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:

  • Severance but with high schoolers.

  • John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down but plottier.

  • A.S. King’s Still Life with Tornado with added conspiracies

  • M.T. Anderson’s Feed but more optimistic. Maybe.

  • Vonnegut + 1984 in the form of a cupcake.

  • Dr. Strangelove but with more origami and less fluids.

Ordering Options
link to book page on amazon
A. A. Vacharat holding up an ipad showing the cover of THIS MOTH SAW BRIGHTNESS, which is a striking grey with a geometric object and a moth, flying out of it. The accents of the cover are a lime-y yellow.

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

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the scariest part of mind control? you might not mind being controlled.

An Honest Review from a High School Student

“The story touches on mental health and what it means to care about the world.”

“This Moth Saw Brightness by A.A.Vacharat is a weird, funny and heartfelt book that can confuse and make you laugh at the same time. It is the type of book that creeps up on you.

Starting this story I am rather embarrassed by the fact that I sighed as I read the first chapter. It seemed like every realistic fiction book which includes a slightly sarcastic main character who likes to monologue to the reader. Let’s not forget about some quirky side characters and parents who don’t seem to notice what their kids are up to.

Luckily this feeling didn’t last for long. This story is so complex and rich in all its characters and the story. The thing is, you finish the book with a frown on your face, perhaps confused by the ending. Then you put it down and minutes later run back to pick it up again, trying to figure it all out. Somehow you missed pieces and now can’t get it out of your head. Then you realize the background characters were tangled in secrets of their own and you realize the true genius of A.A. Vacharat.”

-Excerpt of a review from high school student Cory Wong

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

A junior library guild gold standard selection

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

Publishers weekly

cheeky

★

A remarkable debut novel which delves into both adolescent struggles and mental health.

school library journal, Starred

Remarkable

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.

Charlene Thomas, author of Seton Girls and Streetlight People

Timely

“It’s foreboding, it’s tense—but then it’s silly!” -Amazon Review

Origami tutorial made for the THIS MOTH SAW BRIGHTNESS book launch that echoes the offbeat, humorous tone of the novel.

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Thank you to Haywood Arts Coucil and North Carolina Arts Council for a generous grant supporting the development of my author brand and online presence, and for supporting promotion of this book.