Nightcrawling

Absolutely fantastic oh my what a debut book, if there’s one thing your all gonna read today is pick up this book

Was a fantastic read and well written! Especially as author starting writing just at the age of 17. Was an emotional read and has you wanting to shout out at the main character. With how well written it was I was slightly disappointed with the end as seemed rushed/leaving me with many questions.

Such stunning prose and a very authentic voice from such a young writer

4.5 starsAnd to think that Leila was 17 years old when she wrote this incredible story. This book left me feeling raw, unsettled and vulnerable.Kiara Johnson is struggling. Her mom is in rehab and her brother is busy recording in a studio hoping to catch a break. She is desperately looking for a job - not only to make ends meet but also to pay for the rent to prevent being evicted. And on top of that, she also has to act as a surrogate mother to 9-year-old Trevor whose mother has - as good as abandoned him. She is only 17. I really can’t say much more than this.Mottley’s prose is simple and straightforward and hence packs a punch. Kiara never gets any break - never. For a 17-year-old, she has seen only disappointment and heartbreaks in her life. And it is written in such a ‘matter of fact' way, it is as if that is what is “normal” for her. The story is brutal and honest and harsh and…real. Right from the beginning of the book, you feel for Kiara. You feel like going inside the book and hugging her and shielding her from the world. For all the ugliness in her life, where anyone could have just given up, Kiara does not. She is not broken. She feels joy and happiness and love. While some characters will make you angry and frustrated and..helpless, a few characters will steal your heart and make you sigh.Mottley has subtly woven the menaces of the society in the book - exploitation, corruption, poverty, social injustice, the tainted justice system, racism that will choke you up and make you feel helpless and vulnerable. She was inspired to write this story based on the actual case of the Oakland PD scandal in 2015. This is by no means an easy read. I would even say it is a dark read. Do read the author’s note at the end of the book. It is short and carries a punch.Raw, powerful and heartbreaking read. I was staggered when I came to know that the author was only 17 when she wrote this incredibly moving story.

This is a really incredible book and I am impressed that it is a debut and was written by a 17 year old. Leila Mottley is so talented and I look forward to reading her future work. I also highly recommend listening to @thestackspod conversation with her, which gave me further insight to her thought process and helped inform my reading of this novel as I listened to it before I had read most of the book.Our central character here is Kiara, a 17 year old Black girl in Oakland. She is struggling to do whatever she needs for survival. Her dad has died years before and her mom has been in jail. She lives with her older brother, Marcus, who is trying to become a rapper and doesn’t have a job. Kiara feels responsible for herself and Marcus (while also wanting him to step up and do more) as well as for her neighbor’s young son, Trevor. She tries to find a job at various local places but no one will hire her. To get the money that she needs for increased rent, she turns to the streets and sex work. The story shows how this happens almost by accident and then continues because it’s become the only way for her to afford to live.This story is heartbreaking, as we see Kiara exploited by a group of cops, sometimes for money and sometimes in exchange for not arresting her. This is related to a true story from Oakland that I did not know about but will be reading more about. Seeing how everything unfolds with this case broke my heart for Kiara.There are so many relationships highlighted here. One that I would have liked to read even more of is the relationship between Kiara and her best friend, Alé. I loved their love and how it was complicated and nuance and how Alé got mad at Kiara for her decisions sometimes because she cared. The relationship between Kiara and Trevor was also a powerful part of the story, as Kiara tries to fill the void of his absent mother.There is a lot in this book to unpack and I’m sure it would make for a great discussion.