Me Moth by Amber McBride

Unusually, this story is written in a lean and spare free verse. Moth, a black teen, has lost her parents and brother in a terrible car accident. She's moved from New York City to Virginia to live with her Aunt Jack, leaving not only her home and friends behind but also her dreams of becoming a famous ballerina. But she can still dream of her grandfather, who was a Hoodoo root worker and a conjurer. When he died, he left Moth a box of herbs, roots, and soil, and she continues to practice Hoodoo. Then there is Sani, a boy with long black hair tied in a knot, who is also new. He's been living in New Mexico with his Navajo father, a Medicine Man and healer, but has come to Virginia to live with his White mother and her new husband and family. He finds himself very much an outsider within the family and in the community. They are both other, outsiders who can't fit in, and who are struggling with loss. It is a story about grief, friendship, and the search for identity is rich, vibrant, haunting and unforgettable.