4.5⭐️

First of all I can’t believe this author Leila Mottley is only 23 years old. She writes like a seasoned author.

This novel is about 3 young teen girls that are either pregnant or have had children. They all have lived different lives but ultimately come together and bond because of pregnancy and kids. They learn to live on their own with very little resources and help. It was amazing to see how the story develops and how they all matured and basically conquered whatever was thrown their way! This is a story of girlhood to womanhood!

*Spoiler mentioned in this review*

I really admired Leila’s debut novel and was thrilled to hear of the release of her second. To be honest, I debated requesting this given what I anticipated would be heavy themes and content after reading the synopsis.

I found the three POVs to be distinct and compelling and appreciated the range of experiences the author offered us. So much of Leila’s writing is beautiful and visceral. I thought the found family aspect was really beautiful and was so moved by how the Girls supported each other through the challenges of motherhood and poverty.

I have to be transparent and say I had to DNF this book at 45%. I understand the author’s aim at including really difficult subject matter, but I could not continue reading through the on-page home abortion scene. I consider myself a reader of many genres and generally comfortable with heavy content, but I could not continue to read past this portion of the story and had to put it down.

I think this book will work for a lot of people and would even make for good book club discussion, but for my own mental health I had to DNF.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was so so so beautiful. Leila Mottley is insanely talented. I loved the writing style, which immediately captivated me. I loved all the characters with all of their flaws and strengths. The depth to the story, the characters, the themes, was EVERYTHING! The resilience of these women/girls was so beautiful to read about and I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC.

‘…an astonishing new novel about the joys and entanglements of a fierce group of teenage mothers in a small town on the Florida panhandle.’

The Girls Who Grew Big was my first novel by Mottley and while much of the subject matter was difficult to read, this blew my hair back. Just wow! What an incredibly talented young author. I am an instant fan & I am so eager to see what she does next.

A group of girls who had to become young women overnight and then young mothers. Struggling to find their way, their place, their self worth, a means to survive. All intelligent and capable in their own way, can they overcome societal challenges, rejection, fear, and pain and be better, be more, excel and then some? Absolutely they can.

Such an impressive & poignant work.

Thanks to NeteGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this arc in exchange for review.

Pub; 6.24.2025.

This was so incredibly hard to read, but also so incredibly beautiful, this is a book that, if you can handle the content, you absolutely should read, beautifully done

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Leila Mottley has written a phenomenal story about teenage unwed mothers as they grow into young women, their hopes, dreams, and the reality of what they can accomplish with the encouragement and love they desperately need.
I became enraptured by each young woman’s story and their love for each other's well-being.
#LeilaMottley
#TheGirlsWhoGrewBig
#BoizoriBooks

I read this book in two days! I felt like I was reading a documentary (in a good way). I found myself rooting for the Girls and wanting them to find their way. This book is not any easy subject to write about but the author did so tactfully.

A powerful book about young motherhood and female friendships. There was strength in the three characters stories and in the writing. This book was emotional and I was invested from the first page.

Well done book through and through. Poignant writing style. Honest & thought provoking without romanticizing the struggles of these girls.
The subject matter, the characters, the plot - all of it just works.

I don’t understand all the hype, this book is absolutely awful. It is poorly written with one-dime signal characters. It was a struggle to finish.

What a powerful book! A story of teenage mothers in the Florida panhandle who create a community within themselves. This is a must read!

As a teen mom myself, this book hit home in a way that few others have. The Girls Who Grew Big is a beautifully raw and deeply moving story about resilience, sisterhood, and the complicated, messy, confusing world of young motherhood.

Adela's journey—from being banished by her parents to finding her own strength in Padua Beach—felt painfully real and incredibly inspiring. The friendships she forms with Emory, Simone, and the rest of the Girls were the heart of the book for me. Each of them was lovable and frustrating in equal measure, making them all the more authentic. Their struggles, their triumphs, and the way they supported each other had me rooting for them from start to finish.

This book is full of heart, hope, and hard truths. If you’ve ever felt underestimated or had to fight for your future, you’ll see yourself in these pages. Highly recommend!

This is a good book. It is interesting to follow The Girls to see how each of them handles their unwanted pregnancy. Many of them were not given of choice of abortion. These girls all gave up so much because of their pregnancy.

I had a hard time getting past a couple of things which kept me from enjoying the book more. I kept wondering where Simone was getting her money to live. She lived in her truck but she would need to pay for gas and groceries for her and her twins. I think that is just personal thing for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ebook. This novel was surprising in that it’s such a fun riot of a novel. Not that there aren’t very serious matters, like having to grow up way too early with teenage pregnancy and motherhood, but the young women of this novel are no one’s victims. The book follows a group of teen moms in Padua Beach, Florida, who have banded together and give friendship, advice and genuinely watch each other’s back. We follow Adele, banished from her upper middle class life, and Olympic swimming dreams put on hold, while she lives with her grandmother. We follow Emory who has a brilliant high school career that she refuses to ignore, even with a newborn going with her to every class. Then there’s the leader of the group, Simone, who lives with her twins in the back of her red truck. The book is a wild ride of sex and fights and many self realizations. I wanted to spend much more time with them all.

Leila Mottley is the 2018 Oakland, California Youth Poet Laureate….. (makes me proud — I was born and raised in Oakland, too)!
Sh is also a New York Times Best Seller — and the author of the explosive debut “Nightcrawling”… which she wrote at age sixteen….which later became an Oprah’s Book Club pick….
…. [a book I read months before Leila Mottley became a household name in the literature world].
I love Leila Mottley….and I’m a stand and advocate for the work she manifests in the world! What an inspirational young woman and writer.

In this new novel by Mottley, “The Girls Who Grew Big”…..(contemporary/literary fiction), we meet Simone, Adela, and Emory (teenage mothers), in the wasteland-forgotten town Padua Beach. …the Panhandle of Florida.
Each girl has a distinct voice and a story to tell. They also become each other’s allies.

The experiential world Mottley creates is raw …. intimate (endless gripping storytelling scenes).
At different times, each of our three young mothers — and even their small children- deal with anxiety, depression, fear, financial instability and poverty, medical needs, and other psychological and psychosocial stressors. From family abandonment — lack of partner (Daddy) support - and other survival struggles — these girls face real hardship challenges.
But each of “The Girls” are easily likable — with kickass personalities and dispositions — we root for in the same way they root for themselves.

. . . It’s true, nobody ever warned you about the placenta . . .
Simone - (ringleader of the Girls), age sixteen - gave birth to twins in the back of the pick up truck. The boyfriend, Tooth, had a filthy pocket knife. The choice was going to be between the dirtiest pocket knife to cut the umbilical cord or Simone’s teeth. (I’ll spare which was chosen and the graphic details)….😁… readers will get to discover themselves what happened….(which of course I highly recommend) ….

Ongoing and ongoing we hear how ‘the Girls’ find their fight, find their power, their hope, and resilience.
The Girls valued their little womanhood, motherhood community bonds together — which helped feeling completely isolated- and alone. They had to develop confidence….’learn-on-a-dime’ how to manage their lives as new mothers ….as well as other duel roles (education and work).
When most of society offered no more than pity, shame, and other cruel judgments — these girls grew sturdiness, wisdom, and efficaciousness.

“The difference between a mother who’s forgivable and a mother who’s not is whether she gives enough of a shit to try to redeem herself in the first place. Apologize and do different. And I would’ve given anything to be better for them”.

“So even when we havin’ a hard time, you just remember the world gon’ send you some treasures when you need it most, even if it takes hundreds of years to see ‘em shine”.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This is a different one, for sure. Such a young author, but she nailed it.

The Girls Who Grew Big is a powerful, beautiful and tragic novel that follows four different teen moms as they come of age, and come to terms with their newfound role as mothers while still trying to find their place in this world.

I am completely in awe that Leila Mottley is only 23 years old. I was awestruck by her writing in Nightcrawling and this Novel did not disappoint either. She writes with meaning and feeling. Her characters are so powerful, often raw and painful, frequently heartbreaking and it has an authentic tone throughout the storytelling.

Overall, this novel is VERY serious in it's themes, but written with warmth and empathy towards the characters, reinforcing the idea of resisting the rush to judgement and to stereotype. Some of the thought processes of these girls I found so haunting and disturbing, but also so realistic of the teenage maturity level. Even though the girls are faced with such difficult circumstances, the overall tone and arc is hopeful. I loved the depictions of friendship and sisterhood.

This was anexcellent read. I was all in from page one. I finished the book in 3 days. Never was I bored, always eager to see where the went. The story was wrapped up excellently.

So, the term "grew big" references pregnancy. This novel is set in the Florida Panhandle in a poor, beachside town where a group of "Girls"—young, unmarried, pregnant or new moms, some somewhat intentionally but often not—come together in a sort of commune to support each other after their families, friends and other residents of the town shun and look down on them. The story is told in rotating chapters, written in the voice of three Girls. Life is hard and bleak for these young women, yet their sisterhood and their love for their children and desire for a better, bigger life is fierce. At times, it was hard to keep the characters straight (for me) and I am not sure that the ending really nailed it. Can't say I loved it (3-1/2 stars), but boy, it did give me a perspective I did not have—and makes me want to be an even stronger advocate for reproductive rights (in all forms).