Excerpt from Moth by Melody Razak, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"I know you have," he says.

"Well?"

Bappu shrugs his shoulders. He takes off his glasses and puts them down on the teak table. "I just don't know," he says, "about any of it. Everything feels so uncertain."

"Unstable?" she suggests. "Like it could tip either which way?"

"Exactly. When did you get so clever?"

"I have always been like this, Bappu. Did I tell you that I overheard Sister Ignatius speaking to the sisters about me becoming head girl next year? She also said that rats are known to eat their own tails before they die of starvation. Did you know that?"

"No, you didn't, and I had no idea."

"Don't you think then that perhaps rats are more intelligent than humans?"

"I don't doubt it," says Bappu, smiling despite himself.

Excerpted from Moth by Melody Razak. Copyright © 2022 by Melody Razak. Excerpted by permission of Harper. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.