Kittentits by Holly Wilson
“Molly is one of the greatest young female characters I’ve had the luck of reading since I picked up Joy Williams’s The Quick and the Dead back in 2000 . . . I TRULY LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!” —Gillian Flynn, Gillian Flynn Books
“Holly Wilson’s Kittentits is sacred and profane, filled with big emotions, all amplified by grief. Molly is a wholly unique and charismatic narrator, navigating (and creating) chaos as she seeks out a way to hold onto both the living and dead. This is a wildly funny and utterly convincing coming-of-age novel like nothing I’ve read before.” —Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
A feral, heart-busting, absurdist debut about Molly, a rambunctious and bawdy ten-year-old searching for friendship and ghosts.
- Sale Date
- ISBN
- 9781638931089
- Page Count
- 368
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 5⅞ x 8½
- Imprint
- Gillian Flynn Books
Meet the Author
Holly Wilson“Holly Wilson’s Kittentits is sacred and profane, filled with big emotions, all amplified by grief. Molly is a wholly unique and charismatic narrator, navigating (and creating) chaos as she seeks out a way to hold onto both the living and dead. This is a wildly funny and utterly convincing coming-of-age novel like nothing I’ve read before.” —Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
A feral, heart-busting, absurdist debut about Molly, a rambunctious and bawdy ten-year-old searching for friendship and ghosts.
It’s 1992, and ten-year-old Molly is tired of living in the fire-rotted, nun-haunted House of Friends: a Semi-Cooperative Living Community of Peace Faith(s) in Action with her formerly blind dad and their grieving housemate Evelyn. But when twenty-three-year-old Jeanie, a dirt bike–riding ex-con with a shady past, moves in, she quickly becomes the object of Molly’s adoration. She might treat Molly terribly, but they both have dead moms and potty mouths, so naturally Molly is the moth to Jeanie’s scuzzy flame.
When Jeanie fakes her own death in a hot-air balloon accident, Molly runs away to Chicago with just a stolen credit card and a sweet pair of LA Gear Heatwaves to meet her pen pal Demarcus and hunt down Jeanie. What follows is a race to New Year’s Eve, as Molly and Demarcus plan a séance to reunite with their lost moms in front of a live audience at the World’s Fair.
A surrealist and bold take on the American coming-of-age novel, Holly Wilson’s debut is about the interstices of loss, grief, and friendship.
Reading Kittentits reminded me of reading two of my favorite authors Joyce Carol Oates and Joy Williams—no matter the plot or the characters, I have the exquisite joy of knowing I'm in a world that not one single other human on this planet could have created.
@thegillianflynnPraise for Kittentits
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“There’s nothing predictable about this novel. And for this precise reason, Kittentits is nearly impossible to put down. . . . Wilson demonstrates exceptional artistry with the supporting characters, capturing the fundamental experiences of trust, friendship, love and loss. Their backstories, however improbable, will resonate with your personal yearnings. A bit deranged, a lot unforgettable, Kittentits needs to be your next literary escape.”
Bookpage -
“Holly Wilson’s debut novel tells the electric, surreal, bonkers-in-the-best-way story of Molly—a 10-year-old girl living in a strange co-op in 1992 Illinois who forms an unexpected friendship with Jeanie, the 23-year-old woman who moves in after a prison stint. . . . For anyone with a high threshold for wackiness, it’s a brilliant, wild ride.”
Bustle -
“A trash-talking 10-year-old girl who sees ghosts is our main character in this very promising coming-of-age story that is chock-full of absurdist elements. If you’re a fan of bold writing, I think this debut will be for you!”
"Goodreads Editors’ Picks for May Books”"[A] surrealist, carnivalesque bildungsroman." — The Los Angeles Times
About the Imprint
Stories with teeth. Biting, voice‑driven, and thrilling titles hand‑selected by the bestselling author of Gone Girl. Propulsive, culture‑cutting reads designed to start conversations—and leave you reeling.
