Yay,
conspiracies
this Moth Saw Brightness
“★ Funny, insightful…superb.”
-Kirkus Reviews, Starred
“★ deeply unsettling.”
-Booklist, Starred
who should read This novel?
You may like this novel if:
You are a reader that enjoys:
Complex family dynamics and relationships
Stories that blend genres and don’t fit into boxes, that contain what some might call “quirkiness” or cheek
Psychological semi-thrillers that value authentic characters as much as plot
Layered narratives
Short chapters that reward, but don’t require, careful reading
Questions more than answers
Not for
everyone
You’d be excited about:
John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down but plottier
A.S. King’s Still Life with Tornado but with conspiracies
M.T. Anderson’s Feed but more optimistic
Vonnegut + Severance
Dr. Strangelove but with more high school and less fluids
NOt all experiments happen in labs.
synopsis
‘Wayne Le—known as "Invisible-D ‘Wayne" at school—has been invited to participate in a seemingly ordinary health study. The study has a few nice perks, but most important to ‘Wayne is the opportunity to give his father an accomplishment to be proud of.
But the study quickly proves to be anything but ordinary. ‘Wayne, his best friend Kermit, and a fellow study participant named Jane (a girl who shall not be manic-pixied) find themselves sucked into an M. C. Escheresque maze of conspiracies that might be entirely in their heads or might truly be a sinister government plot.
Themes, questions, discussion points
oo, meaning
What is this novel about?
The history of government experimentation on civilians
How conspiracy theories can both reveal truths and obscure it
Who gets to decide which people are valuable enough to live, and whose stories are valuable enough to tell
Mental health and the boundaries of “self”
Neurodivergence and autism: society’s misunderstanding and undervaluing of it
What it means to be American and what is meant by believing in democracy
The complexity of beliefs, morality, the subjectivity of justice and value, and the corresponding need for empathy
the scariest part of mind control? you might not mind being controlled.
Trade Reviews
★
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 Reviews, Starred
Funny
★
While ‘Wayne’s strong voice comes out infrequent footnotes that break the fourth wall, and Jane is the rare well-written autistic girl, the tense, well-paced plot is usually at the forefront. 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
tense
Utilizing cheeky footnotes and fourth-wall-breaking asides, and deploying shocking twists and turns, Vacharat delivers a propulsive and unnerving debut.
Publishers weekly
cheeky
More praise
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
strange
A completely one-of-a-kind, literary astonishment. Impossible to put down and incredibly timely. I'm officially a forever-fan of A. A. Vacharat.