illidia316's review
4.0
I really didn’t know what to expect with this book, and I was pleasantly surprised! It was pretty fascinating. I felt so bad for Anna - I can’t even imagine suddenly floating out of nowhere.
The one thing I wish this book had was an epilogue - maybe like a 10 years later update on Anna, on how her life is, how the medical technology has advanced in that time period, etc. I think that would have been really cool!
I’m looking forward to reading more by this author!
The one thing I wish this book had was an epilogue - maybe like a 10 years later update on Anna, on how her life is, how the medical technology has advanced in that time period, etc. I think that would have been really cool!
I’m looking forward to reading more by this author!
alittlebithopeful's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
helloakosisam's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
brucethegirl's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Anna is a healthy high school student in the early 90s right at the cusp of the start of her life. She's got a group of friends and is quickly on her way to becoming a track star. She's worried about boys, and difficult classes, and new changes to her friend group. Then like a flip of a switch, she develops a rare and little known disease- lepidopsy. She starts exhibiting moth like symptoms and her entire world is shaken to its core. She doesn't know how to act, how to ask for help, how to explain to the people who care about her that how they're helping is making things worse. As she learns about her disease, and accepts her new reality, she also learns that growing up is never easy- but its made a lot more difficult with a chronic illness. And accepting it is the first step to living the best life she can.
I had some issues with this book- namely the total lack of communication between Anna and her friends, but then her expectation that they immediately understand what she was going through. As someone who's gone through this herself, I understood to a degree. But the constant frustration she felt when her friends didn't understand, and the way its framed as though she's in the right and they were being unreasonable. I didn't like that. It felt far too much like I was supposed to side with Anna, when to be fair her friends had no idea how to react, what the reality of the illness and Anna's future meant. How could they? They couldn't have googled it and found blogs and wiki articles about it. They could only react based on what little they knew about illnesses like Anna's and how Anna herself informed them. I wish there was more attention in the end to Anna trying to patch things up, or to the fact that at the end of the day Anna and the track girls weren't meant to be friends anymore- and that's okay. That happens as you age. You can't force a friendship to maintain when you start becoming who you're meant to be, and you and a childhood best friend no longer contribute to each other's growth. That's okay. But they didn't show that at all. It seemed so petty and childish and I felt like it was endorsed. Like Anna was totally in the right to treat them that way because she was sick now, and she wasn't.
I also wish there was more exploration about the new reality Anna now has. That unlike what her mom wants- to have normal high school experiences- she won't be able to. And the ones she does have are going to be heavily altered from what was expected. I wasn't in high school when I was diagnosed, I was early 20s. But that too was so heavily impacted by my diagnosis, and the way I tried to maintain reality and what I expected my 20s to look like. As a result, my 20s were wasted by exhaustion and disappointment. I would have much preferred a real look at how Anna's life, and her teenage expectations are now altered, and how that's okay. I think showcasing more of Pam could have really benefitted this.
Overall, I loved this book. I saw so much of my own experience in Anna's, and I love how the use of a magical realism world allowed even those of us with similar experiences to kind of experience that again for the first time. That total unknown of what the heck is that illness? I've never heard of it. Even people without a chronic illness are able to read this without preconceived ideas about what to expect or anything.
I think books like this are so extremely important in terms of disability rep, and I'm so glad to see it. I hope to purchase a physical copy of my own to annotate and also to have my parents read to better understand my journey.
I had some issues with this book- namely the total lack of communication between Anna and her friends, but then her expectation that they immediately understand what she was going through. As someone who's gone through this herself, I understood to a degree. But the constant frustration she felt when her friends didn't understand, and the way its framed as though she's in the right and they were being unreasonable. I didn't like that. It felt far too much like I was supposed to side with Anna, when to be fair her friends had no idea how to react, what the reality of the illness and Anna's future meant. How could they? They couldn't have googled it and found blogs and wiki articles about it. They could only react based on what little they knew about illnesses like Anna's and how Anna herself informed them. I wish there was more attention in the end to Anna trying to patch things up, or to the fact that at the end of the day Anna and the track girls weren't meant to be friends anymore- and that's okay. That happens as you age. You can't force a friendship to maintain when you start becoming who you're meant to be, and you and a childhood best friend no longer contribute to each other's growth. That's okay. But they didn't show that at all. It seemed so petty and childish and I felt like it was endorsed. Like Anna was totally in the right to treat them that way because she was sick now, and she wasn't.
I also wish there was more exploration about the new reality Anna now has. That unlike what her mom wants- to have normal high school experiences- she won't be able to. And the ones she does have are going to be heavily altered from what was expected. I wasn't in high school when I was diagnosed, I was early 20s. But that too was so heavily impacted by my diagnosis, and the way I tried to maintain reality and what I expected my 20s to look like. As a result, my 20s were wasted by exhaustion and disappointment. I would have much preferred a real look at how Anna's life, and her teenage expectations are now altered, and how that's okay. I think showcasing more of Pam could have really benefitted this.
Overall, I loved this book. I saw so much of my own experience in Anna's, and I love how the use of a magical realism world allowed even those of us with similar experiences to kind of experience that again for the first time. That total unknown of what the heck is that illness? I've never heard of it. Even people without a chronic illness are able to read this without preconceived ideas about what to expect or anything.
I think books like this are so extremely important in terms of disability rep, and I'm so glad to see it. I hope to purchase a physical copy of my own to annotate and also to have my parents read to better understand my journey.
1toughgfcookie's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
disabledbookdragon's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sarahc_98's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nsprague1433's review
2.0
This book had a really cool concept, however it read a lot more like a medical drama than the whimsical story I thought it would be. Considering the disease that Anna struggled with was made up, I thought this book would have a more magical side to it but it was more like how she came to terms with having a chronic illness. The way that the story was written had me questioning what The point was of making up this new illness for her characters. The story was cool and the concept was definitely unique. I was just hoping for it to take a bit of a different direction.
libraryofdreaming's review
5.0
March is just the gift that keeps giving with amazing disability reads! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for sending this book my way. It kept me on the edge of my seat and made me think deeply about chronic illness. I wonder what it would’ve been like to read this as a teen. I would have really appreciated it when I was first sick. I’m so glad that this books exists for a new generation of teens!
Anna is a regular teenaged girl who runs track and goes to parties with her best friend. But one day at track practice, Anna falls unconscious - but instead of falling down, she falls up, defying gravity. In another book, this would be the beginning of a classic superhero plot. Instead, THE MOTH GIRL follows Anna as she’s diagnosed with lepidopsy: a rare illness that causes symptoms reminiscent of moths: floating, attraction to light, a craving for sugar, and for an unlucky few, more dangerous physical manifestations.
Lepidopsy may be a magical illness, but THE MOTH GIRL is based solidly on the real experience of chronic illness (the author herself has Lupus). It shows one rather average girl’s journey through hospitals, support groups, and her own body which overnight has become unfamiliar. I think the author has managed to portray the complicated cycle of chronic illness through a unique fantasy lens.
Fantasy has been used to discuss love, war, and many more challenging subjects, but at last it’s being used as a lens to examine what it means to be sick in our society. I can’t wait to see the discussions that come out of reading this book. It made me think long and hard about my own experience with chronic illness and left me with many questions to ponder.
At times I wanted a little more detail on the magical world of THE MOTH GIRL. It feels a bit unmoored from time and place. Anna loves her Walkman and uses payphones, but at least in the advanced copy I read, all the bands she’s obsessed with are made up. I wish that the author had used real bands to give it a distinctly real setting OR leaned into the magic and expanded on the origins of lepidopsy and the other magical illnesses depicted.
THE MOTH GIRL is slow and thoughtful. It’s a story about friendship and self-discovery. There’s no romance, but Anna goes on a journey to find her voice, her identity, and what really matters to her. True friendship is revealed and tested. Overall, THE MOTH GIRL was at times maddening and beautiful. I wanted to shake Anna and I wanted to hug her for a thousand years. I treasure this book and I am so, so thankful it exists. Please don’t miss out on this book!
Anna is a regular teenaged girl who runs track and goes to parties with her best friend. But one day at track practice, Anna falls unconscious - but instead of falling down, she falls up, defying gravity. In another book, this would be the beginning of a classic superhero plot. Instead, THE MOTH GIRL follows Anna as she’s diagnosed with lepidopsy: a rare illness that causes symptoms reminiscent of moths: floating, attraction to light, a craving for sugar, and for an unlucky few, more dangerous physical manifestations.
Lepidopsy may be a magical illness, but THE MOTH GIRL is based solidly on the real experience of chronic illness (the author herself has Lupus). It shows one rather average girl’s journey through hospitals, support groups, and her own body which overnight has become unfamiliar. I think the author has managed to portray the complicated cycle of chronic illness through a unique fantasy lens.
Fantasy has been used to discuss love, war, and many more challenging subjects, but at last it’s being used as a lens to examine what it means to be sick in our society. I can’t wait to see the discussions that come out of reading this book. It made me think long and hard about my own experience with chronic illness and left me with many questions to ponder.
At times I wanted a little more detail on the magical world of THE MOTH GIRL. It feels a bit unmoored from time and place. Anna loves her Walkman and uses payphones, but at least in the advanced copy I read, all the bands she’s obsessed with are made up. I wish that the author had used real bands to give it a distinctly real setting OR leaned into the magic and expanded on the origins of lepidopsy and the other magical illnesses depicted.
THE MOTH GIRL is slow and thoughtful. It’s a story about friendship and self-discovery. There’s no romance, but Anna goes on a journey to find her voice, her identity, and what really matters to her. True friendship is revealed and tested. Overall, THE MOTH GIRL was at times maddening and beautiful. I wanted to shake Anna and I wanted to hug her for a thousand years. I treasure this book and I am so, so thankful it exists. Please don’t miss out on this book!
taylor_casey's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0