This Moth Saw Brightness

Praise

★ “This funny, insightful debut about mental illness, identity, and a person’s capacity to change packs a surprising emotional punch. Bold stylistic choices—wry footnotes, the inclusion of documents referenced in the story, a brief interjection by the author—add an interactive element to D’s humorous and self-deprecating first-person narration. Superb.”—Kirkus, starred review

★ “The true conspiracy theories are the friends we made along the way—or are they?… This debut is an engaging read while also having great potential to spark conversations about information literacy with the implications of its deeply unsettling ending.”—Booklist, starred review

★ “A remarkable debut novel which delves into both adolescent struggles and mental health.”—SLJ, starred review

“Vacharat’s debut is a standout work of speculative fiction and a foreboding social satire about unethical governing and the corrosive values of Big Tech.”—The Horn Book

“Vacharat’s debut YA novel is a compelling dissection of humanity’s ‘impulse to treat people…like they are the property of whoever’s in power.’… An enigmatic, entertaining experience.”—Shelf Awareness

“A.A. Vacharat is a bold and strange new YA voice, with shades of A.S. King. This Moth Saw Brightness defies description; at once sweeping and specific, full of huge ideas and beautifully honest relationships, this is a debut from a fascinating new writer. I can’t wait to see what she does next.”—Joy McCullough, New York Times bestselling author of Blood Water Paint and Everything Is Poison

“Utilizing cheeky footnotes and fourth-wall-breaking asides, and deploying shocking twists and turns, Vacharat delivers a propulsive and unnerving debut.”—PW