Record Details



Enlarge cover image for Hell of a book, or the altogether factual, wholly bona fide story of a big dreams, hard luck, American-Made Mad Kid / Jason Mott. Book

Hell of a book, or the altogether factual, wholly bona fide story of a big dreams, hard luck, American-Made Mad Kid / Jason Mott.

Mott, Jason, (author.).

Summary:

In Jason Mott's Hell of a Book, a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something much larger and urgent: since Mott's novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour. As these characters' stories build and build and converge, they astonish. For while this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art and money, it's also about the nation's reckoning with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news. And with what it can mean to be Black in America. Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour, and what kind of world will he leave behind? Unforgettably told, with characters who burn into your mind and an electrifying plot ideal for book club discussion, Hell of a Book is the novel Mott has been writing in his head for the last ten years. And in its final twists it truly becomes its title.
"From a New York Times bestselling author, an astounding work of fiction, both incredibly funny and heartfelt, asking readers to embrace the fantastical in order to get to the heart of racism, police violence, and the hidden costs exacted upon not only Black Americans, but America as a whole." -- Provided by publisher.
"Soot, a young Black boy, lives in a rural town in the recent past. The Kid, a possibly imaginary child appears to a Black author on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. As their stories build and converge, they astonish. As the nation reckons with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news, what it can mean to be Black in America? Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour, and what kind of world will he leave behind?" --Adapted from jacket.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780593330968
  • ISBN: 059333096X
  • ISBN: 9780593330982
  • ISBN: 0593330986
  • Physical Description: 319 pages ; 22 cm
  • Publisher: [New York] : Dutton, [2021]
Subject:
Fictitious characters > Fiction.
Authors > Fiction.
Book industries and trade > Fiction.
Racism > Fiction.
Police > Fiction.
Murder > Fiction.
FICTION / African American & Black / General.
FICTION / Literary.
FICTION / Southern.
Book industries and trade.
Authors.
Fictitious characters.
Murder.
Police.
Racism.
Genre:
Novels.
Fiction.
Fiction.
Novels.

Available copies

  • 27 of 32 copies available at Westchester Library System.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 32 total copies.

Other Formats and Editions

English (2)
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Bedford Free Library FIC MOT (Text) 31002150817210 Fiction Available -
Bedford Hills Free Library MOTT (Text) 31003151548002 Fiction Available -
Chappaqua Library FICTION MOTT (Text) 31005153448735 Fiction Checked out 02/03/2026
Eastchester Public Library FICTION MOTT (Text) 31008152555021 Fiction Checked out 01/16/2026
Greenburgh Public Library MOTT (Text) 31009154875946 Fiction Available -
Harrison Public Library MOTT, J. (Text) 31010300257229 Fiction Available -
Hastings-on-Hudson Public Library FICTION MOTT (Text) 31011151435344 Fiction Checked out 01/26/2026
Hendrick Hudson Free Library MOTT, JASON (Text) 31016151753166 Fiction Available -
Irvington Public Library FIC MOTT, J (Text) 31012154370256 Fiction Available -
John C. Hart Memorial Library MOTT (Text) 31030155026446 Fiction Available -