When Megan becomes curious about adulthood, her friendship with Sal becomes strained. The world they must navigate has a different life cycle. A society where people can remain at the larval stage or submit themselves to a precarious transformation and become adult.

Inspector Augustine, charged with monitoring the wanton destruction of eggs, decides to mentor Sal and Megan. Yet it is his maturity that will be put to the test.

J. O. Morgan applies his exquisite crafting of sentences to evoke a beguilingly simple tale of loss. An altopian world in which everything he changes about humanity makes us more recognisable.

Entering adulthood is something done furtively, in darkened, humid rooms, and not talked about. But, for all the book’s unsettling physicality, the innocent and well-meaning Sal, with all his doubts and fears, makes an even more lasting impression. Alastair Mabbott, The Herald

"This is a remarkable tale of courage and limitations that demands to be re-read."

Caroline Clark, Literary Review

"In essence, this is a novel about wanting to find the contours within which it is possible to find ease and acceptance. A place of welcome and retreat even if there is nobody else there… It doesn’t need adornments. It’s sufficient that we see the dilemmas that Sal and Megan must negotiate and find enough in their unfamiliar lives for us as readers to empathise with their exceptional, ordinary lives."

Declan O’Driscoll, The Unfortunates

There are times when I hanker for a well crafted sentence, where every carefully chosen word gives pleasure to the reader. Sometimes I’ll even forget about the plot because the writing stands out. Fortunately poet J.O. Morgan’s novel, Pupa, succeeds on both points… Like Ishiguro, the writing is elegant, delicate and a joy to read.

Robert Pisani, The Bobsphere