The Girls Who Grew Big is a raw and powerful exploration of teenage motherhood and friendship, set in a small Florida town. Adela, pregnant at sixteen, is sent to live with her grandmother, where she meets a group of young mothers who, despite being labeled as outcasts, are forging their own paths through love, struggle, and resilience. Leila Mottley’s vivid storytelling captures the complexities of girlhood, motherhood, and the bonds that sustain us, delivering a profound and heart-wrenching narrative of hope, betrayal, and survival.

I feel like this is a good coming of age story. We have a group of young ladies who are trying to navigate life as best they can know how. Each character brings something to the group that works. I’ll definitely read this again.

The girls are beautifully detailed in pain, naivety, exceptional self awareness and resilience. They are predictably being failed by self righteous adults who feel as if it’s their responsibility to forever criticise and punish young mothers who already lack guidance and support. Mottley nails their heartbreak, desperation and rejection. Which in turn makes their love for their children more pure stronger unconditional.

Unfortunately the plot points, plot peaks, character ruminations and growth felt simple unearned and not deep enough—like one character in act three is like sorry I broke your lesbian heart when we never ever talked about it before like, huh?? that came outta the blue to me—many things felt rushed or like some parts of the story were chopped off in editing. There’s much repetition here and some inefficiency in the prose. Regardless the writing style and how each character is drawn is excellent and is worth reading for those alone.

*Thank you L. Mottley and Knopf for, The Girls Who Grew Big ARC. My opinions are my own.

As a young woman who was pregnant at 18 while graduating high school, I found myself particularly drawn to "The Girls Who Grew Big," a story about a group of young, outcast mothers bonding as they raise their children. Mottley's writing is intriguing, imbued with an emotional tone that effectively tackles a serious subject. I'm always eager to explore new and diverse experiences within society, but after finishing this book, I paused to consider the author's intended message.

While I appreciated the portrayal of these young teenage mothers in the Florida swamplands and their strong bond, I found myself moving from empathy to annoyance. Too much of their time was spent in Simone's truck, drinking, dancing, and partying, while their children were left to roam. Their defiant embrace of liberation felt almost like a fulfillment of society's negative stereotypes. From an emotional point of view, I wanted the girls to win, I wanted more for them, for them not to let this setback determine the rest of their life but to pivot from it and make better more mature decisions.

The narrative alternates between three main characters: Simone, nearly 21 with five-year-old twins; Emory, a high school senior living with her grandparents after being abandoned by her mother, who intentionally becomes pregnant with Simone's brother; and Adela, a former swim star from Indiana. Adela's wealthy parents send her to live with her grandmother in Florida, hoping she'll give the baby up for adoption and return home for her senior year. Simone, as the oldest and most experienced mother, becomes the girls' leader and source of guidance. However, at times, her leadership felt like bullying, that it came with conditions creating an atmosphere where the other girls feared being on her bad side.

Despite these criticisms, I did enjoy reading about the girls' friendship and the powerful bond forged through motherhood, hardship, and the struggle to survive. Mottley's talent is undeniable; her writing is meaningful and deeply felt. Her style is powerful, raw, and often painful, authentically capturing the ugly and truthful reality that many young mothers face when rejected by their own families. This aspect, along with the girls' resilience in the absence of support from their children's fathers (except for Simone and Emory), is both heartbreaking and beautiful. In their search for belonging and love, they rely on each other.

Mottley also realistically portrays the complexities of young relationships, as the characters grapple with their individual identities while navigating the challenges of early parenthood. While I felt that the book's pacing lagged towards the end, Adela's words to her father resonated deeply and conveyed a powerful message. This could be the message from the author that I had been seeking: "I know you think it’s a transgression to a good life, having a child young, but maybe this is exactly where I’m supposed to be. Just because it’s not going to be easy doesn’t mean it’s the wrong choice. And even if it is, it’s my choice to make.”
3.5 rating

The Girls Who Grew Big ✨

While this book wasn’t necessarily something that initially sparked my interest, I found myself really connecting with the journey these girls took as they embraced their roles as mothers. 🌱 It was a beautiful exploration of growth, responsibility, and the strength it takes to step into a new chapter of life.

A heartfelt reminder of how motherhood can shape and transform us in ways we never expected. 💪❤️

#TheGirlsWhoGrewBig #MotherhoodJourney #GrowthAndChange #EmbracingNewRoles #BookReview #LifeInChapters #PersonalGrowth

4.5 stars//Kindle//Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC! Thoughts/review are my own.
What a beautiful story about motherhood, womanhood, and sisterhood! Mottley does a beautiful job of transporting us to the small Florida town where the Girls reside and helping us to deeply feel the highs and lows of the three girls we follow in this novel. These girls have to grow up quick and do things some of us would never even dream of doing... and in the end, learn to choose themselves and do what they think is best for themselves and their children, no matter what anyone else thinks. This book is heart-wrenching (I'd imagine even more so if you're a mother, which I am not) and beautiful and bittersweet and I hope it gets all the attention when it releases in June.

I can’t even put into words how much I enjoyed this book. I keep typing and backspacing hoping that my words can explain the feeling I have after reading this book. This book not only discusses motherhood but girlhood, found family, life gains and mistakes and what it means to sacrifice. As a mother myself, this book touched all my heart strings. I was young when I became a mother (not as young as The Girls but young) I was young in the sense of I didn’t know what I was doing. I was young in the sense I was still in a childish state. I was young but just like The Girls I made a way out of no way. I put on my big girl underwear and I did what I needed to do to become the mother who I am today. The Girls Who Grew Big taught me that in motherhood you still have learning to do and that’s ok.

The Girls Who Grew Big really resonated with me. I found Leila Mottley's writing style to be beautiful and raw and authentic. I could feel each girl's emotions and pain. Adela is a 16-year-old overachiever who gets pregnant, and her parents send her to her grandmother in Florida so she can have the baby in secret, away from their perfect life. She meets up with a group of misfit teen mothers, and drama ensues. The chapters alternate between Adela and two of the other young mothers, Simone and Emory. i would have liked to have gotten to know the others as well. They were in the background and not really fleshed out like the main three. The ending also felt a bit rushed and left me wanting more, but I really enjoyed It overall. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

I have never read anything quite like this book. Days after finishing it, I am still processing. Leila Mottley brought an important voice to the table- who ever thinks about the pregnant teenage girl, except in a moment of pity or scorn? We learn that The Girls are real people and not all of them planned this for their lives. Many want and are determined to do better. Let's applaud the ones who make it and mourn for the ones who don't. I love when a book gives you a different perspective that you never imagined. Wishing love and peace to all the Adelas and Simones out there. I'm definitely going to recommend this to as many people as I can.

I love the depth of these words, how dark and delicate the transformation of the story. This is a great read that responds to voices who need to be heard.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was outstanding. All the characters were unique and compelling in their own ways. I also loved how the author handled these tough topics, it felt incredibly real.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the setting. I felt as if I was dropped into the girls' world, incredibly well done!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc of this book.

The Girls Who Grew Big is a captivating story following three teen mothers living in Florida. We get to follow them on their journey into motherhood and all the struggles that come with it. There’s so much depth to this story, including friendships, girlhood, generational family trauma, and forgiveness. I loved being in each one of their point of view and felt so much for them. Each of their stories is very complex and compelling and it’s so amazing seeing who they become by the end of the book. Coming from a second generation teen mom, this book was amazing! The author did such a great job conveying the struggles a teen mother faces. 5 stars.

The Girls Who Grew Big is a book about a group of teens who become young mothers and are abandoned by their parents. They band together to survive, helping one another with the challenges of raising children, finding food and shelter and dealing with their children’s fathers or their current boyfriends. Their friendships are fragile and their lives are continually being upended by life’s many challenges. The “girls” as they call themselves eventually find the strength and self-knowledge to move forward in life. Leila Mottley’s writing is rich and emotional as the story is told through the point-of-view of each of the three main characters. The language is raw and passionate. At times, the book seemed a bit repetitive and too long although the reader becomes engaged in rooting for these women to overcome the odds and succeed. Thanks for an advanced reader's copy.

4.5 ⭐️

Set near a beach in the Florida panhandle, this novel navigates three young women who are in The Girls, a club made up of young mothers and mothers-to-be.

Leila Mottley is quite a talent, and I love her raw writing and how it addresses topics that are usually glossed over. These young women come from rough households and have to be resourceful to live and give their children what they need. And they are also confronted by with what they need the most might not be them, which is a harsh reality.

The three main characters are Simone, who is in her early twenties with boy/girl twins and finds herself pregnant again. She is the leader of the group. Emory is very academic (and white), and she lives with her grandparents and her new baby Kai. Emory is determined to graduate and go to college and is a bit resentful of being a new mom to a fussy baby and how that might derail her plans. Adela, with an eye on the Olympics in swimming, is newly pregnant and new in town, sent to live with her grandparents, when a boy in town catches her eye. These young women don’t always get along (real life!), but they still have a bond.

I was genuinely surprised at one plot point and gasped. I don’t want to approach spoiler territory, so I won’t say anything about that. Adela’s and Emory’s stories went in directions that I wasn’t quite expecting. I like when a novel, especially when it’s not a thriller, surprises me.

I realize that it would have diluted the effect to go more in-depth into the other young women in The Girls, but at times I thought it was off-putting that we only knew three of the characters and the others only by name. Also, I found it a bit far-fetched that Emory would get into Stanford and other Ivy League colleges while not having the long academic and extracurricular resume that she couldn’t have had with being a new mom.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

It publishes June 24, 2025.

“We was just mothers figuring it out” is one of the universal truths from this moving story. There are other truths here that seem to pertain to most young girls and young women if not all. Can you not remember being a half baked girl romanticizing a half baked boy and failing to realize that the object of your affection does not really have the sterling qualities of your imagination? Everything being ideal, you experience feeling love at its purest giving birth to your child but from that child’s first breath you are indeed just figuring it out. And, lastly, parents, husbands, boyfriends, etc. may support you if you are lucky but if you have a loyal group of female friends who really know you then you absolutely blessed.

To start off, thank you NetGalley for this arc! I found this novel to be very immersive and unique in the plot and characters to anything I’ve ever read before. It gave me new insight to situations I am not familiar with, and I will move forward in life with this knowledge ingrained in me. I found the multiple point of views to be effective, but also confusing at times as there were so many and a few of their stories were very similar. I think Mottley did a great job, however, at fully fleshing out each character and making them feel real. Towards the 60% to 80% mark, things got a little muddled and perhaps a tad boring, but it was quickly picked up and everything that happened was important to the plot. The writing style helped amplify the emotions in each situation, and I think it really helped increase the relevancy in the book. Due to the slow-pacing of the previously mentioned section, I lowered my rating to 3 stars as I was struggling to continue to read. I honestly could see this becoming a modern classic in the future, and most classics are read for the message, not the “fun-ness” (and I rate books of my emjoyability reading them). Overall, I do recommend this book!

This was such an amazing story which pulled at my heart. The main characters were three young teenagers who were either pregnant or already had young children. Although everyone thought they were losers and sluts and worthless these girls supported each other and knew what they wanted from life. I loved it!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Disclosure: Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for offering this book for early review consideration]: On its surface, this novel is a tale of motherhood, sacrifice, and unfair societal assumptions about teenage mothers, but looking deeper, it encompasses so much more. In breathtakingly fresh language, Mottley crafts a tale of forgiveness, betrayal, girlhood and womanhood, and an essential story of a distinctly female existence. She captures in novel detail the subtleties that define the female experience, the pain of betrayal in lost friendships, the pressure for perfection in body and spirit, the sting of parental disapproval, and the saving grace of female friendship. The book offers several points of view, offering a glimpse from the perspective of a group of teenage mothers that calls itself “The Girls.” The Girls’ stories intersect and diverge; they find each other, find love, lose love, and ultimately cling to the promise of persistence and survival wrought through shared desire. Through Simone, Emory, and Adela’s shared and dissimilar experiences, Mottley brings the reader into a world many scorn, making this novel an essential work in a world which so often erases women’s pain. While the vernacular language sometimes grated on me, the novel is filled with exceptionally penned passages that will incite compassion in the most hard-hearted of readers. This is an utterly heartbreaking but essential story for our tumultuous times.

4.5 stars rounded up. This was so good— incredible writing, complicated characters, and a love letter to Florida and all of its complications. It was a little hard to keep the girls straight in the beginning, but overall I really enjoyed this story. The literary version of the movie The Florida Project.

I eagerly requested an ARC of this book because I was captivated by the author’s previous novel, Nightcrawling. However, this one fell short in comparison.

The number of young mothers in the book made it challenging to distinguish between them. I believe that if the chapters had alternated between two characters instead of three, I would have been able to follow the story easier.

Despite my fondness for Nightcrawling, I must admit that I lost interest in this book by the third trimester section.

Given this author’s young age, I’ll continue to keep an eye out for her future novels in hope that they work better for me.