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A review by mmarlborough
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
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? It's complicated
3.5
This is a complex and harrowing book about survival and police brutality against BIPOC women. I’m so glad I read this one and have a lot of complicated feelings about it.
Kiara is struggling to make ends meet. Her parents are gone and her brother Marcus is too focused on his rap dreams to help make ends meet. When Kiara is forced to take in a young boy whose Mom has abandoned him, she does what she has to do to keep them all afloat. She enters the world of prostitution and quickly becomes involved with a ring of police officers. Things escalate and Kiara finds herself integral to the investigation surrounding these officers.
I liked the beginning of this book, loved the middle, but found the end rushed and diluting. Mottley wrote this when she was in high school and it became a best seller, Oprah Book Club pick, and long-listed for Booker Prize (which makes her the youngest writer ever nominated.) Her prose is poetic, dripping with beauty amongst the grime of Kiara’s life. Some members (including myself) of my Book Club felt this romanticized some of the violence/sexual assault but we all felt that Mottley is a skilled writer to watch. I can’t wait to read what she writes next. Do not skip the author’s note at the end!!!!!!!
✨Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault, Police Brutality, Trafficking, Adult/Minor Relationship, Child Death, Suicide Attempt, Abandonment, Child Abuse, Drug Use, Addiction, Self Harm, Racism
Kiara is struggling to make ends meet. Her parents are gone and her brother Marcus is too focused on his rap dreams to help make ends meet. When Kiara is forced to take in a young boy whose Mom has abandoned him, she does what she has to do to keep them all afloat. She enters the world of prostitution and quickly becomes involved with a ring of police officers. Things escalate and Kiara finds herself integral to the investigation surrounding these officers.
I liked the beginning of this book, loved the middle, but found the end rushed and diluting. Mottley wrote this when she was in high school and it became a best seller, Oprah Book Club pick, and long-listed for Booker Prize (which makes her the youngest writer ever nominated.) Her prose is poetic, dripping with beauty amongst the grime of Kiara’s life. Some members (including myself) of my Book Club felt this romanticized some of the violence/sexual assault but we all felt that Mottley is a skilled writer to watch. I can’t wait to read what she writes next. Do not skip the author’s note at the end!!!!!!!
✨Trigger Warnings: Sexual Assault, Police Brutality, Trafficking, Adult/Minor Relationship, Child Death, Suicide Attempt, Abandonment, Child Abuse, Drug Use, Addiction, Self Harm, Racism