Book cover of The Moth Diaries

Book description

Writing in the form of a journal this novel tells the story of odd goings-on in a girls boarding school in the late 1960s. The unnamed narrator is a student at the school, she is intellectual and somewhat aloof and associates with an intense clique of girls. When Dora (one…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked The Moth Diaries as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Of all the epistolary horror stories I've yet encountered, this is the most bizarre and puzzling, thanks to a disturbed, unreliable, maddening, yet pitiable narrator.

Is the young diarist insane, or is she the only person who can see the truth of what’s happening in her sheltered boarding school? Is the new girl, Ernessa, a vampire? Is Ernessa even real at all? I couldn't tell, but I kept wondering.

I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and the experience of trying to determine what was actually going on.

From Amanda's list on creepy epistolary horror novels.

I love a novel that is wholly made of collated diary entries. I am an avid journal-keeper, and understand the deep, dark secrets that girls put between those pages. And I don’t even have a vampire living next door. Unlike the author of this delightful tome. She inhabits a dorm room at an elite boarding school and shares a friendship bordering on obsession with her long-time friend, Lucy (Lucy Westenra vibes, anyone?). Everything is perfect between the pair until the new girl arrives. Ernessa is a mysterious girl that our narrator is convinced is a vampire. Whether she is… you’ll…

From Dawn's list on YA with unusual formats.

If you love The Moth Diaries...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like The Moth Diaries?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 92 books like The Moth Diaries.

Browse books like The Moth Diaries

Book cover of Dracula
Book cover of Wylding Hall
Book cover of Rules for Vanishing

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like The Moth Diaries, you might also like...

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Coyote Weather

Coyote Weather by Amanda Cockrell,

Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.

Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…

5 book lists we think you will like!