Description

‘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

–

From the author of the Booker nominated, international bestseller Nightcrawling.

Adela, Emory, and Simone – three young women bound by chance, motherhood, and defiance.

When Adela Woods is sent to her grandmother’s house in a forgotten Florida beach town to have her baby in secret, she expects to return home unchanged. Instead, she meets Emory, who is determined to finish school even if it means going to class with her newborn strapped to her chest. Then she meets Simone, the fearless ringleader of “the Girls,” a tribe of young mothers raising themselves alongside their children.

The town thinks they’ve lost their way. Really, they’re finding it – through friendship, love, and heartbreak under the relentless Florida sun.

But when shifting loyalties give way to betrayal, will the ties holding them together come apart?

A novel full of heart and life and hope, set against the shifting sands of secrets and betrayals, The Girls Who Grew Big offers an explosive new perspective on what it means to be a young woman, a daughter, and a mother.

‘Opens up the world of young mothers in its makeshift, sticky, struggling glory … Sensuous, gripping and utterly believable’ EMMA DONOGHUE

Publisher Review

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 *