The Girls Who Grew Big

Breathtaking and gut-punching. Mottley’s world truly won’t leave me. I think about it almost every day * Candice Carty-Williams *
Written in big, beautiful prose that expands throughout the novel and leaves the reader full and satisfied … Leila Mottley’s grasp of human nature is unmatched * Candice Carty-Williams *
Mottley is a dazzling writer and this novel opens up the world of young mothers in all its makeshift, sticky, struggling glory. The Girls Who Grew Big is sensuous, gripping, and utterly believable * Emma Donoghue *
This broken world is lucky to have Leila Mottley writing in it … Mottley is the real deal—a vital voice in the American literary tapestry, giving us a full, empathetic understanding of the parts of life the rest of culture tells us to ignore. * Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie *
With impeccable and breathtaking prose, Mottley takes us into the treacherous terrain where girlhood and womanhood collide … The Girls live out loud and are flawed, tender, and absolutely unforgettable. Mottley continues to show us the power and beauty of her pen! * Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies *
Raw, wild, and achingly beautiful, The Girls Who Grew Big is one of the most spiritually accurate and electric portrayals of motherhood I’ve ever read. Leila Mottley is the real deal * Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo’s Got Money Troubles *
A big-hearted story … Mottley’s refreshing, no-holds-barred approach sees her join the ranks of other Gen-Z novelists who are reinventing how motherhood is portrayed in literature * i paper *
Mottley’s tough, vital lyricism drives a fiercely compassionate novel about survival, hope, and love * Daily Mail *
Striking * The New Yorker *
Blistering, wise, empathetic … Mottley has brought the physicality and pain and beauty of birth and new motherhood into the light * New York Times Book Review *

Leila Mottley’s first novel, Nightcrawling, was a New York Times bestseller, an Oprah’s Book Club pick, and its longlisting made Leila the youngest ever Booker Prize nominee. She is the author of the poetry collection woke up no light, and was the 2018 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate. She was born and raised in Oakland, California, where she continues to live.

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