Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Nightcrawling: A Novel

I can’t believe Leila Mottley wrote this when she was 17! it’s so rare for someone that young to put out a book that shows this much promise. While I do think Nightcrawling was hindered by some hallmark traits of debuts, I will for sure be following Mottley’s literary career and reading whatever else she writes.

a note for the weak-stomached: this book is GRIM. it is unrelenting. it is a tough read, but it would certainly be doing people a disservice if it wasn’t written this way.

I did find the beginning harder to get into than I anticipated, but became a bit more invested in the last section of the book. The writing was a tad overwritten (not surprising for a poet and a debut novel), but beautiful on a sentence level. It just got to be a little over the top for me.

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alisonannk's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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syds_shelves's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really fucking liked nightcrawling. it was so sad throughout that I took a 3 week break from reading it. I have two younger brothers so anything with a young boy that needs protecting is immediately gonna crack my heart open. The last 3 pages also beat me down in a way I wasn’t expecting BECAUSE the end wasn’t that bad? I’m not sure if i’ve been hearing too many folks say the ending really hurt them or what but… I feel like this reality is very true and near for a lot of black folks so I was not hurt or surprised more than I am by being black every day in a country that doesn’t give a shit about me. Maybe it’s all the open ends and “what happens to ___” that has left folks reeling but, again, cannot say.

That aside, the book??? It felt like my emotions were getting jumped every single page. There was nearly no relief, but I couldn’t stop reading. I think this book is very similar stylistically to The Hate U Give (A lot of colorful background characters that aren’t fully fleshed out, a lot of strong values and beliefs presented from the author through the main character, and a deep love for where the characters come from. You can tell Leila has a deep love for Oakland) until it’s not. Some of this prose is for sure over written and flowery but fuck did it knock me out of my shoes. Because who would think to pair the blows of poverty, trafficking, and how generally deplorable police are with language like this.

There are other parts where I read and was like “yeah, this feels like a debut by a young author” in the kindest way. There is always room for growth, and I think this is also the unfortunate result of reading a heavily talked about Oprah/Booksta book. She’s made a fan of me and i’ll ABSOLUTELY be back for her next ones.

I get why this book was what it was, but personally I do wish it had more black joy. Take it or leave it, but there is so much misery and awfulness going on that I think you have black books for white folks and black books for black folks. The difference between The Help or a Tyler Perry production and a James Baldwin or Toni Morrison. Sad, but loving black folks vs sad and putting that on display for folks who don’t know black people irl, people who don’t watch the news, people who aren’t tapped in to politics, etc. This didn’t feel like the former, but it wasn’t quite at the ladder for me. A weird limbo. I think when writing truth to power for all these stories for and about black folks, I personally as a reader value something to pull your head above water.

The characters, I wanted to love but so many of them felt cut short just as i was beginning to know them. The really bad ones felt super hallow and like they were there to serve only a purpose and get you to the next few pages. This is where it can get hard to critique something based on a true story. Something that happens every day more gruesome than even described here. idk I guess all i’m saying is being black every day prepared me for this ending but not the things leading up to it. The book itself was very good, and I have high hopes for what will come next.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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travelseatsreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Nightcrawling takes us into the life of 17 year old Kiara (Ki) whose world is crumbling down around her. Her father has died, her mother is in a halfway house, she's jobless, she lives in a high rent hovel, her brother has zero notions of pitching in and she's caring for her addict neighbour's little boy, Trevor. Despite all her attempts at keeping her head above water she becomes involved in a world of sordid abuse and manipulation by a group of police officers who coercively control her as an underage 'nightcrawler'.

The novel is absolutely devastatingly gripping from the very first page. Immediately, it's obvious Kiara is in an awful situation and the urge is to wrap up her up and take her from this devastation. Mottley writes so well that there's an immediate emotional connection and investment with Kiara and you can't help but want to run in and rescue her.

Leila doesn't shy away from the nasty, gritty and graphic reality of this case. And honestly that's one of the most frightening parts, that this story is based on true events which occured in the Oakland area. Leila allows us to see into a world overflowing with poverty, abuse, police brutality and incredible injustice. Not only does she allows us to catch a glimpse of this world, she is so authentic and faithful in her writing that it is hard not to feel the fear and desperation seep from the pages.

It's hard to imagine that such a well written, gripping and important book is a debut novel but even harder to imagine that Leila began writing Nightcrawling just before her 17th birthday. I was completely consumed by every page and am very excited to see what's to come next from the wonder that is Leila Mottley.

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absolute_bookery's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A dark and painful read with so many difficult themes. Moving and incredible, a must read.

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nightnurselit's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book absolutely destroyed me. I love a book with a deeply flawed main character. Even though you know she’s wrong, you understand why she made the decisions she did. Kiara has a lot on her plate at 17. She’s caring for her brother who is what’s left of her family because he is too damaged and focused on becoming a big time rapper to be bothered with a paying job. Without many options as far as a job, she literally stumbles into prostitution after a few too many drinks one night. While not the most ideal form of income it’s something she can stomach to care for the ones she loves. Eventually she ends up in an entanglement with the Oakland Police Department mostly against her will. When it brings her more problems than anticipated she looks to her mother, her uncle and everyone in her life that should be dependable for guidance. This story is raw and real and brings you to a place where hopelessness and limited choices are daily life. These characters struggle to do the bare minimum of surviving and the writing is beautiful definitely a must read.

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stephblair's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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