Robin Gow

This novel's sentences were broken up interestingly instead of put in paragraphs, but I thought it was only particularly lyrical or verse-like in a couple of chapters, countable on one hand.

I also found it difficult to follow. It wasn't clear to me from what point in time Claire, the narrator, is describing events—time contracts and expands in confusing ways. I read an ARC, so take this with a grain of salt, but due to inconsistencies of quotation punctuation and the aforementioned show more interestingly broken up sentences, it was frequently difficult to tell who was speaking in conversations. Also, Claire is often addressing things to her lost car, Lars, but then in the next sentence seems to forget that. She mentions grandparents who seem to be living but at other points says her grandparents are all deceased. For these reasons, and pickier ones (like, why is this teenager in what seems to be the current year only name dropping bands from the early 2000s?) it didn't really click with me. show less

Sixth grader Noah is devastated after his best friend dies in a car crash and becomes obsessed with doing his science fair project on proving the existence of Mothman, the cryptid with whom his friend was obsessed. Noah begins writing letters to Mothman daily and is convinced they are being read by the elusive monster.

So first off, I have to say the reason I rated this title lower than I might have otherwise is that Mothman is real in this book. I just couldn't get passed that. I felt there show more needed to be a real, practical answer behind everything Noah experiences, or perhaps I could have even tolerated a more open-ended elusiveness. This reveal was too absurd for me.

The writing in this book is overall very good, although perhaps not for all readers. The book is technically a novel in verse, although it is a mix of poems and letters, with some other items occasionally interspersed (e.g., drawings/doodles, survey responses, to-do lists, news articles). I did feel like towards the middle there was a lot of repetition of the same thoughts and feelings so it was starting to drag a little, but the start was strong and the ending ... well, it was there (as noted above) but at least it was a little more fast-paced again.

The story touches on themes of identity and belonging that will be relatable to many middle schoolers. Specifically, Noah is a trans boy who is struggling with coming out in addition to his grief about his friend, who was also trans although only Noah knew that. Noah is also noted as being autistic, although that is brought up far less often. show less

Noah writes a series of letters to Mothman, a cryptid that was of interest to his best friend. Noah's reeling over his best friend's death. Noah is autistic and sharing his identity and chosen name to friends and parents.
Noah is sad and going through a big emotional journey throughout the book. He finds a new group of friends and a romantic interest. All the while he journals and writes to the ellusive Mothman. Letters from Hannah pepper the text as well.

Gr 5 Up—After losing his best friend, Noah tries to find and befriend the local cryptid, Mothman. In the process, he
finds himself a group of supportive new friends. This beautiful look at gender identity, neurodiversity, strength, and
friendship will resonate with readers young and old.