What can I say about this book. It is amazing. The story of a young girl who is left alone with an older brother who just can’t seem to settle into the real world. He goes off to seek his dream, leaving her to take care of herself. As she struggles with finding a job that will pay for the rent, food, clothing and a friend’s young son, she faces difficulties an adult might be unable to deal with.

The real story here is the author’s ability to write with such clarity, intensity and realism beyond her age. This is a book I probably would not have picked up for myself, but I am delighted to have done so. It is truly a masterpiece of storytelling. Do yourself a huge favor and read Nightcrawling. I highly recommend it.

The author started writing this story when she was just 17 years old and it blew me away. It started slow in that it, at times, is a difficult read. I had to take a couple breaks, but then you hit a point in the story where the momentum has you locked into the story and you cannot stop reading. It is a powerful story and definitely sheds light on the difficulties of youth and lack of choices and opportunities. How youth can be preyed on because the are children without an adult figure helping them or guiding them through life’s unpredictability and messes. My heart broke for Kiara, Marcus, and Trevor. It also broke for the adults portrayed they were once in the same spot as these young kids, and now after they were not given any support as a kid, they are not able to support anyone, including their adult self. You see the cycle it creates.

I also wondered if money were not the problem…and schools could employ actual good adults to just be there for support. Help make sure kids have clean clothes, food at home, supervision, and be the person the kid can ask for help without punishment or judgment. Would this help?

This is an important book and speaks volumes of what it is like to be in a young, black female’s mind and seeing how she wants to care for everyone but who is caring for her?

Instagram @carolinehoppereads 7/21

Where do I even begin with this book? Wow! Readers meet Kiara and Marcus... a set of siblings who are abandoned (or left behind) by the adults responsible for them. As they navigate life without their deceased father and their mother who is in a halfway house, readers see that things are far from easy. As Kiara approaches adulthood, she finds that making adult decisions can come with harsh consequences (and even impact those around you). The book tackles trafficking, prostitution, and a corrupt criminal justice system. The book started a little slow for me, but once it picked up... I could not (and would not) put it down. I devoured the book in about three sittings (stopping because I, unfortunately, have a life outside of reading). This is a definite must-read. I cannot say enough great things about the story.

TWO-CENT TUESDAY

Below are a few (somewhat) brief $.02 opinions about books I've read or listened to recently but don't have the opportunity to review in full. Many of these titles I enjoyed as much or more than those that got the full court press. I hope you'll consider one or two for your own TBR stack if they strike your fancy whether they struck mine or not.

Nightcrawling, Leila Mottley

Another dazzling debut from a 19-year-old who was also the 2018 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest author to be chosen for Oprah's book club pick. Those who live in or around Oakland as I do will likely remember the horrific Oakland Police Department sexploitation scandal of 2016, and Mottley took inspiration from those events and began writing while she was in high school. Kiara is 17, living in the Regal-Hi apartments (and its pool filled with bags of shit) with her brother Marcus, left to fend for themselves by addiction, death and the prison system. Marcus won't find a job, clinging to his dreams of rap stardom, and Ki and left to pay their increased rent, which is already overdue. Ki's responsibilities get heavier when she begins to care for the 9-year-old boy next door, whose mother is strung out and gone most of the time. A nighttime misunderstanding sucks Ki into a situation she can't seem to get out of--where will the money come from? what will happen to Trevor?--and soon she's selling her soul to keep the balls in the air. Haunting, electric, and a dazzling display of the perils the system and society heap atop the Black community and the resilience and fortitude of Black women. Mottley's writing is searing and authentic, and though my praise certainly isn't needed on top of her many accolades, she's got it.

A devastating novel about choices people are forced to make when the world is not created to help. Even those who are suppose to help only hurt.

This book has a lot of darkness and trauma so definitely keep that in mind going into it. It illuminates the disgusting reality that is police abuse and cops drunk on their power.

I can’t believe the author was a teenager when she wrote this book. It’s incredibly impressive and adds a unique vibe to the story.

I don’t have much else to say because it was a heartbreakingly great story. I highly recommend it for white folks who live comfortably.

The end could’ve given a bit more but overall this was still a win for me. I cannot wait to read more from Leila.

TW: poverty, prostitution, murder, abuse, death, drug addiction

Loosely based on a true story, Nightcrawling tells the story of Kiara- a 17-year-old Black girl living in Oakland and struggling to make ends meet. With a brother who isn't contributing to the family's rent and a young neighbor to take care of, she turns to sex work to keep her head above water. Kiara soon becomes exploited by the Oakland police department, who abuse her and threaten arrest and retaliation if she says "no" to their demands.

Overall I really liked this book. Mottley is a talented writer, although at times I found the prose to be a little too flowery and I had to re-read passages to make sure I actually got what was going on. The pacing toward the beginning was a bit off, and the story takes a while to get going. That said, I was gripped by Kiara's story and think this is a very solid debut. I can't wait to see what Mottley writes next, because she's clearly talented and has a great career ahead of her.

Gritty and raw look into sexual exploitation, poverty and the justice system. A telling look into race and sex.

I didn't particularly vibe with this one. I didn't think the writing was that good, and the ending was very abrupt. Wouldn't recommend.

There are no unicorns and fairy tale endings in Kiara's world, just a relentless cycle of poverty, abuse, drugs, and disappointment.  Doing what she has to in order to provide for her brother and help out a young neighbor boy, she finds herself in the middle of a police scandal that will change her world even more.   Author Leila Mottley was only seventeen when she began writing this novel, using a local true story of police corruption as a base.  It is bleak and raw, and I really couldn't put it down.  Leila Mottley is definitely an author I will be watching.

NIGHTCRAWLING is an beautifully written debut novel. A heartbreaking, powerful read based on true events. Set in Oakland, California, the story follows Kiara, a seventeen-year-old young Black woman who is struggling to keep up with rent while acting as the caretaker of her older brother and a neighbor’s young child. Kiara turns to sex work to avoid eviction and is taken advantage of by the very people who swore to serve and protect her. This is not meant to be a feel-good read and is full of tragedy. It is heart-wrenching, timely, and tremendously important. Mottley started writing this at seventeen and is clearly one to watch. The writing is raw, vivid, and simply unforgettable.

Thanks # netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. If this book didn't have so much positive pressure I might have stopped. The first 25% of the book could be skimmed. In my opinion, too much time spent setting the background and ancillary characters. The rest of the book was interesting.

Wow, a brilliant debut novel. A story of having to grow up too fast and survive by all means necessary.

Thanks to NetGalley & Knopf for an eARC of this book. The following review is my honest reflection on the text provided.

"The swimming pool is filled with dog shit and Dee's laughter mocks us at dawn."

From the first line, Nightcrawling draws you in. The writing style is without frills, blunt and honest and setting the scene immediately.

Nightcrawling shows the inconsistency and fragility of family and friendship in poverty. It paints a very clear picture of how the system fails those who need it most. And even when help does come, it's often too little or too late.

This narrative's raw honesty and vulnerability is so compelling that even though this story is hard to read, it's definitely worth it. Kiara's heart beats outside her body, caring for everyone around her and putting herself last. Due to this strength, she does whatever it takes to care for the people in her life. However, this empathy is a double-edged sword and the things she has to do to care for these people leave deep, horrifying scars.

"Mama used to tell me that blood is everything, but I think we're all out here unlearning that sentiment, scraping our knees and asking strangers to patch us back up."

Nightcrawling is an incredible, unmissable debut novel that I could not recommend more highly.

Truly phenomenal writing! What an accomplished debut novel full of equal parts heart and pain. SO MUCH happens in this complicated story, relentless, like you can’t even catch a breath.

I received an ARC of Nightcrawling from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Wow!

Nightcrawling follows 17 year old Kiara as she faces desperate circumstances and makes difficult choices in service of survival and protecting the people she loves. Kiara ends up turning to sex work and then finds herself trapped in an exploitative relationship with a group of local police officers.

Leila Mottley was herself 17 when she wrote this novel, and it is masterfully conceived. The world of Nightcrawling is detailed and immersive, drawing the reader into Kiara’s struggles and eliciting empathy and understanding about how she ends up in such harmful situations.

Mottley clearly created this book with love and I am confident that readers will respond in kind!

This book is worthy of so much more praise than I could ever give. Lyrical. Brave.
Real. Raw. Authentic. Pain. Family.
In the beginning of this book, Kiara talks about how investments seem to escape Oakland. Right down to the roads - the potholes. No one cares enough to even invest to care for the roads. What an amazing metaphor for the occupants of this town - everyone wants to get out but they all get stuck. Their optimism withering. Their dreams. Their families. Withering.
Kiara only has her brother, Marcus, left. Spending months focusing on his rap career, Marcus hasn't worked in months. Kiara carries the burden of bills, rent - no available jobs force her onto the streets.
Discovered by cops, Kiara is forced to attend their gatherings, staring at the ceiling with guns pressed to her forehead.
The joy in her life - 10 yo Marcus, Dee's son. Kiara cares for him while his mother is missing - again. And her long time friend - Ale. Kiara has so much love in her life - optimism, focusing on the good in her life.
This book will not fail to feed into your rage.

I was very impressed with Leila Mottley’s debut novel. It is a heart-wrenching tale of a young girl doing everything she can to keep her family (and found family) safe, despite the sacrifices she herself has to make, and the failings of those who should have protected her. Mottley’s descriptions and prose were lyrical, and kept me reading through difficult content.

This is a powerful debut novel. It is also hard to read. By that I mean the story of Kiara trying to support her family in Oakland at the age of seventeen is heartbreaking. The choices she has are awful and more awful. Kiara turns to sex work to pay the bills so her brother can pursue his rap dreams. The story of Kiara is difficult to digest at times. The writing is poetic to make it go down easier. This author will be one to watch! Her writing was beautiful with such a dark and tragic story. It is worth the read but be prepared for a true look at poverty, inner city life in the United States. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!This is a powerful debut novel. It is also hard to read. By that I mean the story of Kiara trying to support her family in Oakland at the age of seventeen is heartbreaking. The choices she has are awful and more awful. Turning to sex work to pay the bills so her brother can pursue his rap dreams. The story of Kiara is difficult to digest at times. The writing is poetic to make it go down easier. This author will be one to watch! Her writing was beautiful with such a dark and tragic story. It is worth the read but be prepared for a true look at poverty, inner city life in the United States. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

"Silence starves us"

Brutal but well told. This is a tough story full of trigger warnings and real life. Kiara, our MC, tells her story and almost seems to dare you to hold eye contact with her while she does. She is growing up hard, her mother and father gone, it's just her and her brother Marcus. But she is still 17 and her brother is barely older than her and they are just barely keeping their apartment and food. A notice on the door lets them know rent is doubling and Kiara can already see - they can't pay more, let alone that much more.

But Marcus has fame and glory in his mind and can't do a minimum wage job. So it's on Kiara to keep a roof over their head. Being 17, she's struggling to find anywhere that will hire her. This is such a believable story. As each new low is reached, you can't help but want to flinch and stop watching but Kiara's story needs to be told, needs to be watched, and she needs eye contact. I'm glad I kept reading because the growth and turns at the end made the journey worth it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.