‘Hell of a Book,’ by Jason Mott book review

While the book-tour story line can be disorienting, a second, more concrete narrative emerges about a boy who is also unnamed. His bullies call him “Soot” because of his dark complexion, and pretty soon so do we. Soot is easier to care for. He’s a quiet only child with two loving parents. His early life is filled with wonder despite the ever-present realities of Blackness — but when he witnesses a death in the family, he changes. He sees that being Black, being himself, is deadly. Even as Soot shifts from innocent to scarred, even as he grows hardened to the miseries of life, all we want to do is hold him and hold him tight.