by Amber McBride, 248 pages, Grades 8 and up.

Moth lost her family in a car accident and now is living with her aunt in Virginia.  She used to dance, but can’t anymore because of injury and grief. Sani, who lives across the street from Moth in Virginia, is half Navajo but being raised by his white mother and her new husband who is abusive. Until Sani, Moth felt invisible and alone, but Sani sees her because he recognizes her heartbreak as something familiar and Moth understands Sani’s grief as well. The two friends go on a journey out west to find Sani’s biological father and they exchange stories along the way. The stories help them grow as friends and support one another as they slowly heal from their tremendous struggles. 

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If you enjoy reading novels in verse, you might also like: The Black Flamingo, by Dean Atta, Punching the Air, by Ibi Aanu Zoboi, The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo, Crossover, by Kwame Alexander, or Forget Me Not, by Ellie Terry.

Tags: family problems, teens, tragedy, death, teens, novels in verse,