The Girls Who Grew Big is a coming of age story set in the small Florida beach town of Padua, where many young girls become mothers early in life.

At 16, Simone becomes pregnant with twins by her much older boyfriend Tooth. Rather than retreating into shame or silence, she forms a club for other teen moms, creating a tight knit community where the girls care for one another like family.

Everything shifts when a new girl named Adela arrives in town. Sent to live with her grandmother as punishment for becoming pregnant, Adela carries herself with a sense of ambition. Once a high school swim star, she believes she’s meant for something more. Though she eventually bonds with the girls in Simone’s group, tension sparks between her and Simone right away. Their relationship becomes even more complicated when an unexpected connection brings their lives crashing together.

I found this story deeply compelling. It challenges the idea that teenage motherhood marks the end of a young girl’s future. These characters show that young moms can still grow, lead, and carry wisdom many adults never achieve. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read it!

This book follows three girls living in the FL panhandle in various stages of teen pregnancy- Adela is an aspiring Olympic swimmer sent here to her grandmother's to serve out her pregnancy. Emory dreams of graduating and going off to college, but has a 9-month old with a guy who loves her, but her grandparents won't allow him to the house because he is black and she is white. And Simone had twins at 15 and is now the mama of the Girls- all the local pregnant teens and teen moms who are just looking for love and safety.

What a sad, but beautiful story. When I saw Mottley had a second book coming I jumped at the chance to read it.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed reading the raw and gritty novel, Nightcrawling and am so grateful to have been gifted an early digital copy of her second novel.

This novel follows the lives of teen girls who find themselves pregnant and forgotten by the world. It starts with 16 yr old Adela, a competitive swimmer aiming for the Olympics, who finds herself pregnant. She is sent off to live with her grandmother in Florida’s panhandle until after she has the baby so as not to disgrace her family. There she meets Emory who has a baby with Jayden. Jayden’s sister, Simone, is kind of a ringleader for a group of teenage mothers. Simone lives in her truck and raises her twins but also brings together these other young mothers as they help each other out. But they are still girls themselves, with hopes, desires betrayals, jealousies and hurts. This is a coming of age story of found sisterhood, a disjointed childhood and early motherhood.

Leila Mottley has a way of telling a story that is remarkable. This book isn’t as raw and gritty as her previous one but it is emotional just the same. There are highs and lows and triumphs and failures as these girls help each other navigate their unpredictable new lives with the babies they love so deeply. Brimming with heart and resilience and always hope, this was a fantastic read.

Thank you to @aaknopf @pantheonbooks @vintageanchorbooks @netgalley for a #gifted digital copy of this novel

Thank you NetGalley, Knopf, and the author for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available now!

This is a literary, coming-of-age book told from the first person from Simone, Emory, and Adela’s perspectives.

I loved the three of them and seeing their journey across the three trimesters. I loved seeing their sisterhood, and the community Simone built for other young mothers, despite the judgement she endured for having her twins at sixteen, and the cautionary tale she became for those in her town.

I loved how they had moments of contention along with moments of connection. Because when it came to being a mother, forced out the house, alone in some situations, or struggling to connect with their kids or anyone, only the other Girls could understand and were willing to help.

The writing of this book hooked me from the first page. It was poetic and raw and early on I knew this book was going to be one of my favorites of the year.

This book takes serious topics- poverty, abortion, motherhood, abandonment, age-gap, adult/child relationships, the double standard of being the one pregnant vs. the one getting someone pregnant and more – and packages them in a way that can cause conversation without speaking on it directly. The topics are not theories being discussed, but shown apart of these girls everyday lives.

This author does a great job of showing, instead of telling, and allowing readers to form conclusions about what they’re reading, though it’s clear how messed up some of the situations were.

Read for:

🍼 Teen moms

🍼 Sisterhood

🍼 Coming-of-age

🍼 3 POVs

🍼 Different, but alike characters

🍼 Real and raw depictions

OVERALL

Overall, I give this a 5 out of 5 stars. This book will be on my mind for a long time. Though the mothers here are young, I think there’s great depictions of motherhood in general alongside the intersectionality of it. Each girl had their own journey and I was invested in it all.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC.

Plot: This story follows three teen moms in Florida, navigating motherhood while also coming of age. Each girl has a distinct voice and story, facing different issues relating to race, sexual identity, poverty, lack of support, trauma, love, and friendship.

Review: This was so well done. I connected with each girl, and I felt their pain and joy. The book causes you to think deeply about many themes and issues. Most importantly, I think we forget sometimes that teen moms are more than just moms… they have dreams, hobbies, and needs. I loved how the story ended - it felt like we got a brief glimpse into these girls’ lives, and their futures are open.

4⭐️

I loved reading The Girls Who Grew Big. A group of teenagers, some mothers, one pregnant. Made me rethink my assumptions about young motherhood.

I could talk about how well Mottley writes, how beautifully she brings characters and Padua Beach to life, and how well she captures the lack of support young moms face but this is one of those books where my writing won’t do justice. Mottley’s characters were all within systems that work against teenagers that make mistakes and continue to shame them even when they are trying their hardest. Having and raising a baby is hard enough with the best of support system, and I wanted to give each one of these girls big hugs and wanted to punch all the unsupportive characters. There is a lot of youthful drama here and a lot of flawed decisions, but everything is higher stakes with kids being involved and everyone trying to figure out how to balance what's good for themselves and what’s best for their children and Mottley tackles character growth both physically and mentally so realistically.

Final rating: 4.5.

On the Surface, this is a story about a group of teen mothers in Florida, but on a deeper level, it's a reimagining of motherhood, sisterhood, and girlhood.

You watch these girls as they learn and grow their way through young adulthood and being mothers, as they develop friendships built on shared experiences and supporting each other through differences.

I really enjoyed this. It's very hard to make so many different voices and stories shine through, but Leila did so masterfully. I like that she didn't set out to make them perfect mother's or perfect women. She made them flawed, authentic, and honest.

Baby, the girlies stressed me out in this book! The girls kept making mistake after mistake and their attempts to do better, just made it worse everytime! They were hardheaded and not likable to me but the writing style was beautiful and it kept me engaged throughout because I was waiting for it to click for them, some more than others.

Leila Mottley’s prose is rich and immersive. I was immediately drawn into to the small town of Padua and the alliance of girls that folks look away from. Mottley develops these characters through the love they have for their children and the new loves the try to navigate, never shying away from harsh realities. Realities beyond just heartbreak, realities of making a life and sustaining that life. I wish there was more differentiation between the character voices. I got caught up sometimes towards the middle trying to remember whose chapter I was in if I didn’t have immediate grounding details (like a family member).

The Girls Who Grew Big is a stunning novel about motherhood. The cast of characters show true friendship and love; they are the definition of "it takes a village." I love how it's messy and vulnerable and honest and rough and everything else. The Girls demonstrate that it is never too late to start anew, that you are exactly where you're meant to be, that decisions can be the best and worst thing. They are complicated and beautiful. I am in awe of this book, and I can't wait for Mottley's next release.

Wow. This author has such a way with words. And how she writes about motherhood left me in awe. She's so talented and so young. This book is raw and gritty and honest. It won't be for everyone, but it will stay with me for a long time. She expertly created this small Florida beach town and this group of teen moms who loved their babies and each other fiercely.

Unfortunately, this one just didn’t do it for me. The synopsis sounded interesting, but didn’t come through in any meaningful way.

Full transparency, I tend to do better with plot driven vs character driven stories. I had an inkling this would be the latter, and was prepared, but the characters weren’t well written; they were stereotypical, one-dimensional, and lacked any personal growth outside of “growing big.”

There wasn’t anything major that I didn’t like, but there wasn’t anything that kept me interested either. I was bored and just kept pushing through.

For a book this length I can usually finish in a day or two; this one took over a week because I found no interest in picking it up. It was a chore. I appear to be in the minority of the ratings, so while I personally won’t recommend this book, I do recommend reading other reviews before making a decision.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is easily one of—if not the—best books I’ve read this year. The moment I finished the e-ARC, I immediately went out and bought a physical copy. It’s that good.

The story follows three young mothers, each at a different stage of motherhood:

✨ Simone, who’s lost her family because she chose to become a mother, yet still takes on a nurturing role for a group of girls in need;
✨ Emory, a new mom grappling with postpartum life, her sexuality, and racist relatives;
✨ and Adela, who’s desperate to maintain the appearance of perfection while her pregnancy begins to crack her carefully built facade.

Together, their stories unfold into a raw and powerful portrait of modern motherhood, tackling everything from racist healthcare systems to restricted access to reproductive care, from the stigmatization of young motherhood to the overwhelming lack of structural support. And yet, despite it all, these women survive and thrive through the community they build among themselves.

Their journeys will stay with me for a long time. This book is stunning, painful, affirming, and beautifully written. AND I know I’ll be rereading it for years to come.

Leila Mottley has officially become an auto-buy author for me—huge thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
✨ Do yourself a favor: add this to your TBR ASAP.

I was pumped to get my hands on Leila Mottley’s newest book, The Girls Who Grew Big after her first book, Nightcrawling, left such a lasting impression on me.

This book is set in a forgotten Florida beach town with rotating viewpoints from three teenage girls — streetwise tough-as-nails Simone, sexually confused Emory, and naive and unlikeable Adela. The characters are all so very human and enormously flawed, they make mistakes and find their way as they navigate their love for their children and the path they must choose for their future.

As raw as this book read, I sometimes felt a disconnect with the characters. I typically don’t gravitate to stories about teens… and while I very much enjoyed the portions on motherhood, I struggled through some of the teenage emotions, choices, and love plot lines.

However, if you are looking for a book that is about growing into motherhood, finding a sense of belonging, overcoming generational trauma, and a queer coming-of-age story, don’t miss The Girls Who Grew Big! It will pull on your heartstrings!

Publication date: June 24, 2025
Pages: 352

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @aaknopf for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book!

The Girls Who Grew Big was both heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time, raw and emotional. This is a story about mothers and daughters and found family and so much more. I instantly became so invested in these characters and worried for them, wondered what was going to happen to them. Leila Mottley has a way of bringing her characters to life with her lovely writing.

I found this to be a tough read, especially as a mother, but definitely worth it. We follow three pregnant/young mothers as they navigate teen and single parenthood, with struggles involving themes of race, poverty, friendship, sexuality, etc. This was an extremely well written and gritty look at these realities in Florida, and not an easy read in any sense. The decisions some characters make are baffling, but you can't help rotting for all of them. The ending was a little too tidy for my taste, but I still enjoyed it overall.

This novel was everything from tackling socio-economic issues, racial issues, class, broken and mended relationships, teen pregnancy and single motherhood in an impoverished Florida town.

We follow three young women through their journey into teen pregnancy. There is sharp-tongued but fiercely loyal Simone, determined and driven Emory, and finally kind and soft spoken Adela.

“The Girls” as they call themselves form a bond through countless struggles that bring them closer together than ever.

I could have devoured another 100 pages of this story and now I need a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me to read The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley.

Truly a masterpiece. Mottley writes multi POV with a skill that is uncommon - each perspective was robust and recognizable, and there was never confusion about who was speaking because their voices were so distinct. I’m currently reading her debut which I somehow have never read - TGWGB made me a Mottley fan forever.

This story was a lot. That characters are the same but different each girl has a want and/ need and it’s the same but looks different for each girl. This story is full, the characters are full and complex and the writing brings that out in each girl. I recommend this story.