A Book A Week

Leila Mottley made waves when, at just 19 years old, she released her debut novel Nightcrawling. That book became a bestseller, an Oprah Book Club pick, and a critical darling. It even landed on my list of favorite reads of 2020. Not bad for a first outing. When her publisher offered me an early copy of her highly anticipated sophomore novel, The Girls Who Grew Big, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. It's another raw, sobering character study about girls forced to grow up too fast and live with the consequences of their choices. 

From the start, Mottley makes clear the kind of unflinching story she’s here to tell. We meet Simone, a pregnant teenager giving birth in the back of a pickup truck. The baby’s father watches in panic as she delivers fraternal twins, right there in the thick, humid air of small-town Florida. There’s a certain brutality to the moment, but also a revelation. For the first time in her life, Simone knows what real love feels like. She isn’t sure how she’ll provide for her children, but she knows she will. She has to.

Then there’s Emory, who was at the top of her class before she got pregnant. She never stopped doing her schoolwork—not during the pregnancy, not after giving birth. Every day, she arrives at school with her newborn in tow, determined to graduate and attend college. One mistake isn’t going to ruin her life. She won’t let it. Not for her sake, and not for her child’s.

Finally, we meet Adela, a sixteen-year-old swimming phenom with Olympic dreams—until her pregnancy sends those ambitions off course. Her parents send her away from their Indiana home to live with her grandmother in Padua Beach, Florida. It’s there that Adela meets Simone, now raising four-year-old twins, and Emory, along with the rest of “the Girls”, a makeshift community of teen mothers doing their best to raise their children and hold onto their futures.

From the outside, it may seem as though these girls have lost their way. But as Mottley makes clear, they’re just beginning to find it.

With The Girls Who Grew Big, Leila Mottley proves the success of her debut novel was no fluke. This new work revisits familiar themes—lost innocence, the impact of poverty, and the paradoxes of womanhood—but it’s far from a retread. Mottley expands her storytelling by shifting perspectives among three protagonists, each of whom faces the realities of teenage motherhood in her own way. Through them, we see how different personalities respond to the same impossible weight.

At times, it can be overwhelming to read. The stories are tragic in a way that makes you pause and reflect on them. But that’s the point. These traumas aren’t uncommon. For many young women, this is real life. The systems aren’t built to support them, and the social stigmas they face are relentless.

The Girls Who Grew Big is raw, emotional, and brilliant. Mottley takes big swings and grapples with even bigger ideas. The novel may feel rough around the edges at times, but that’s part of its power. This is writing with heart. It feels lived-in, honest, and bursting with truth. I have no doubt this book will end up on my list of favorites at the end of the year.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2025, 50)

Imagine for a moment that you are a 19-year-old student who has just written your debut novel. You've accomplished what few at your age could dream of, but you're just getting started. The esteemed publisher Alfred A. Knopf picks up your work and begins producing a sizeable first run in hardcover. Pretty great, right? As if things couldn't be going any better you get a call from none other than the queen herself, Oprah Winfrey. She tells you that she's read your book and wants it to be the next pick in her famous book club, all but assuring your debut novel will be a best seller. It may sound too good to be true, but this is the whirlwind reality of author Leila Mottley whose debut novel Nightcrawling was released back in June. I've had a publisher-provided copy of the book on my stack for a while now, so I finally cracked it open to read. 

At only 17, life for Kiara has already been a challenge. Her father is out of the picture, and her mother is currently incarcerated at a psychiatric correctional facility. This has left Kiara and her elder brother Marcus responsible for keeping their lives together. Money is tight. Marcus spends his days chasing his dreams of being the next great rap superstar, making no other effort to have any income. Their East Oakland apartment luxuriously named The Regal-Hi is anything but luxurious. No, Kiara knows that she lives in poverty. She's resorted to crashing funerals just to have a shot of eating a free meal. 

In addition to her tumultuous attempt to keep her own family afloat, Kiara has taken a neighboring boy under her wing. His mother has been tightly wound into the grips of addiction, often leaving her son alone for days on end. She has little time to mother the boy, let alone keep a job or pay the rent. Kiara diligently does her best to shield the child from the reality of his strife, allowing the boy to stay at her apartment and doing everything she can to keep him on the straight and narrow. Then comes the devastating news that her landlord is hiking up the rent. With the impending due date hovering over her shoulders, Kiara must find a way to make ends meet. 

What does a high school student do to bear the weight of an entire family? It happens quickly at first, almost as if it were just a dream. Kiara first has a chance encounter with a man at a bar. He initiates contact, following her out of the establishment. He says that he knows why she is there and what she wants. Kiara is afraid to admit to herself that she knows exactly what he means, but desperation can be quite the motivator. She's disgusted with herself in the aftermath. She never would have thought that she would sell out her body like she did, but she can't deny that the money she made will help her situation. What goes from a "just this once" occurrence soon grows, placing Kiara and her entire family into a precarious underworld of crime and agony. 

It is hard to comprehend that Nightcrawling is a debut novel. Mottley has crafted a narrative that is fully realized, vivid, and emotionally complex. It is a masterwork of literature akin to the best writing from the most seasoned and celebrated authors. I kept having to remind myself that this brilliant writing came from such a new voice. Mottley derived the inspiration for the book from a true story of a young girl who was physically and mentally taken advantage of by a group of corrupt police officers. She takes the crumbs of this premise and weaves it into a sobering portrait of poverty in America. The harshness of the reality depicted is balanced by the relationships between the protagonist and other characters. The dark and explicitly adult problems and scenarios that Kiara encounters are juxtaposed against the subtle reminders that she is still a child. This isn't an easy read from a content perspective, but Mottley's writing soars off of the pages, keeping a brisk pace through even the most gut-wrenching passages. Nightcrawling is a phenomenal debut from a promising author who is worthy of all of the hype and praise that she has already received. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2022, 34)