Thank you NetGalley,Publisher and author,Leila Mottley for the opportunity to read the arc ebook,The Girls Who Grew Big. Initially I had a hard time getting into this book but decided to keep reading. I’m so glad I did! Interesting story mainly about three girls,Simone,Adela,and Emory. They are all very young girls who have gotten pregnant and are rejected by their parents/grandparents that are raising them in a small forgotten town in Florida. They find strength to help each other at their time of need,especially with the help of Simone who little by little takes in several other young teens and their babies. They sleep in a pick-up truck at a mostly deserted beach and stay on that beach mainly everyday. It’s a fast read with lots of sorrow,anger,happiness and close friendships.It has a surprise ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc copy! Here are my thoughts:

I’m honestly still in awe that Leila Mottley is only 23 years old and wrote something this fantastic. The Girls Who Grew Big is stunning. There’s something so raw and beautiful about how it captures what it truly means to be a girl. From the characters to the setting to the waves of emotion it pulled from me, I loved every part of this book. It’s definitely not something I’d normally reach for at a bookstore, but the cover caught my eye and I just had a feeling I needed to read it. I’m so glad I followed that instinct. Mottley’s writing is gorgeous, and I’ll be reading whatever she publishes next. Highly recommend.

This book ripped me apart, I LOVED this book! Every mother, myself included, can see pieces of herself in the Girls. I laughed, I cried so many times, I wanted to reach through the pages and give everyone in this book the biggest hug and never let them go. A must read!!

Thank you Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Leila Mottley's The Girls Who Grew Big unfolds the interconnected stories of three young women navigating teenage motherhood. The narrative is shared through the distinct perspectives of Simone (20, with twin toddlers, and the leader of a supportive group of young mothers, many disowned by their families), Emory (a college senior with a baby son), and Adela (a high school junior sent to live with her grandmother after becoming pregnant).

Mottley gives each of the three protagonists a unique voice and evolving perspective. As young women finding their way, some of their initial thoughts reflect their immaturity. However, it's rewarding to see them grow, with their inner monologues and the wisdom they share with each other becoming increasingly poetic and philosophic by the story's end.

The narrative momentum builds in the last third of the book. Simone's generosity is a beacon, and the way these young women—often let down by caregivers or partners—support and educate one another as they forge their own paths is heartwarming.

The Girls Who Grew Big is a powerful and ultimately hopeful novel about the communities we build for ourselves.

I only read 15% but this was just not what I thought it was going to be. A lot of other reviews I read said it was a story, but nothing really happened. It is not a book I feel like reading right now but maybe will give it another chance in the future.

This powerfully written tale about unwed mothers was far better than I expected! It is the tale of strong young women working their way through pregnancy under less than ideal circumstances, while planning a future for themselves and their babies. The characters are well developed and absolutely believable, and the plot is brilliant and beautifully executed. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a voluntary, unbiased review.

What a deep and gripping story this was! Narrated from 3 POVs (Simone, Emory and Adela), we are following a group of teenagers living in the Florida swamps (Padua Beach) who are (soon-to-be) young mothers. It was refreshing to hear their story from their own POV; how did they get there, how they handle the pregnancy, how they made the decision to keep the baby or not, how they faced their families' reactions, did the daddy stay around or not, did they drop out of school or not,.. so many cliches that were handled by this super talented author Leila Mottley sometimes with heart and other times with guts.
This book is definitely a must read. Personally, it did put some things into perspective, it gave me hope, and it also gave me a better understanding of a situation I was never confronted with. Life is not easy, but we must be aware that we create our own destiny.

A much-deserved 5-star rating <3

genuinely, to me, this book felt like the song Color in Your Cheeks by The Mountain Goats. Five stars.

4.5 stars

Leila Mottley has an incredible talent for writing gritty, REAL young women, and this newest effort clearly reflects her skill in this and many other areas.

Simone, Emory, and Adela are three of the titular girls who grew big, and their experiences are fully intertwined. Each character's journey is distinct, and Mottley puts readers right into their young minds. It's tough to avoid preconceptions based on their situations, and Mottley also effectively addresses this by both confirming and debunking throughout. Readers are likely to find themselves simultaneously frustrated and in support of each of these characters, even as their lives continue on (often) in the form of slow motion crashes.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of these characters and observing the growth in their relationships with each other most of all. As a person who has NEVER wanted to have children, I sometimes find narratives centered on parenthood in some way to be... less interesting and definitely less relatable. The opposite was true in this case because of the characterization.

This is my third book by this author, and I have enjoyed all of them very much. I can't wait for the next one.

You have to suspend your disbelief a little bit. But, overall, I enjoyed the story and liked the author's writing style.

This is my second time reading from this author and unfortunately, I don’t think her writing style is for me. I wanted to give her a second chance because her debut novel showed potential. I think her storylines seem interesting and groundbreaking, but the finished product never delivers in terms of tone and message. Too many characters that I ended up not caring about. It was hard to connect with characters that had such a weak and not fully fleshed backstory. I felt frustrated and underwhelmed. The topic of teen pregnancy is a serious and complex issue, but I don’t feel like the author adds anything of value or merit. Mottley’s novels always feel like an afterthought than a fully realized story. I won’t be reading from this author again.

Leila Mottley’s The Girls Who Grew Big is a luminous, raw, and fiercely tender exploration of girlhood, motherhood, and the transformative power of chosen family. Set in the sun-baked, hurricane-prone town of Padua Beach, Florida, the novel follows sixteen-year-old Adela Woods, who, after revealing her pregnancy, is sent from her comfortable life in Indiana to her grandmother’s home. There, she encounters Emory, a high school student bringing her newborn to class, and Simone, a mother of four-year-old twins. Together, they form a sisterhood of young mothers navigating the complexities of raising children while still figuring out their own identities. The Girls Who Grew Big is a must-read for anyone interested in powerful storytelling, complex characters, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

Simone, Emory, and Adela were such a journey to read about in this book. Each young girl had their own story to tell and like they said don’t be so quick to judge them until you heard it all.

I enjoyed this authors work very much from the very beginning to the end. This is my very first work by Leila Mottley so I didn’t know what to expect when it came to her writing style. I have to say she did more than a great job.

The fact that this could be the reality that some underaged girls could go through really is heartbreaking. The author captured this very well in her writing.

Simone’s, Emory, and Adela’s stories will stick with me for some time and I do hope people read their journey before they do make judgement.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the free digital copy for my honest review.

This book is so real. I loved it!
We follow a group of teen mothers who are navigating life and/or pregnancy and it's the most realistic depiction of motherhood because in the end we all just want the best for our babies. As a mom myself I related so much through certain struggles these characters faced and it felt so real as if Leila Mottley had read my diary herself.
I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future

Thank you so much to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This book is EVERYTHING! That's the highest compliment I can give. What it means is the story, the writing, the characters, the setting, the portrayals... all simply phenomenal. It's definitely a contender for my favorite read of the year. Mottley's writing style just resonates so well and it is perfection. I loved it and it is the kind of book I would want to re-read. Regardless of how you feel about teen pregnancy, this is a book to be admired. Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I loved it so much!!!!!

I loved this book so much, it was so different from anything I’ve ever read and felt extremely real.
The author did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life and I have been left feeling like they truly exist and are continuing their stories today. The writing style was incredible, it was that type of book where you don’t even feel like you’re reading. (My favorite type of book)
The author tackled so many difficult topics, but found a way to make them all so entertaining, dramatic and easy to read about.
I absolutely ate this book up and could not get enough, I was SO sad to get to the ending because I could have honestly read about these character’s lives forever. I will be keeping my eye out for anything else this author writes because this was so utterly amazing.
Beyond thankful for my arc copy and these opinions are my own.

This one was beautifully written, but the constant flip-flopping between memories and timelines? Yeah, it had me feeling a little lost. But listen — the way Mottley digs into teen pregnancy in 2025? It’s raw, it’s real, and she’s not sugarcoating a damn thing.

What hit the hardest was the way these girls held each other down, even when life got messy. That bond was everything — even when trust got shaky and feelings got hurt, they still had each other’s backs. But I gotta say, with all those POVs, some of the girls felt like they faded into the background. I wanted a little more time with them, you know?

But that ending? Whew. Watching these girls decide to make their own way despite everything life threw at them? It was a gut punch — in the best way. That last note of resilience? Yeah, that one sticks with you.

United States Publication: June 24, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Padua Beach, Florida, is a small, doesn't-appear-on-the-map town home to "the Girls." The Girls are a group of single moms who are raising their children as a village (as the proverb goes), defying the stereotypes society wants to attach to single, young mothers. Adela is new to town and was sent to live with her grandmother for the length of her pregnancy. When Emory, one of the Girls, befriends Adela, a reluctant association is established. But Adela isn't willing to reveal her pregnancy, so at first it seems she has nothing in common with this group of unwed, mostly teenage moms. But Adela can't hide her pregnancy for too much longer, so her status in the group changes when everyone finds out she is "one of them." As Adela progresses through each trimester of pregnancy, the stories of the Girls - specifically Simone, Emory, and Adela- unfold, and their lives as girls become women and mothers provide a different and rare look at what it means to be a woman and a Mama in the world today.

I wasn't finished with the first page of Mottley's new offering before I thought, "Astonishing. Astounding. Staggering. Stupefying. Amazing. Incredible." A real-life event inspired Mottley's first novel in her native Oakland, CA, and this sophomore novel seems to be inspired by her real-life training as a doula and the ever-present myths and misunderstandings surrounding teenage girls becoming single moms. She provides readers with a different look at the stereotype of teen moms and their relationships with the boys who participated in creating the baby and with the children they have and decide to keep and raise. Mottley reintroduces compassion and understanding into the conversation around these young women.

In this fictional tale about a real issue, the reader is introduced to Simone first. A young woman who had twins at sixteen, with a man who was twenty-two and finds fatherhood to be inconvenient. In the five years since her twins were born, Simone has become the de facto ringleader of single moms in the fictional Padua Beach, Florida town. We next meet Emory, who recently gave birth to Kai, whose Daddy is Simone's brother. Finally, regarding the voices prevalent in the book, we meet Adela. Adela became pregnant almost by accident, and once she told her parents, they shipped her out of state to Florida to be pregnant out of the public eye of their community. She's living with her Grandmother and desperate to find someone to care for and love her. This desperation leads her to meet Chris and weave a tale of deception about her pregnancy. However, her relationship with Chris also causes problems among the Girls, and a lot of truth comes to the surface before Adela becomes a mother and is reintroduced to herself. "I reintroduced myself to myself, this time a mother. After which, nothing was ever the same." (Camille Dungy - this quote is how Mottley introduces this astonishing story.)

A look at teenage pregnancy through the experiences of/ eyes of three main characters-Simone (the leader of the group) Adele (an olympic swimming protege banished to fictional Padua Beach in Florida due to her pregnancy) and Emory (hoping for happiness through the birth of her child.) The book is well written and provides an in depth look at teenage pregnancy through pregnancy-its challenges, the difficult choices the girls have to make, and its joys.
Particularly insightful is their relationships with the boys who impregnated them. I fully expected not to like this book but found very well written and very insightful. A very good read.

This book was beautiful. Following Three girls, Emory, Adela, and Simone, you get an intimate look at teenage pregnancy. familial support systems and an intricate discussion about how society treats girls and women with child. It touched on poverty, racism and many other topics. I think this is a story that can last for ages.