Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

90 reviews

celesteleila's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A heartbreaking read that was so deeply grounded in devastating realities that people lived. I felt a deep sense of humility after reading this book and I’ll be thinking about this story for a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Addiction, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, Murder, and Sexual assault

zids's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Gonna start by saying my rating is generous. I liked the authors note better than the book.
I have never been annoyed by first person until this story. Kiara isn't an annoying character, but she constantly 'realises' 'doesnt understand' 'wonders' things about the characters around her. The author, Leila Mottley, is a poet, which I could've guessed from the prose, which bombarded me with flowery sentences about Every Single Thing the character witnesses and experiences.
I couldn't help but think of that scene from the trailer of American Fiction, where Issa Rae's character says "Where's OUR representation?" before reading an excerpt from her book thay goes "Yo Sharonda, girl you be pregnant again??" I tried not to think about it cause it seemed harsh, but still.
I am not from Oakland and have never experienced desperation like this. I don't know if I'm bad for hoping for a positive ending. To me, the story was too bleak. Kiara had zero allies except for Trevor, who was so young that she needed to shield him from the truth of what happened to her. And after everything she experiences, after her best friend and her brother disavow her for her work (they come around but still, my ass would NOT have forgiven them), after being dragged into media spotlight and humiliated by the police, she gets nothing. The story ended on a kind of lighthearted note? She has consensual sex for the first time and Trevor comes to see her, it just doesn't feel satisfying considering the shit they put her through.
Not that stories need to have a happy ending, this just felt in serious want of one.
I hope I'm not being too brutal. I was tossing up between a Three (I didn't enjoy reading this book) and a four (it had something important to say, very beautiful language, and I think promises much from the author's future) So I settled on a 3.5.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Rape

paigeinthepages_sg's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Leila Mottley introduces readers to her poetic voice in her contemporary novel debut "Night crawling". In this story we follow the protagonist Kiara as she tries to support her family (and found family) through any means necessary. She is a "reflection of the violence black and brown women face regularly"(quote from Mottley). I thought this was a well written story (especially because Leila Mottley began writing it at 17), but I found myself searching for more emotion. This may just be because I do not connect with the story in a personal level. I also felt like the ending seemed a little rushed (although that does make it align with the current state of the US justice system) . I cannot wait to see more from this author in the future! If a contemporary fiction piece about sex work, police scandal, and found family sounds interesting then this may be the book for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

embringaling's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Addiction

ireadtoescape_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Vomit, Pedophilia, Drug use, Excrement, Bullying, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Blood

Minor: Transphobia

_meeg's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Grief, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, Death, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Gun violence, Abandonment, Sexual content, Violence, Addiction, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Hate crime, Police brutality, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Racism, and Sexual violence

jennifyr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book was lyrically beautiful, but a tough read due to the subject matter and ugliness of the world Kiara found herself in. There were moments of love and joy that balanced out some of the pain and despair... but not all. This book is not for the faint of heart, but I think it's an important reflection of reality that we may not want to face. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

thisbookrox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

this book captivated me with it’s really beautiful writing. it was challenging but well worth the read. the author’s note at the end was great as well. i read this on audio and the narrator was amazing. 

definitely read CWs before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Blood, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Trafficking, Violence, Abandonment, Vomit, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Drug use

sidekicksam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

3.75

Kiara is on the cusp of adulthood, but has been dealing with adult issues for most of her life. Since her father died, her mother is at a halfway house, and her brother is chasing a dream of becoming a rapper, coming up with the rent falls to mostly her. 

What a stunning debut novel. It is apparent that Mottley is a poet, as her writing style is lyrical and explores themes as racism, sex work, poverty and oppression without making it overly graphic or horrifying to read, which is quite a feat. 

For me personally, the lyrical/poetic writing style also made it more challenging to get through, as I kept zoning out and took quite a bit of time to read each section, but the story grabbed me by the collar and made me keep reading. 

If you liked this, watch The Florida Project or read On The Savage Side, and if you particularly liked the writing style I recommend Caleb Azumah Nelson or The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Death

bookswithisabel's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use