Moth Girl

by Calvin Westra

Moth Girl is a story about problems. Finicky contraptions. Young people. Broken people. Deeply aware of its DNA. It’s about almost wanting to lose. It’s about the wrong kind of love.

A generational masterpiece to drop on your head. Baiting and switching witchy teen romance, found footage, quirky mumblecore, paranormal magical realism, and tragedy. A cosmic comedy, Moth Girl is terse and rich enough to read quickly and pick apart for decades and stay fed. Hilarious and heartbreaking, beginning in 2010 and ending a few days ago, timestamped with text messages, synthesizing the way people communicate, what they reveal and hide in the internet age.

408 pages, Paperback

Published September 16, 2025

Reviews

[Noel Maitland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real asshole, I loved every page. What a jerk. It ruled, it was kindergarten

[Andrew Schultheis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice.

[AutomaticSlim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not just willy nilly tossing stars here, this book is great. I've never read anything quite like it. A one of one. The concept of a text message book has probably been attempted many times and rightfully failed many times. But not here. Not with westra

[Worth Car · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super readable super funny super sad. I love the structure of the book and the knowing winks to the reader when discussing how the sausage is made. Made me feel weird for a week and will continue to make me feel weird. No, you don’t get in my car.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

note: i got my copy of this for free from the author due to suggesting what to get for lunch one day. this didn't have any effect on my opinion of the book

the best usage of text messages in a novel i've ever seen. it's crazy that an everyday aspect of our lives has never been translated to literature this well, but thank god we didn't have to wait another three decades for someone to nail it. i love have calvin westra introduces the paranormal elements here, not making them a huge deal, but they slowly creep back up after you've read three pages of hector and moth girl fighting like they're an angsty high school couple. the final section of this novel, while short, brings everything together and is some of the best american fiction we've gotten in ages. a true representation of the form of communication that millenials have used the most in their lifetimes

[Jim Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fucking love this book! I must admit I was skeptical about a book completely based on text messages; seemed a bit gimmicky and thin, but was actually quite original and unique. I mean I true got both the “wow, that’s interesting” and the “what the fuck?” Reaction to the end of the book. I seriously could not put the book down. But you should definitely pick it up. Don’t let the thickness of the book intimidate you. You will still wish it was longer when you are done.

[mai · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible novel, Westra makes “a novel of only texts” work fantastically.
The final section of the novel is one of the best things I’ve read

[Julian Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calvin’s one of my favorites doing it right now and moth girl did not disappoint. It’s an ambitious novel, one that sprawls with characters never seen yet mentioned, as well as paranormal subplots that patter out to the background then to the forefront every once in a while then back again, but it all feels true to life. It all works. The confidence and thoughtfulness of his voice pull off the tricks— the framing device, the sections, the time jumps, the page length (which flies by). It feels tight, nonetheless. It preserves the vastness this way. And I gotta say the ending made me cry. Much like Donald Goines and family annihilator before it, I didn’t want it to end.

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique. Meta. Nice

[laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is dangerous (very good). Someone else in my life needs to read this so we can talk about it. And i need to read it again so i can focus more on what its saying and not just be compelled by it. The power of making people with words is on full display here.

[Downward · Rating 5 out of 5]

a totally unique book that, not unlike westra's previous book donald goines, crafts a world like our own but with dream-like differences. this is also presented as, what the main guy Hector refers to as a brain-to-brain novel, which means that it's all text messages, all direct communication between individuals. most of it is concerning hector's relationship with the titular moth girl with branching metatextual signals about the book being written, exchanged through texts to friends that end up being the book we've read. all that and it feels legitimately like the fights you had with your high school girlfriend, the emotional resonance travels true. considered giving this 4 stars, but, like, I don't really want to be the first person to break westra's streak here of everyone giving it 5 stars. he deserves it. unique book.

[Michael Liska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Westra is one of the best experimental fiction writers working in America today. He takes the naive energy of Richard Brautigan and transforms it into something more heartfelt, more in touch with the rhythms of young love and the disorientation of 21st century life. This book will provide a reading experience like nothing else you've ever encountered, and you will never forget it. I promise.

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Westra can write. There were a couple of moments I felt were a little ham-fisted, but the writing is so strong I just said, fuck it, fuck yeah, this rips. I've had the same feeling with certain canonical books. Books that I love. Favorites. And by the end, just like them, it lands you right where you want to be.

[crowjonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

moth girl is disarmingly funny and fulla heart. I really admire Calvin's ambition with this. He pulled off a delightfully strange, breezy, and yet highly-wrought gem. Inspiring stuff.