This powerfully written tale about unwed mothers was far better than I expected! It is the tale of strong young women working their way through pregnancy under less than ideal circumstances, while planning a future for themselves and their babies. The characters are well developed and absolutely believable, and the plot is brilliant and beautifully executed. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

What a deep and gripping story this was! Narrated from 3 POVs (Simone, Emory and Adela), we are following a group of teenagers living in the Florida swamps (Padua Beach) who are (soon-to-be) young mothers. It was refreshing to hear their story from their own POV; how did they get there, how they handle the pregnancy, how they made the decision to keep the baby or not, how they faced their families' reactions, did the daddy stay around or not, did they drop out of school or not,.. so many cliches that were handled by this super talented author Leila Mottley sometimes with heart and other times with guts.
This book is definitely a must read. Personally, it did put some things into perspective, it gave me hope, and it also gave me a better understanding of a situation I was never confronted with. Life is not easy, but we must be aware that we create our own destiny.

A much-deserved 5-star rating <3

genuinely, to me, this book felt like the song Color in Your Cheeks by The Mountain Goats. Five stars.

4.5 stars

Leila Mottley has an incredible talent for writing gritty, REAL young women, and this newest effort clearly reflects her skill in this and many other areas.

Simone, Emory, and Adela are three of the titular girls who grew big, and their experiences are fully intertwined. Each character's journey is distinct, and Mottley puts readers right into their young minds. It's tough to avoid preconceptions based on their situations, and Mottley also effectively addresses this by both confirming and debunking throughout. Readers are likely to find themselves simultaneously frustrated and in support of each of these characters, even as their lives continue on (often) in the form of slow motion crashes.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of these characters and observing the growth in their relationships with each other most of all. As a person who has NEVER wanted to have children, I sometimes find narratives centered on parenthood in some way to be... less interesting and definitely less relatable. The opposite was true in this case because of the characterization.

This is my third book by this author, and I have enjoyed all of them very much. I can't wait for the next one.

You have to suspend your disbelief a little bit. But, overall, I enjoyed the story and liked the author's writing style.

This is my second time reading from this author and unfortunately, I don’t think her writing style is for me. I wanted to give her a second chance because her debut novel showed potential. I think her storylines seem interesting and groundbreaking, but the finished product never delivers in terms of tone and message. Too many characters that I ended up not caring about. It was hard to connect with characters that had such a weak and not fully fleshed backstory. I felt frustrated and underwhelmed. The topic of teen pregnancy is a serious and complex issue, but I don’t feel like the author adds anything of value or merit. Mottley’s novels always feel like an afterthought than a fully realized story. I won’t be reading from this author again.

Leila Mottley’s The Girls Who Grew Big is a luminous, raw, and fiercely tender exploration of girlhood, motherhood, and the transformative power of chosen family. Set in the sun-baked, hurricane-prone town of Padua Beach, Florida, the novel follows sixteen-year-old Adela Woods, who, after revealing her pregnancy, is sent from her comfortable life in Indiana to her grandmother’s home. There, she encounters Emory, a high school student bringing her newborn to class, and Simone, a mother of four-year-old twins. Together, they form a sisterhood of young mothers navigating the complexities of raising children while still figuring out their own identities. The Girls Who Grew Big is a must-read for anyone interested in powerful storytelling, complex characters, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Simone, Emory, and Adela were such a journey to read about in this book. Each young girl had their own story to tell and like they said don’t be so quick to judge them until you heard it all.

I enjoyed this authors work very much from the very beginning to the end. This is my very first work by Leila Mottley so I didn’t know what to expect when it came to her writing style. I have to say she did more than a great job.

The fact that this could be the reality that some underaged girls could go through really is heartbreaking. The author captured this very well in her writing.

Simone’s, Emory, and Adela’s stories will stick with me for some time and I do hope people read their journey before they do make judgement.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the free digital copy for my honest review.

This book is so real. I loved it!
We follow a group of teen mothers who are navigating life and/or pregnancy and it's the most realistic depiction of motherhood because in the end we all just want the best for our babies. As a mom myself I related so much through certain struggles these characters faced and it felt so real as if Leila Mottley had read my diary herself.
I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future

Thank you so much to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This book is EVERYTHING! That's the highest compliment I can give. What it means is the story, the writing, the characters, the setting, the portrayals... all simply phenomenal. It's definitely a contender for my favorite read of the year. Mottley's writing style just resonates so well and it is perfection. I loved it and it is the kind of book I would want to re-read. Regardless of how you feel about teen pregnancy, this is a book to be admired. Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I loved it so much!!!!!

I loved this book so much, it was so different from anything I’ve ever read and felt extremely real.
The author did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life and I have been left feeling like they truly exist and are continuing their stories today. The writing style was incredible, it was that type of book where you don’t even feel like you’re reading. (My favorite type of book)
The author tackled so many difficult topics, but found a way to make them all so entertaining, dramatic and easy to read about.
I absolutely ate this book up and could not get enough, I was SO sad to get to the ending because I could have honestly read about these character’s lives forever. I will be keeping my eye out for anything else this author writes because this was so utterly amazing.
Beyond thankful for my arc copy and these opinions are my own.

This one was beautifully written, but the constant flip-flopping between memories and timelines? Yeah, it had me feeling a little lost. But listen — the way Mottley digs into teen pregnancy in 2025? It’s raw, it’s real, and she’s not sugarcoating a damn thing.

What hit the hardest was the way these girls held each other down, even when life got messy. That bond was everything — even when trust got shaky and feelings got hurt, they still had each other’s backs. But I gotta say, with all those POVs, some of the girls felt like they faded into the background. I wanted a little more time with them, you know?

But that ending? Whew. Watching these girls decide to make their own way despite everything life threw at them? It was a gut punch — in the best way. That last note of resilience? Yeah, that one sticks with you.

United States Publication: June 24, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Padua Beach, Florida, is a small, doesn't-appear-on-the-map town home to "the Girls." The Girls are a group of single moms who are raising their children as a village (as the proverb goes), defying the stereotypes society wants to attach to single, young mothers. Adela is new to town and was sent to live with her grandmother for the length of her pregnancy. When Emory, one of the Girls, befriends Adela, a reluctant association is established. But Adela isn't willing to reveal her pregnancy, so at first it seems she has nothing in common with this group of unwed, mostly teenage moms. But Adela can't hide her pregnancy for too much longer, so her status in the group changes when everyone finds out she is "one of them." As Adela progresses through each trimester of pregnancy, the stories of the Girls - specifically Simone, Emory, and Adela- unfold, and their lives as girls become women and mothers provide a different and rare look at what it means to be a woman and a Mama in the world today.

I wasn't finished with the first page of Mottley's new offering before I thought, "Astonishing. Astounding. Staggering. Stupefying. Amazing. Incredible." A real-life event inspired Mottley's first novel in her native Oakland, CA, and this sophomore novel seems to be inspired by her real-life training as a doula and the ever-present myths and misunderstandings surrounding teenage girls becoming single moms. She provides readers with a different look at the stereotype of teen moms and their relationships with the boys who participated in creating the baby and with the children they have and decide to keep and raise. Mottley reintroduces compassion and understanding into the conversation around these young women.

In this fictional tale about a real issue, the reader is introduced to Simone first. A young woman who had twins at sixteen, with a man who was twenty-two and finds fatherhood to be inconvenient. In the five years since her twins were born, Simone has become the de facto ringleader of single moms in the fictional Padua Beach, Florida town. We next meet Emory, who recently gave birth to Kai, whose Daddy is Simone's brother. Finally, regarding the voices prevalent in the book, we meet Adela. Adela became pregnant almost by accident, and once she told her parents, they shipped her out of state to Florida to be pregnant out of the public eye of their community. She's living with her Grandmother and desperate to find someone to care for and love her. This desperation leads her to meet Chris and weave a tale of deception about her pregnancy. However, her relationship with Chris also causes problems among the Girls, and a lot of truth comes to the surface before Adela becomes a mother and is reintroduced to herself. "I reintroduced myself to myself, this time a mother. After which, nothing was ever the same." (Camille Dungy - this quote is how Mottley introduces this astonishing story.)

A look at teenage pregnancy through the experiences of/ eyes of three main characters-Simone (the leader of the group) Adele (an olympic swimming protege banished to fictional Padua Beach in Florida due to her pregnancy) and Emory (hoping for happiness through the birth of her child.) The book is well written and provides an in depth look at teenage pregnancy through pregnancy-its challenges, the difficult choices the girls have to make, and its joys.
Particularly insightful is their relationships with the boys who impregnated them. I fully expected not to like this book but found very well written and very insightful. A very good read.

This book was beautiful. Following Three girls, Emory, Adela, and Simone, you get an intimate look at teenage pregnancy. familial support systems and an intricate discussion about how society treats girls and women with child. It touched on poverty, racism and many other topics. I think this is a story that can last for ages.

This was a phenomenal book! I really enjoyed reading it and it made me change my thinking on teenage mothers. It was beautiful and tragic, a perfect juxtaposition of beauty and ugly. She did a wonderful job with this masterpiece of storytelling!

One of the most evocative novels I've read about young motherhood, and what the experience is like for so many girls, by choice or by chance, all written in stunning prose. The writing about the Florida Panhandle was particularly noteworthy and enjoyable as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It's told from differing POVs. It's about the growth and struggles of a small group of pregnant teens/teen moms in a small Florida town. It's raw and gritty and deals with all the ways that young mothers are looked down on and seen as less. It's a powerful read.

hank you to netgalley and knopf for the e-arc!

this book follows teenage mothers in the florida panhandle and the issues they face. the three main characters are simone, adela, and emory; and each of their stories were captivating in their own ways. i can't help but agree with the vp and executive editor, diana tejerina miller, i will never look at teenage mothers—or the florida panhandle—the same way again.

however, the reason i'm giving this book 2 stars is because i don't think this book was for me. this book was too mature for me in this moment as a 18 year old college student. i think someone older than me would enjoy this more. i also don't have children, and i believe it would mean more to me if i understood firsthand what being a mother was like.

nonetheless, i would recommend checking this out on june 24th if you think you would enjoy it!

OMG. This book was EVERYTHING.

Leila Mottley’s pen game? Immaculate.

The story of motherhood, friendship, love and family. The discovery of ones self. I couldnt put it down. I was fully drawn into every girl’s story and growth.

5 stars, for sure.