This Moth Saw Brightness

A A Vacharat author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Dutton Books for Young Readers

Publishing:27th May '25

£17.99

This title is due to be published on 27th May, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

This Moth Saw Brightness cover

'The invisible D in my name is my mother’s second most lasting contribution to my life.' ‘Wayne Le - known as 'Invisible-D 'Wayne' at school - has been invited to participate in a seemingly ordinary, innocuous adolescent health study by a prestigious university. The study has a few nice perks, but most important to ‘Wayne, is the opportunity to give his immigrant father an accomplishment to be proud of - something that's been in short supply since 'Wayne's mother left. But the study quickly proves to be anything but ordinary and innocuous, and ‘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.

★ "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.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

ISBN: 9780593698600

Dimensions: 210mm x 140mm x 29mm

Weight: 530g

448 pages