Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Crossing
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1978?
WEBSITE: http://jasonmottauthor.com/
CITY:
STATE: NC
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-27/lifestyle/42456128_1_horror-novel-dead-people-mott-s http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/02/living/books-returned-jason-mott/ http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/exclusive-a-chat-w-writer-jason-mott-whose-debut-novel-the-returned-was-option-by-brad-pitt-for-abc http://fayobserver.com/articles/2013/09/04/1277427
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1978, in Bolton, NC.
EDUCATION:University of North Carolina at Wilmington, B.F.A., M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Verizon Wireless, former customer service representative based in Wilmington, NC.
WRITINGS
Short prequels to The Returned include “The First,” “The Sparrow,” and “The Choice,” all published by Harlequin Mira, 2013. Contributor of episodes to the television series Resurrection (based on The Returned), American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), 2014. Work represented in anthologies, including 27 Views of Wilmington: The Port City in Prose & Poetry, Eno Publishers (Hillsborough, NC), 2015. Contributor to literary journals.
The Returned was adapted as the television series Resurrection, broadcast by American Broadcasting Companies, 2014-15.
SIDELIGHTS
Jason Mott was born and raised in a small town in southeastern North Carolina. He still lives there, immersed in the ambience of the American South, where magic can seem real and religious fervor can appear to heal the illnesses of body and soul. Mott began his career as a poet, but a dream that he experienced in his early thirties inspired a change of direction. His grandmother appeared to him in his sleep, so vividly that she seemed to be alive. He pondered what life would be like if the miracle of rebirth was possible. It dawned on him that a miracle could be as much a curse as a blessing.
The Returned
In his first novel, Mott explores what could happen when the miracle of rebirth becomes a global nightmare. The Returned begins when Jacob Hargrave is returned to the embrace of his family fifty years after his death. Mother Lucille is thrilled to see her little boy just as beautiful as he looked on the day he drowned; Father Harold is beset with anxiety. Now in their eighties, Lucille and Harold struggle to cope with caring for a son who is still eight years old. They are not alone.
Across the country and around the world, the dead of centuries are awakening, and not all of them are welcome. Some of the returnees are aged and frail, without roots or living families; others serve as reminders of tragedies long put to rest or burdens cast off with relief. The Hargraves’ tiny town of Arcadia, Mississippi, becomes a regional clearinghouse for the reborn and is soon swamped with hordes of the unwanted and the soldiers sent in to maintain a semblance of order.
The world is running out of room for the exploding population. Food and other resources are shrinking fast. Anxiety pits neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, and fear ignites rumors of a coming apocalypse. Violence is inevitable, and souls will be tested.
The Returned, which served as a basis for the 2014 television series Resurrection, won the hearts of critics. “This is a masterly first novel,” wrote Katie Lawrence in Library Journal. The author “brings a singularly eloquent voice to this elegiac novel” about “what it means to be human,” observed Joanne Wilkinson in her Booklist review. A Publishers Weekly contributor commended the author for the “drama, pathos, joy, horror, and redemption” with which he infused his exploration of “the frailty and strength of human character.” A writer in Kirkus Reviews summarized The Returned as “a beautifully written and emotionally astute” study, “a breathtaking novel that navigates emotional minefields with realism and grace.”
The Wonder of All Things
The Wonder of All Things is another story of a miracle spun out of control. The miracle is Ava’s gift–a well-kept secret until the day of the air show. When a plane falls from the sky in the small town of Stone Temple, North Carolina, young teen Ava Campbell is trapped in the rubble along with her best friend. Wash is gravely injured, and Ava stretches her arm out to touch him. A cell phone happens to be recording video of the crash scene as Wash’s injuries begin to heal under Ava’s hand, and the girl becomes an instant celebrity.
The world descends upon Stone Temple, and everyone wants something. Media outlets complete for Ava’s attention, and gawkers arrive to watch. A televangelist woos Ava and her father for purposes of his own, and scientists crave the secret to a mystical power heretofore unknown to medical science. Sickly and disabled people beg for Ava’s healing touch, including her own friends and family members. Among them are her own parents. Ava’s father, the small-town sheriff, is overwhelmed by the sudden influx of visitors, and his wife is desperate for help to carry her troubled pregnancy to a successful conclusion.
Ava is caught in the middle of the growing frenzy. Every healing incident exhausts and weakens her, and her health is fading fast. The only one who seems to care is Wash, whose soothing voice is her only solace. The day approaches when she must weigh her own survival against the life of another, and only Ava can make that choice.
Once again critics were taken with Mott’s literary achievement. Wilkinson reported in Booklist that “he does a remarkable job of invoking a sense of reverence for the natural world.” A Publishers Weekly contributor offered a mixed review, finding the novel overly melodramatic in places, with “an overabundance of side stories,” but also acknowledged that “Mott shines in the telling of the sweet, developing love between Ava and Wash.” In Library Journal, Melanie Duncan called The Wonder of All Things “a poignant tale of love, loss, and miracles.” “Lyrically written, thought-provoking and emotionally searing,” according to a Kirkus Reviews commentator, ths novel “is another creative yet haunting rendering of the mixed blessings of so-called miracles.”
The Crossing
Mott takes an even darker look at a world on the brink of destruction in The Crossing. “The Disease” has descended upon the earth over the past ten years, taking the life of everyone it touches. “Old people are the first to go,” Zachary Houle explained at the website Medium, “then its victims grow younger and younger,” until only the children will be left, with no one to care for them. At the same time, a global war is raging, claiming the lives of young draft-age adults before they have a change to reproduce.
One hope remains for mankind. The scientific establishment will send a spacecraft to Jupiter with the hope of finding a habitable environment for survivors of The Disease on the moon Europa. Teenaged twins Virginia and Tommy are on their way to Cape Canaveral to view the launch. They are calling it their last road trip together before Tommy is drafted to fight for his country.
The twins have been inseparable since being orphaned at the age of five and thrust into the foster care system. The trip may be their last chance to flee from the forces that would separate them or kill them. The primary enemy is their foster father, a police officer determined to send Tommy off to war. Armed with a pistol and Virginia’s dubious “gift”–the uncanny ability to remember every snippet of information, event, or personal experience that ever crossed her mind–the twins set out to carve a new life on their own.
The critical response to The Crossing was mixed. Houle found the novel “boring,” “plotless,” and plodding, but others were more generous. Booklist contributor Becky Spratford predicted that “teens will enjoy the dystopian setting.” A contributor to Kirkus Reviews noticed a “disjointed” element in the twins’ odyssey, but credited Mott with the “lyrical writing and soulful insight” that readers had come to expect from the author who began his career as a poet.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 15, 2013, Joanne Wilkinson, review of The Returned, p. 32; September 1, 2014, Joanne Wilkinson, review of The Wonder of All Things, p. 48; March 15, 2018, Becky Spratford, review of The Crossing, p. 28.
Kirkus Reviews, April. 15, 2013, review of The Returned; September 1, 2014, review of The Wonder of All Things; April 1, 2018, review of The Crossing.
Library Journal, July 1, 2013, Katie Lawrence, review of The Returned, p. 74; October 15, 2014, Melanie C. Duncan, review of The Wonder of All Things, p. 82.
Publishers Weekly, March 11, 2013, review of The Returned, p. 38; September 1, 2014, review of The Wonder of All Things, p. 42.
ONLINE
Cable News Network website, https://edition.cnn.com/ (September 2, 2013), Christian Duchateau, author interview.
Jason Mott website, http://jasonmottauthor.com (July 5, 2018).
Medium, https://medium.com/ (May 27, 2018), Zachary Houle, review of The Crossing.
USA Today Online, https://eu.usatoday.com/ (September 3, 2014), Jocelyn McClurg, author interview.
Series
Returned
1. The Returned (2013)
Prequel to The Returned
1. The First (2013)
2. The Sparrow (2013)
3. The Choice (2013)
Novels
The Wonder of All Things (2014)
Ava's Gift (2014)
The Crossing (2018)
Collections
We Call This Thing Between Us Love (poems) (2009)
Hide Behind Me (2011)
Dark Musings Volume 1 (2013)
Dark Musings (2013)
Dark Musings Volume 2 (2013)
The Random Drabblings of a Madman (2013)
Novellas
Here A Drabble, There A Drabble... (2014)
Jason Mott lives in southeastern North Carolina. He has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His poetry and fiction has appeared in various literary journals. He was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize award and Entertainment Weekly listed him as one of their 10 "New Hollywood: Next Wave" people to watch.
He is the author of two poetry collections: We Call This Thing Between Us Love and "...hide behind me..." The Returned is his first novel.
The Returned has also been optioned by Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, in association with Brillstein Entertainment and ABC. It will air in March, 2014 on the ABC network under the title "Resurrection."
Cool fall author: Jason Mott
Jocelyn McClurg USA TODAY
Published 8:51 p.m. UTC Sep 3, 2014
Jason Mott, author of "The Wonder of All Things."
Michael Becker
The Wonder of All Things
By Jason Mott
Harlequin Mira, fiction
The book:
What it's about: A small Southern town is turned upside down after Ava, a 13-year-old black girl, heals the wounds of her best friend, Wash, a white boy severely injured when a stunt plane crashes into a crowd. Her "miracle" goes viral when it's captured on a cellphone video.
Why it's cool: Lionsgate has acquired film rights for producer David Heyman (Harry Potter); Mott's debut novel, The Returned, about the dead returning, is the basis for the ABC series Resurrection. It returns for a second season Sept. 28.
A taste: "So the skeptics have come and so have the people who think Ava's the second coming."
On sale: Sept. 30
The author:
Quick bio: Mott, 36, was born and raised in the small town of Bolton, N.C. (pop. 700), where he still lives. He has a BA and MFA from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and has written two poetry collections. He's single.
Fun fact: After grad school, Mott worked for four years at Verizon's wireless call center in Wilmington and was the guy who "got yelled at" by customers routed from the New York metro area. "It was fun fodder for writing, though. I found that if people don't have to talk to you again, they will tell you anything."
Life in a small town: "Small towns are always exciting to me because of the history. In my small town, people have literally been here for generations. There's a certain comfort and dependence on one another. In small towns, you're a big family, for better or worse."
'The Wonder of All Things' by Jason Mott
Harlequin Mira
Differences between his novel The Returned and ABC's 'Resurrection': "I'm totally for it, actually. I'm a huge fan of book-to-film translations. It's a mistake to just copy and paste. They're doing a great job."
Ava's ability to heal: "The idea of miraculous healing has always been very interesting to me. In the South there's always a bit of magic, through the stories you hear. Everything here has a back story to it. And in the South there's the phenomenon of churches where the healing goes on." (Mott was raised Southern Baptist.)
The supernatural in pop culture: "You can Google anything nowadays. But I think there's part of humanity that loves mystery and is attracted to the unknown."
His next book: "I have started a new novel. My editor won't let me talk about it yet because it's very, very early."
Fall reading: "I'm still waiting to see what all is coming down the pike. I've read some advance galleys for blurbs. I just finished a novel by an author in the U.K., The Casualties by Nick Holdstock (due out in the U.S. in 2015). It's very, very interesting."
Published 8:51 p.m. UTC Sep 3, 2014
5 questions for 'The Returned' author Jason Mott
By Christian Duchateau, CNN
Updated 1245 GMT (2045 HKT) September 2, 2013
The doorbell rings. You answer it and find a long-dead loved one at your front door, apparently come back to life and looking just the same as the day they died. How would you react? That's the idea behind Jason Mott's debut novel, "The Returned."
In the hands of an author such as Stephen King or Dean Koontz, this could be the start of something scary, but this is no zombie tale. Inspired by a dream in which his late mother visits him, Mott tells a personal story about one family caught up in a worldwide event.
"The Returned" is set in a small Mississippi town and focuses on an elderly couple, Harold and Lucille Hargraves. A government agent shows up at their home with the couple's son, who drowned on his eighth birthday 50 years ago. Jacob looks and acts the same but how could this be the Hargraves' son? Obviously, the couple is much older and has tried to move on. How will this little boy fit into their lives now or be accepted in their community?
Jacob is one of thousands being reunited with families all over the world. Initially there's elation, then fear and eventually hysteria. Are these "Returned" a miracle or a sign of the end times?
Mott was almost unknown before "The Returned," but critics and advance readers are calling his first novel "eloquent" and "elegiac," also "haunting" and "heart wrenching." Brad Pitt's "Plan B" entertainment snapped up the rights and is already shooting a TV series based on the novel.
Entertainment Weekly recently listed him as one of their 10 "New Hollywood: Next Wave" people to watch. As his first novel hits shelves, Mott, who lives in rural North Carolina, says he's terrified and excited by his newfound fame.
ADVERTISING
inRead invented by Teads
Fast facts: Jason Mott
Age: 35
Hometown: Born and raised in Bolton, North Carolina, a small town of less than 700 people and one traffic light in the eastern part of the state near the coast.
For fans of: Magical realism, British author Neil Gaiman and readers who enjoyed Stephen King's "The Green Mile."
What else he has written: Mott is the author of two previous poetry collections, "We Call This Thing Between Us Love" and "...hide behind me..."
Before he was a novelist: Mott worked for several years as a customer service representative for Verizon Wireless, fielding complaints in New York from angry customers.
Five questions with Jason Mott
CNN: What was the idea behind "The Returned?"
Mott: It actually started with a dream I had about my mother. Both of my parents have passed away, my mother in 2001 and my father in 2007. In the summer of 2010, I had this dream that I came home from work one day and found my mother sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me.
I came in and sat down with her, and we just talked about everything that had happened since her death. My going to college, friends that I'd met, it was this warm kind of cathartic dream where I was able to be with my mother again for the first time in almost a decade.
It was one of these really vivid dreams where you wake up and question whether it was real or not. I really expected to find her sitting on the couch when I came out of my bedroom but of course she wasn't. That dream stuck with me, I couldn't get it out of my head. I was talking to a friend of mine who's also a writer and we discussed it, at some point in the conversation he said: What if that really happened and what if it wasn't just her?
I wrote a short story not long after about a couple whose son returns. I did a reading and the crowd really seemed to respond to it. People came up afterward and said how it reminded them of people they had lost. So after seeing that strong reaction, I started writing and about a year later, I had a manuscript on my hands.
It's still kind of hard to believe how it all happened, but it's been a lot of fun and I feel really special about it.
CNN: This could have been a horror story, but you took a much different approach. Why?
Mott: I tried to make the story as grounded as I could because I felt it was such a difficult topic to approach.
When I was working on the manuscript I talked to a lot of my friends, their parents, people that I knew, asking them what they would do if someone they loved who had passed away suddenly showed up again. The responses were really interesting. Usually people were very excited to hear about it, saying they would love to have so and so back, that it would be a really wonderful moment.
Then I would follow up with what would happen a year later, is it still just as exciting and wonderful? Sometimes the answers became really complicated. You had people who had changed dramatically since their loved one had passed away.
I'm not the same person as I was when my mother passed in 2001. I was 22 years old then, now I'm a 35-year-old adult. It's two completely different mindsets. So as much as I love her still, I'm much different now and that could create some friction. There were other people who had similar answers who had moved forward in life. That was the thing I tried most to carry into the novel, to be as realistic as possible.
CNN: What's behind the recent fascination in books, TV and movies with the undead?
Mott: It's the ultimate mystery: What happens after we die? If people are coming back, what does that mean to our beliefs?
The whole genre revolves around that idea as well as the emotional impact of someone you've let go of suddenly thrust back into the equation.
So how do you react to it? On a national level and on a personal level, I think it's everyone really trying to understand life and who they are versus people who have passed away. I think there's a lot of self-exploration going on right now.
CNN: Your book is now being turned into a TV series. How is that going?
Mott: It's going really well. I don't have much direct involvement, which I'm actually very glad about since things are so busy right now. I made a deal with Plan B, Brad Pitt's film company, and they brought in a wonderful writer, Aaron Zelman, who worked on AMC's "The Killing," and they're doing a great job. They're filming outside Atlanta right now.
I've had a chance to meet the cast, and they're all really excited. I had a chance to see the pilot, and I like what they're doing with it.
It's a little bit surreal, seeing the actors playing these characters who've I had close to my heart. It's like being outside of yourself for a moment. It's almost like sending a child out into the world. It's been fascinating, fun and a little bit scary at times. With all authors when you option the rights to your work, there's a little bit of nervousness over what will happen to it, how will it come out? But once I saw the pilot, it was so well-done, I'm really excited about it.
CNN: What kind of response have you had from people who've read the book?
Mott: Many of them will come up to me and talk about someone they lost that this reminded them of. Once they finished the book, they got a photo album out and looked at photos they hadn't thought about in a long time because the book really made them remember that person and brought to the forefront all the good times they had with that person.
To me, this is the most rewarding part. That's what I wanted the book to do. It came from a very personal place for me, so I wanted the readers to have a personal experience as well.
I didn't want it to be just my story. I also wanted it to remind you to really value the time you have with someone who's here now and realize how precious this time is. If the book can do that for anyone, then I'm happy with it.
Jason Mott
Jason Mott is a 2009 Pushcart Prize nominee, the author of two poetry collections and his writing has been published in numerous literary journals. His debut novel, “The Returned,” will be published in September 2013. The book was optioned for a television series pilot by ABC Studios and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment along with ABC Studios and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Emmy Award-winning director Charles McDougall (“Desperate Housewives,” “The Tudors”) will direct and Aaron Zelman (“The Killing”) penned the script. Jason has a B.F.A. in fiction and an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and he currently lives in North Carolina.
Twitter: @JasonMott
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jason.mott.7
Author Website:
http://jasonmottauthor.com/
Jason Mott lives in southeastern North Carolina. He has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His poetry and fiction has appeared in various literary journals. He was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize award and Entertainment Weekly listed him as one of their 10 “New Hollywood: Next Wave” people to watch.
He is the author of two poetry collections: We Call This Thing Between Us Love and “…hide behind me…” The Returned will be published internationally in over 13 languages and is a New York Times Bestseller.
The Returned is Jason’s debut novel and has been adapted by Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, in association with Brillstein Entertainment and ABC. It airs on the ABC network under the title “Resurrection.”
The Wonder of All Things is Jason’s second novel. It will be published in October 2014 and is now available for pre-order.
Mott, Jason: THE CROSSING
Kirkus Reviews. (Apr. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Mott, Jason THE CROSSING Park Row Books (Adult Fiction) $26.99 5, 15 ISBN: 978-0-7783-30738
As the world falls apart around them, orphaned twins Virginia and Tommy trek across the country to witness the launch of a rocket, hoping to find life while fleeing the draft for a war almost certain to bring death.
After their parents died when they were 5, Tommy and Virginia refused to be separated. Virginia is blessed and cursed with the ability to remember everything she experiences, completely and forever--"I don't forget any of it. Not a single moment. I carry all of it inside of me"--and in a series of letters her father wrote to them before he died, he told them to take care of each other, a responsibility they take seriously. However, the world is in crisis. A mysterious disease is causing the elderly to fall into a sleep they never wake from, and a global war is decimating the young. When Tommy receives a draft notice, Virginia decides that before he goes to war, they'll travel to Florida to watch the launch of a spacecraft bound for Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, which may harbor life. Their father was obsessed with Europa, and now, convinced her brother will die, Virginia resolves to take the trip as their last family memory. Their foster father, a policeman, is equally determined to bring Tommy back for his military duty. Along the way, the twins will discover beauty, betrayal, danger, goodwill--and the positives and negatives of their devotion to each other. Mott (The Wonder of All Things, 2014, etc.) brings his <
Beautifully written and touching on some fascinating ideas, but the journey feels <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Mott, Jason: THE CROSSING." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532700576/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a0aace92. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A532700576
The Crossing
Becky Spratford
Booklist. 114.14 (Mar. 15, 2018): p28.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Crossing.
By Jason Mott.
May 2018. 336p. Park Row, $26.99 (9780778330738).
Teenage twins Virginia and Tommy live in an alternate world in which "the Disease" has been killing the old in their sleep for the past decade, while the young are being sacrificed to fight in a world war. There is one last hope for humanity, a distant moon called Europa. Though interspersed with beautiful vignettes from the living and dying populace, the story is mostly told from Virginia's perspective, and her ability to remember everything she has ever read, heard, or experienced is both blessing and curse. It is this conflict, not the action and adventure of the twins' journey from Oklahoma to Cape Canaveral, that drives the story. As a result, The Crossing is a character-centered dystopian tale with a strong coming-of-age theme set in an atmospheric and unsettling world not too dissimilar from our own. Fans of other contemplative dystopian novels with strong female protagonists, such as Alden Bell's The Reapers Are the Angels (2010) and Karen Thompson Walker's The Age of Miracles (2012), should be eager to give this one a try.--Becky Spratford
YA: <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Spratford, Becky. "The Crossing." Booklist, 15 Mar. 2018, p. 28. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A533094468/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0d69ea01. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A533094468
Mott, Jason. The Wonder of All Things
Melanie C. Duncan
Library Journal. 139.17 (Oct. 15, 2014): p82.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
Mott, Jason. The Wonder of All Things. Mira: Harlequin. Oct. 2014.288p. ISBN 9780778316527. $24.95; ebk. ISBN 9781460330371. F
Ava Campbell, 13, and her best friend, Wash, watch as a plane at a local air show plummets from the sky. It crashes into the crowd and traps the two in the rubble of the observation tower. As crews race to reach them, a traumatized Ava reaches out and heals a severely injured Wash. The miraculous feat is captured on video and goes viral, turning the small town of Stone Temple, NC, into a frenzied mess of media, desperate people, and religious leaders. Suddenly, Ava is a "miracle child," and her future is being debated by doctors who want to study her, preachers who want to use her, and her father, the local sheriff, who doesn't know how to handle the sudden fame. Each time Ava heals, she gets weaker, and no one around her seems to see or care except Wash, and her pregnant stepmother, who is terrified of losing another baby. With time running out, Ava's choices will decide the future of her loved ones and how far she's willing to go to save them. VERDICT Mott delivers <> with crossover appeal for teen and Christian fiction readers even though religion is not shown in a favorable light through the lens of television ministry. The author's debut, The Returned (2013), was made into the ABC show Resurrection, and this novel has been optioned by Lionsgate for a feature film. Expect high demand where Mott's first book was popular. [See "ALA 2014 Galley Guide Discoveries," Prepub Alert, 6/30/14.]--Melanie C. Duncan, Shurling Lib., Macon, GA
Duncan, Melanie C.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Duncan, Melanie C. "Mott, Jason. The Wonder of All Things." Library Journal, 15 Oct. 2014, p. 82. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A384541710/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=bdd45d70. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A384541710
The Wonder of All Things
Joanne Wilkinson
Booklist. 111.1 (Sept. 1, 2014): p48.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Wonder of All Things. By Jason Mott. Oct. 2014. 288p. Harlequin/MIRA, $24.95 (9780778316527).
Mott follows up his red-hot debut, The Returned (2013), which has been made into a TV series, with another intriguing novel with a mystical bent. In prose that is elegant in its simplicity and with two winsome 13-year-olds as major characters, Mott's story of a miraculous healing in small-town North Carolina unfolds at a measured pace. Ava and her best friend, Wash, are spectators at an air show when a plane crashes into the crowd. Wash is grievously injured, but when Ava places her hands on him, his wounds close up. Word of the miracle quickly spreads, and the small town is soon inundated with hordes of people hoping for a similar cure. But Ava is unwell, her altruistic act having drained her of energy. Her father, Macon, the town sheriff, is overwhelmed by the hoopla and his daughter's extraordinary gift. Wash proves to be Ava's greatest comfort, singing to her and reading aloud to pass the time. Although Mott doesn't provide many answers about Ava's mysterious abilities, <
YA: Many teens will appreciate the extraordinary relationship of two 13-year-olds who have been friends since childhood. JW.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Wilkinson, Joanne. "The Wonder of All Things." Booklist, 1 Sept. 2014, p. 48. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A382808451/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8bbbf16a. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A382808451
The Wonder of All Things
Publishers Weekly. 261.35 (Sept. 1, 2014): p42.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Wonder of All Things
Jason Mott. Mira, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-07783-1652-7
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In this follow-up to his bestselling' novel The Returned, about the miraculous reappearance of the dead that became a television series (ABC's Resurrection), Mott returns to miracles--this time with the story of young Ava Campbell, who saves the life of her best friend, Wash, in the aftermath of tragic air show accident. Thanks to a cell phone camera on the scene, millions witness the spectacular feat of Wash's near-fatal wounds disappearing. Mott again transforms a small, peaceful town into a media maelstrom center as thousands descend on Stone Temple, N.C., for the chance to view or, more urgently, be healed by the astonishing Ava. A televangelist, Reverend Isaiah Brown, arrives to take advantage of the situation and forms an uneasy alliance with Ava's father, Macon, the town sheriff. In an unfortunate touch of melodrama, Ava is increasingly debilitated every time she heals someone, and the book turns into a Jodi Picoult--type discourse on the rights of a healer threatened by her own powers versus the rights of those who wish, and perhaps deserve, to be healed. <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Wonder of All Things." Publishers Weekly, 1 Sept. 2014, p. 42. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A381406385/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2efce962. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A381406385
Mott, Jason: THE WONDER OF ALL THINGS
Kirkus Reviews. (Sept. 1, 2014):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2014 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Mott, Jason THE WONDER OF ALL THINGS Harlequin MIRA (Adult Fiction) $24.95 9, 30 ISBN: 978-0-7783-1652-7
When a small-town tragedy sets the stage for a miracle healing that goes viral, nothing will ever be the same for the community, the young healer or the people who love her. Stone Temple, North Carolina, is a typical small Southern town until the day a plane falls out of the sky. The aftermath of the horrific event finds a mortally injured boy, Wash, and his best friend, Ava, trapped in a pile of debris. As the townspeople try to rescue the young teens, many of them witness Ava lay her hands on Wash and heal him. By the time they've cleared the rubble, he's injury-free and a video of the miracle has hit the Internet. Wash and Ava are taken to a nearby hospital to undergo a battery of tests in an attempt to explain the phenomenon, but the only conclusion anyone can draw is that helping others takes an immense physical toll on Ava. A sea of people has descended on Stone Temple, meanwhile, expecting Miracle Girl to heal them. "She could not count how many reporters there were, how many cameras, how many people holding up signs that read 'AVA'S REAL' and 'IT'S A MIRACLE.' " As religious leaders, miracle seekers and a media circus make demands and threaten Ava's health and safety, the girl and her father, Macon, must deal with the public and private reality of Ava's gift, plus navigate health issues among their own friends and loved ones, including Macon's new wife, Carmen--who's suffering a problematic pregnancy and whom Ava doesn't like. Mott's follow-up to his stunning debut, The Returned (2013), <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Mott, Jason: THE WONDER OF ALL THINGS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2014. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A380746565/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7211e072. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A380746565
Mott, Jason. The Returned
Katie Lawrence
Library Journal. 138.12 (July 1, 2013): p74.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
* Mott, Jason. The Returned. Mira: Harlequin. Sept. 2013. 352p. ISBN 9780778315339. $24.95; ebk. ISBN 9781459236639. F
What if the dead came back to us on Earth? Would your loved one's reappearance be a blessing or a curse? All over the world, people are spontaneously rising from the dead. For Harold and Lucille Hargrave this occurrence brings the return of their son Jacob, dead 50 years. While they have aged and must relearn how to parent, Jacob is still eight years old. Lucille sees this as a miracle; the void in her life has been filled. For others, Harold included, the returned inspire nothing but confusion and fear, ultimately leading to violence. As the world explodes into chaos and neighbors turn on one another, the Hargraves find themselves fighting for their new life and discovering the ties that permanently bind us across time and space. VERDICT <
Lawrence, Katie
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Lawrence, Katie. "Mott, Jason. The Returned." Library Journal, 1 July 2013, p. 74. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A335626299/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=5d04598d. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A335626299
The Returned
Joanne Wilkinson
Booklist. 109.18 (May 15, 2013): p32.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* The Returned.
By Jason Mott.
Sept. 2013. 352p. Harlequin/MIRA, $24.99 (9780778315339).
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In this sparely written first novel, poet Mott posits intriguing questions about our uneasy relationship with death. Harold and Lucille Hargrave are stunned to find their eight-year-old son, Jacob--decades after the boy's death by drowning--standing on their front porch, along with Martin Bellamy, a government agent for the International Bureau of the Returned. All over the globe, the dead are returning to their families, causing massive confusion and a pervasive anxiety that countries will run out of room and the resources to care for the enlarging population. And the Hargrave family seems to encompass the spectrum of emotions that greet the Returned, as Lucille is overjoyed to once again cook and care for her son, despite her advanced years, while Harold is afraid of all the emotions that his son stirs up, recalling anew the anguish and grief he thought he had finally laid to rest. Mott <
Wilkinson, Joanne
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Wilkinson, Joanne. "The Returned." Booklist, 15 May 2013, p. 32. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A333064575/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=32c47784. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A333064575
The Returned
Publishers Weekly. 260.10 (Mar. 11, 2013): p38.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* The Returned
Jason Mott. Mira, $24.95 (352p)
ISBN 978-0-7783-1533-9
This exceptional debut novel, poet Mott brings <
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Returned." Publishers Weekly, 11 Mar. 2013, p. 38. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A322564131/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=173a3e2c. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A322564131
Mott, Jason: THE RETURNED
Kirkus Reviews. (Apr. 15, 2013):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Mott, Jason THE RETURNED Harlequin MIRA (Adult Fiction) $24.95 8, 27 ISBN: 978-0-7783-1533-9
The world, a community and an elderly couple are confused and disconcerted when people who have died inexplicably come back, including the couple's 8-year-old son, whom they lost nearly 50 years ago. No one understands why people who died are coming back. There's no rhyme or reason, just a sudden reappearance of a massive population who were dead and are now alive, nearly exactly as they were the minute before they died. Some died a hundred years ago, some died 50 years ago; some are young children, some are senile old women and men. Considered by some the work of the devil, by others a miracle, the confounding reality is that an already struggling planet must abruptly support a staggering influx of beings who have typical human needs: food, water, shelter, sanitation. Globally, the cataclysmic event of their return brings about a spectrum of responses that reflects many facets of faith, spirituality, and the best and worst of human nature. Individually, many of the living must decide whether or not to accommodate the people they loved as they return to a world that has left them behind. Written mainly from the perspective of Lucille and Harold Hargrave-an elderly couple whose 8-year-old son, Jacob, returns to them decades after he died-and taking place in a small Southern town that becomes a regional coordination center for handling those who come back, this book offers <> look at our world gone awry. At the center is a startling and disturbing idea, especially given how many of us wish we could have one more chance to see the ones we've loved and lost to death: What if many of them came back, all at once? Poet and debut author Mott has written <>
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Mott, Jason: THE RETURNED." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2013. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A325986352/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=1c3b2136. Accessed 9 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A325986352
A Review of Jason Mott’s “The Crossing”
A Truly Terrible Tome
“The Crossing” Book Cover
I read bad books, so you don’t have to, and it is with profound sorrow that I must say that Jason Mott’s The Crossing is one of those books. I had high expectations for it — the publisher indicated that it was for fans of Joe Hill. However, what Joe Hill has that Jason Mott does not have is writing skill. Thus, what we get is a dystopian novel set roughly in the present time frame about two siblings running away from their foster parents so they can see a rocket launch. Not exactly the most compelling synopsis, but that’s kind of my point. The Crossing is a pretty <
The only thing going for this title is that it has a crackerjack setup, which is probably the only reason why it ever got published. (Aside from the fact that Jason Mott is a bestselling New York Times author, which seems to grant one liberty to write bad fiction.) Anyhow, the setup is that there is a disease out there, imaginatively called the Disease, that kills from the top down. While this disease is probably epidemically impossible, <
So far, not bad, right? Well, The Crossing is a road novel as two twins, Tommy and Virginia, hit the highway and run from their home in Oklahoma to go to Florida so they can watch a rocket launch carrying a probe that is headed for one of Jupiter’s moons that supposedly carries life below its surface. However, I should note that if aliens exist on Europa, as the book teases, we never meet them. In any event, Tommy is basically bailing out on fighting in the war as he has received a draft notice. He’s the brawny of the pair, and we know this because he is torn between getting his sister to Florida to watch the launch and actually enlisting to fight. His sister, Virginia, on the other hand is impressively smart and has the superhuman ability to remember everything, and, thus, seems against the war. Chasing the pair is the foster father, who happens to be a cop. His sole motivation for chasing the duo is so that he can get his foster son off to war. Nice dad, huh?
What’s so bad about all of this? Well, first off, I can get away with an info dump in my review because it’s a short piece of writing. Mott starts The Crossing off with one big info dump that brings readers up to speed on the back story. He ignores the “show, don’t tell” rule. He simply tells, and tells, and tells. The next thing to criticize is the fact that the novel is largely <
Next, the novel breaks away from the action to showcase stories of other victims of the Disease. This is simply done to pad the book out to novel length. These stories add nothing to the plot. They’re simply short stories inserted into the guts of The Crossing. Also, we occasionally get letters that Tommy and Virginia’s real parents have written to the twin’s future selves. Again, this is padding. I mean, consider this: the world is going to hell in a hand-basket. What’s the motivation for writing to your children when they’re probably going to die before they’re old enough to read?
As you can see, criticizing The Crossing is a bit like shooting fish into a barrel. Is there anything good I can say about this book? Well, I could suggest that it might be a good one for a young teenager. Seeing it’s release date, it’s also a good beach book because it’s trashy enough and doesn’t make you think too hard (trying to think about this book is probably an exercise in anathema). Beyond that, this is poorly written SF. Even the climax of the book kind of peters out. I mean, given that the whole point of the novel is seeing some rocket launch, you expect some more pop and sizzle into that launch. But no. Also, before I forget, I should mention that there’s an “Oh, come on!” style plot twist in the middle of the book and Tommy and Virginia do get separated from time to time, but they always manage to find each other in crowds.
Logic, or a lack thereof, is the main problem of The Crossing. The twins encounter their foster father early in the book on a deserted road at night and manage to overpower him. What do they do? They simply put him in the back of a police car and don’t bother to hide the car in a secluded spot or even handcuff him and throw away the key, so he can’t chase them all the way down to Florida. (If they were me, I’d actually take the car!) I mean, if you don’t want to be caught and sent off to boot camp, you would probably do a whole lot more to make sure your pursuer is incapacitated, right? It’s stuff like that that make me wonder if what I read was simply a draft, and not a finished book. In any event, The Crossing is a bad book. The easiest thing to do is simply avoid it. There. I just read a bad novel so you can get all of those minutes and hours you would have otherwise spent reading the book back, so you can go and enjoy something else. I am hopeful that it is something better and of higher quality than this.
Jason Mott’s The Crossing was published by Park Row on May 15, 2018.