the left of his Cupid’s bow (p. 15), tattoo where his neck meets his shoulder (p. 22), from New Mexico (p. 23), Navajo Nation (p. 24), timber trees for muscles (p. 34), Half White (p. 47), cedar around his neck (p. 53), smells like witch hazel bark (p. 72), tattoo of five finger grass on back (p. 153)
Ashley – Classmate, Blond, crimped hair (p. 14)
Meghan – Sani’s Mother
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Fun Facts:
There are pop culture references to Misty Copeland, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bluebeard, Billie Holiday, Regina Spektor, Roo Panes, Texada