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A review by kalypsowolf
Dear Mothman by Robin Gow
emotional
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
4.75
There were multiple times in this book where I had to put it down to stop me from sobbing. I felt very seen in these pages as a trans autistic person who has a strong interest in cryptids. Alongside this being a story of processing grief, it's also very much a story of friendship and identity and finding where you fit in this world.
Our main character is a trans boy who is not yet out to his family or school and was only out to his one friend who also happened to be another trans boy. After losing that friend in a car crash he turns to the one thing his friend loved for comfort.
But it's now three months after his friend passed and people are expecting him to be getting back to "normal." Expecting him to keep up with schoolwork and make friends as if one of the most important people in his life didn't just recently die. Because of him and his friend only being out as trans to each other he never really got to process his grief as that's a huge thing he wasn't able to bring up to anyone after his friends death.
On top of this he's dealing with being autistic and trying to make new friends. Dealing with whether he should be his true self and come out to the people around him. If that would even be ok or if it would make things worse.
And we see this through his letters to Mothman, a cryptid his late friend adores and swore is real because he saw him once. We do get bits outside of the letters but the letters are what draw you into the book. The frequency of what is letters and what isn't feels very intentional though and adds to the narrative. I do wish there were more though but that's me being nitpicky and I don't think it would've necessarily made the story any better.
I really loved this. And I love my local librarian who knew that this was basically written for me and knew it would likely pull me back into reading after months of covid brain fog messing with my ability to read.
Our main character is a trans boy who is not yet out to his family or school and was only out to his one friend who also happened to be another trans boy. After losing that friend in a car crash he turns to the one thing his friend loved for comfort.
But it's now three months after his friend passed and people are expecting him to be getting back to "normal." Expecting him to keep up with schoolwork and make friends as if one of the most important people in his life didn't just recently die. Because of him and his friend only being out as trans to each other he never really got to process his grief as that's a huge thing he wasn't able to bring up to anyone after his friends death.
On top of this he's dealing with being autistic and trying to make new friends. Dealing with whether he should be his true self and come out to the people around him. If that would even be ok or if it would make things worse.
And we see this through his letters to Mothman, a cryptid his late friend adores and swore is real because he saw him once. We do get bits outside of the letters but the letters are what draw you into the book. The frequency of what is letters and what isn't feels very intentional though and adds to the narrative. I do wish there were more though but that's me being nitpicky and I don't think it would've necessarily made the story any better.
I really loved this. And I love my local librarian who knew that this was basically written for me and knew it would likely pull me back into reading after months of covid brain fog messing with my ability to read.