When I finished reading Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder a while back, I wondered if I could ever read something as insane and absurd as that. My question was answered when a dear friend, who works at a library, told me about Kittentits by Holly Wilson, which got published this year. She told me about the bonkers plot and wanted to know why the novel was called Kittentits. We both decided to read it to fulfill our curiosity. I finished first, and reader, we got a lot to unpack with this one because it’s not for everyone. Nonetheless, it was entertaining even though I was trying to figure out what was going on half the time.
Kittentits is about Molly – a rambunctious 10-year-old searching for friendship and ghosts. In 1992, Molly is tired of living in the fire-rotted, nun-haunted House of a Semi-Cooperative Living Community of Peace Faith(s) in Action (a halfway house) with her formerly blind dad and grieving landlady Evelyn. But when 23-year-old Jeanie, a dirt-bike riding ex-con with a questionable past, moves in, Molly quickly attaches herself to her. She might treat Molly terribly, but for the first time in her life, the latter feels seen because they both have dead moms and potty mouths. When Jeanie fakes her own death in a hot-air balloon accident, Molly runs away to Chicago with a stolen credit card and a pair of LA Gear Heatwaves to meet her pen pal Demarcus (who never writes her back for some reason), so she can hunt down Jeanie. Molly and Demarcus plan to perform a seance to reunite with their dead mothers in front of a live audience at the World’s Fair on New Year’s Eve.
Like with Nightbitch, I love the cover of Kittentits. I adore the shade of pink and the image of a cat with its expression all a glow like it just saw a can of tuna that the owner forgot to put away. And, the stars are the cherries on top. It’s a bizarre cover fitting for a book of that nature.
As for the content, it’s not going to be for everybody. If a reader isn’t put off by the title, they might be by some of the things that happen. Molly and other characters like Jeanie do a lot of R-rated swearing, and there are some gross things that occur. In fact, I propose a litmus test. If one can get through the first 12 pages, especially the tampon scene, then they will be able to read the rest of the book. Now, just because someone finishes reading a book doesn’t guarantee that they will like it.
The big problem with Kittentits is that it’s trying too hard. It desperately attempts to get people’s attention and shock them. For example, Molly likes to swear a lot. Given her circumstances, it makes sense for her to curse and say derogatory things, but it feels static after a while. Also, some of the gross out moments (ie the tampon scene) don’t have much pay off, so readers are simply thinking, “What’s the point?”
Also, the plot goes in so many directions that readers are forced to keep up with it if they haven’t been turned off by the vulgar language nor the disturbing imagery. In Kittentits, it’s a coming of age story of a little girl who wants to be seen as her own person, and it also has conjoined twins, hot-air balloons, a World’s Fair that never materialized in real life, and a seance. Granted, it’s not as convoluted as it seems, since most of it comes together at the end. At the same time, it could’ve been a bit more streamlined like Nightbitch.
Despite the problems with the story and how it’s presented, I’ll admit that it got me intrigued with the main character and how it was going to unfold just like Nightbitch. Molly is not like any other child protagonist I’ve seen in a novel ever. I mean, there have been ones who are abrasive and blunt, but not on the level that she is on. She can come off as insensitive sometimes, especially when she’s writing to her penpal Demarcus. It’s no wonder that Molly gets drawn to Jeanie, who is even more vulgar and unabashed. I hated how Jeanie treats Molly, hoping that the latter will have a realization about the former. Luckily, she does. I simply hoped that Molly would achieve her goal of being seen and respected by the people around her.
Given my issues with how extra the plot is, I admire how bonkers it is. It has a wide range of elements like the ones mentioned above, and I wondered how they were going to play out. Even if it dragged in places, I wanted to see it until the end. That finale is one for the ages.
Kittentits by Holly Wilson is undoubtedly one of the weirdest novels I’ve ever read. The plot packs in so much, and even if it doesn’t always work, I admire Wilson’s gumption for putting all of it on paper. Also, Molly is a one of a kind child character whether readers like it or not. The book is unquestionably not for everybody. The only readers that I would recommend it to are ones who love shock value and coming of age stories. There hasn’t been a book like Kittentits before, nor will there ever be one again, so despite my grievances, I’m glad I read it. I wonder how my friend felt about it…
Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I have recorded the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast recently. Guest Sarah Rick and I talk about how we would adapt this novel. You can check it out here.
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Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything 
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