Thank you to Netgalley and Zando / Gillian Flynn Books for the advance egalley in exchange for my honest review.

For those looking for a quirky, zany, kind of random read with a dark undertone.

I honestly couldn’t get into it and I really wanted to. I think it’s something I need to come back to at another time.

oof! this one was equal parts laugh-out-loud funny and quietly tragic. while I sometimes found myself annoyed at Molly (aka Kittentits), I felt protective of her and like I just wanted her to end up okay. this story took so many unique twists n turns - truly a one of a kind story. there were times that the voice felt a little obnoxious which made this hard to read at times, but ultimately I had a really fun time.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

thanks netgalley and zando for the arc.

From page 1, Kittentits is a wild ride. We've got a 10 year old as our lead. A 10 year old who is desperate to be seen as an adult. A 10 year old who connects with a grown woman who fakes her own death. A 10 year old who runs away to meet her pen-pal. A 10 year old with the mouth of a sailor who is one of the wildest and most enduring characters since Scout Finch.

This is a story for the wild girls, for the free spirits and for the former 10 year olds who didn't like rules.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was born in 1973 so I clearly remember this time period. People did talk this way, kids swore constantly, called each other names, punched one another and so on. I felt Molly was a real and true person, reminding me of some of my friends, and parts of myself. I loved the fact that she was able to see ghosts, that was a very nice element of surprise. I loved the whole Jeanie and Mombie conjoined twin narrative as well. This book was definitely unique, fun and sad. I loved it and will be looking forward to (hopefully) reading more from this talented author with such a unique voice.

Absurdist novels apparently are not my cup of tea. This felt like I had a kid following me around and telling these inane stories. Which seems to resonate with some people, just not me. I kept wishing it would pull itself together and it didn't.

Thank you Netgalley, Holly Wilson, and Zando Publishing for the ARC!

As soon as I started reading the crass, almost surrealist style narration from the 10-year old protagonist Molly, I knew I was going to like this book. Granted, I may be biased because I can't help but love most coming of age novels with weird, grimy, and freakish girl characters. At the same time, there's SO MUCH going on in this book that I'm not sure if it would scratch the same itch for everyone that it did for me. I seriously could not stop reading because I couldn't at all predict what may happen next. Between the bizarre ghosts, wax museums, and séances there were actually really profound passages about grief, abandonment, and friendship. Each character was completely unique and described so incredibly vividly by Molly that I felt like I knew them. I know I'm being a little skimpy with the details of the actual story though because I feel like summarizing it would make me sound insane. It's truly one of those stories you'd just have to jump headfirst into. I personally will be buying a physical copy when it comes out for weird girl summer 2024.

I had a really hard time with this arc, and not because of anything to do with the story. Unfortunately, my arc/ ebook had a lot of issues and was extremely difficult to read. I almost had to dnf it, but instead took a long break. It was hard to figure out what was a programming mistake in the ebook- and what was supposed to be the style of the book.
Anyway, I loved our protagonist! I loved her voice, and how unruly she was! I found the first half and the second half to almost be two different stories. I feel if I read a corrected version of the text, this could’ve been a 4 for me. It was just so hard for me to get through :(

It takes a lot to surprise me in a book and I was hooked from the first paragraph. What a strange ride from start to finish. Expect nothing. Just hold on tight and let this story unfold.

I'm not sure what I just read, or how to put it into words, but this is how I felt: its the best nostalgic feeling like I cannot explain, it's childhood, it's bittersweet, it's so tender and full of grace despite all the swearing. But the swearing makes complete sense and sets the tone for who Molly is and the environment she's in. I didn't expect to enjoy this book this much! I was pleasantly surprised at every turn. I truly don't think I've ever read anything like this before. It's such a unique exploration on innocence and grief.

Seriously what just happened! I think I love it!

While I appreciated the style - it's cute - I completely disagree with underlying ideology reflected in individual dealing with grief and trauma. Instead of being a class critique, the novel is just - cute.

big thank you to netgalley and zando for the ARC!

kittentits was a lot of things—absurd, strange, unsavory, gross, offensive, scabby kneed and unwashed. but also charming, unputdownable, surprisingly moving. there are a lot of grimy layers to scrub through to get to heart of the thing; there's goldfish swimming in toilet bowls filled with vomit and cowgirls in iron lungs and ghosts with artist dens under the kitchen sink. there's 10-year-old molly with the mouth of a sailor and a rebel's spirit, there's badass, dirt bike riding, cig smoking ex-con jeanie and her evil (ex-)siamese twin sister mombie. there are flames, death, rebirth, and an unexpectedly emotional conclusion that left me wishing i could stay, please, for just a little longer, please. and when you finally get there, to the heart of it, !!!!!!!! it's like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i can see why people wouldn't like this—it's not for the faint of heart, it is spit in your face rude and unforgiving but it is so full of Life! grief and loneliness and love and reckoning and coming of age and life after death. an entire universe of down and dirty, real-life Stuff. i'm being intentionally vague because kittentits is the kind of story where you just have to dive in and see for yourself. cannot wait to read more from holly wilson

What a silly little book that just tickled me in the best way. I'd like to read it again before providing a more detailed review on my Goodreads page, but here are some things I really enjoyed.
-the crass tone that sets the vibe
-a spitfire MC who joins the ranks of my favorite "unhinged women" books alongside the characters created by Anna Dorn and Eliza Clark
-humor aplenty, but the story remains in focus
-a refreshing reminder that we all view the world in different ways.

Thank you to Holly Wilson and the publisher, Zando/ Gillian Flynn Books, for approving me for this ARC. I loved it and can't wait to add a physical copy to my collection.

Alright, the book is called Kittentits ffs. Of course it was funny and bizarre. Molly, the foul-mouthed 10 year old, is absolutely wild, and her friendship with Jeanie was unconventional and controversial. I really enjoyed the whole Jeanie and Mombie storyline, I thought it was so interesting. It was honestly my favorite part of the book.

Molly is full of cuss words and loneliness, sees ghosts, and has a desperate need for adventure and attention. She’s slightly annoying, but it just made her narrative that much more believable. She was a good reminder that kids just want to be seen, and heard, and included.

This book explores friendship, adolescence and grief in a unique and funny way. The 90s nostalgia was real with this one, especially in the language choices. The language will definitely be divisive (there was a lot of use of the R* word which was pretty off-putting), and if I’m being honest with myself - it was a bit of a chore to get through. I liked a lot of the characters but the story itself struggled to hold my attention. I really wanted to love it but it was mostly just alright for me.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Zando for the eARC. Unfortunately this one was a bit of a letdown. I may be overly sensitive but I couldn't deal with the repeated use of the word re***ded and t*rd. I know it was probably used to convey Molly's immaturity and the time period but it became repetitive and took me out of the story.
Again, I fully admit that I'm more sensitive than others on this issue.

I am a fan of the transgressive, trash-talking female trend in recent novels — it can be cathartic to read about women loosening their girdles and refusing to act ladylike — and while it might be off-putting to see a ten-year-old curse and fling around words like “tard” and “lesbo” like Molly in Kittentits, when you come to understand that her antisocial behaviour is guarding a crushed and neglected heart, it’s the distance the reader has to travel between unlikeability and understanding that makes this a special and worthwhile journey. Layer on some surreal and absurdist elements — this is a novel with ghosts and miracles, puppets and wax dummies, a psychic cowgirl in an iron lung and feuding conjoined twins — and I can see how this wouldn’t be for everyone; but it was for me. I am a fan of just this sort of thing: interesting, out-of-the-box storytelling that reveals something true and relatable about being human; I was surprised and intrigued on every page and ultimately moved; I am delighted to have had this introduction to the work of Holly Wilson.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had everything that I wanted from this type of book. The characters worked well in this universe and had everything that I worked well in the plot. I was enjoying the coming of age perfectly and had a great overall feel to it. It uses grief perfectly and had everything that I was looking for. Holly Wilson has a great writing style and the characters were what I was hoping for. I hope to read more from the author.

I really wanted to like this book and I think I would have if Molly was like, 14 or 15. She was written as too grown up for a 10 year old, and her interactions with those around her would have felt much more believable. Overall I will read more by this author.

Holly Wilson has created a completely unique and endearing-in-spite-of-herself character in our protagonist, Molly. I love when a writer is able to capture universal feelings of childhood within an extremely specific story, and Wilson definitely does that. For example, when Molly is sitting outside, kicking her feet against the porch waiting for the mail and looking at the sky - I felt that deep down. I suddenly accessed the feeling of looking at my bedroom through the eyes of another and only seeing "kid stuff", while being desperately intrigued by the room of an older person. And I can conjure quite clearly the whole sensory experience of a Garfield-and-Odie-in-shell-bras sleeping bag!! More broadly, throughout: the desperate desire to be taken seriously, to be seen as a whole human, and the straining against the limitations of being a kid without even fully knowing what they are. It's all familiar, coded deep down, and this book got some old neurons firing.

I loved, too, Molly's language, divisive as it may be. Wilson offers a very clear explanation early on, when Molly explains that her first encounter with profanity opened her up to possibility, charged her up with new powers, and gave voice to feelings she had not been able to express before. I understand that, and I think that many kids have something that does this for them: it might be drawing, it might be running, it might be poetry, it might be profanity. But something flips a switch and makes them feel able to take up a little bit of space in a big, confusing world.

I also *loved* Roger the Goth Librarian - I vote for Wilson's next book to be about him :)

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy!

Kittentits was a wild ride in ways I wasn't expecting. Told from the perspective of a 10-year-old girl named Molly, we are provided with a unique and hilarious perspective of her understanding and perception of the outside world.

While she did feel a little too 'grown-up' at times given the language, perhaps she was beyond her years given the circumstances of her life.

What I really liked about this was the various subjects Wilson touched on — family, friendship, abandonment, grief — all through the eyes of a child.

Molly was a memorable character and will be one I think of often. Thanks to the publisher for the eARC, and I look forward to whatever else Holly Wilson has coming next.

From page one, Kittentits does not come across as a series novel. It's crass and told from the perspective of a 10 year old (who can see ghosts?) that so desperately wants to be seen (as many young children do) by an adult in her life that really shouldn't be the object of her affection. And yet.... There are so many good nuggets and quotes timed so perfectly to get you to reflect on life, relationships, and how we present ourselves to the world in addition to the absurdity.

I loved every minute of this and will definitely be purchasing a copy when it's released.