Moth is a Black teenager living in Virginia with her aunt after a car crash kills her immediate family. She carries the weight of survivor’s guilt and her grandfather’s Hoodoo traditions, which link her to the spirit world. In this novel in verse, she meets Sani, a boy of Navajo descent struggling with depression and his father’s legacy in New Mexico. Together, they embark on a road trip toward the Navajo Nation, navigating ancestral grief, cultural identity, and the literal ghosts that haunt their shared history.
Readers who value poetic structure and folklore will find a story about how historical trauma shapes individual identity. The narrative illustrates the intersection of Black and Indigenous spiritualities, focusing on the mechanics of healing from sudden loss. A reader walks away with a perspective on how the past stays physically present in the lives of the young. The book serves those interested in how rhythmic, lyrical language translates the internal experience of mourning into a visible, geographic trajectory across the American landscape.
- Published
- 2021
- Language
- EN
