Life Cycle of a Moth

<p><b>AN <i>OBSERVER </i>BEST DEBUT OF 2025 </b><br><br><b>''Astonishing'' </b>LUCY ROSE<br><b>''Biting and rich'' </b>MOLLY AITKEN<br><b>''Unforgettable'' </b><i>OBSERVER</i><br><b>''A novel of rare power'' </b>GABRIELLE GRIFFITHS<br><br><i>An itchy feeling.<br>A wrinkle in the forest.<br>A cracking twig.<br>A coming sound.<br><br>Myma, do you hear it?<br>Myma, do you hear?<br>Myma?</i><br><br>Maya and Daughter live in complete isolation in a secluded woodland, their days aligned with the light and changing seasons, a complex pattern of routine and ritual. Daughter has never questioned the life her mother has chosen for them; the life that has meant she''s never met another soul, or known anywhere except their forest home.<br><br> But one day, when Daughter is almost sixteen, a red-haired stranger steps into the confines of their territory. Where there was always two, suddenly there are three - and the carefully constructed world that Maya has built to keep her daughter safe may not survive it.<br><br>Urgent, haunting and thrillingly alive,<i> Life Cycle of a Moth</i> explores both the tenderness and ferocity of maternal love, asking what we might find ourselves capable of - and willing to sacrifice - in order to shelter those we hold dear.</p>