"The Girls Who Grew Big" By Leila Mottley follows three girls living in Florida and they're experiences with motherhood. Adela was the best swimmer at her school, nationals were within her grasp this coming season, but now she is pregnant and living with her Noni in Florida after her parents sent her away to "save her reputation. Emory is a teen mom and doing her best to give her son a good life while following her own dreams of going to college. Simone had twins in high school and is just trying to do right by them and the Girls. The Girls are a group of young moms doing their best when all odds are working against them. They breathe together, sleep together and care for their children together. They may be the societal outcasts but they have what they need in each other. A heartbreaking, inspiring story of girls bound by more than just motherhood but by a will to prosper.

Mottley writes such emotionally loaded stories with such care and kindness to her characters. You will feel for these girls and their experiences, they are deeply flawed but fierce. I found myself completely immersed in their world and stories, each one so unique yet connected.

The Girls Who Grew Big is a book about motherless, literally and figuratively, teens who become young mothers and bond together to survive. The story centers the leader of the group Simone, her pseudo sister-in-law Emory and new comer to their small, poor, Florida community Adela. The girls learn how to mother their children and each other to survive in a world that doesn't deem them worthy. The story was totally engrossing and I cared about the characters and the outcome of their choices. Ms. Mottley's writing is exceptional and reminds me of Jesmyn Ward in the best way. I highly recommend this book and am already looking forward to the next one by Ms. Mottley.

This story gives a glimpse into the tumultuous world of girl/woman/motherhood from a unique angle with the perfect blend of power and delicacy. There’s a mirror for everyone in this book. How? Well, Leila Mottley is a genius, but also, she’s created both a believable world and characters that paint vivid pictures of real life complexities. The Girls are precious. Their stories touched my heart and conjured up renewed feelings of gratitude for many women I know who were once just girls. Excellent novel!

The reality of what young mothers experience, written in a beautiful way. A display of what it feels like to have a sisterhood and how important it is. I’m so grateful to have received this ARC. Thank you NetGalley.

Wow, this was beautiful!!

The Girls Who Grew Big follows three teen mothers in Padua Beach as they fiercely love and support each other, navigating young motherhood.
Adela, Emory, and Simone each share their stories in a way that is urgent, painful, and somehow still hopeful.
Mottley’s writing is gorgeous, to the point where I found myself wishing I was back in school, analyzing this text in class. There is so much here that begs a closer reading, while still offering a propulsive story that I didn’t want to slow down. These girls, this place, their stories— they will stay with me.

I have so much I could say but I highly encourage folks to put this on their TBR. Stories about teen moms have a tendency to veer towards soapy and gawking and this is not that. Mottley has created flawed, resilient characters that are so easy to root for even at their most broken.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Knopf for the ARC!