Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada (Adult) | McClelland & Stewart for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

This is the type of book that when I read, I immediately know comes with an atmosphere where my heart is going to be wrecked by the end of my reading experience.

Taking place in contemporary Florida, the story is told through the eyes of three young women. Simone was 16 when she gave birth to her twins-Luck and Lion, in her boyfriend's red truck. Disowned by her parents, Simone has become a fierce mother bear and has come to the help of other young women who have found themselves in similar situations. Emory is a high school senior who became pregnant after a brief fling with Simone's younger brother, Jay. Emory thought motherhood was going to be glamorous, but her son, Kai, is not the cheerful newborn that she dreamed of. Facing judgment from her grandparents and her teachers, Emory is determined to she will graduate from high school and head to college. Finally, Adela, 16 years old, a good student and a competitive swimmer with Olympic dreams, her parents devastated to learn of their daughter's teenage pregnancy. Fearing the judgment of neighbours in Indiana, they have sent Adela to her paternal grandmother for the duration of her pregnancy. All three women face the disapproval of a town that believes " The Girls" have lost their way. A tale on motherhood, girlhood, and finding oneself while having a group of female community that is there to love, fight and support you.


Okay, okay, that last line in the paragraph makes this book sound all roses and sunshine. I don't want to steer future readers in the wrong direction, but one of my takeaways was that these women and their children do have hopeful futures. The Girls Who Grew Big is a raw, gritty and unflinching type of novel, and I couldn't stop flipping the pages. Birth is messy, bringing up children is messy, family dynamics can also be messy, and it felt to me that Leila Mottley wants us to talk about it. When I was researching the author, I discovered that in addition to being an author, Leila Mottley also works as a doula and in her acknowledgements, thanks the women who helped her in the shaping of this book.

I happen to have Nightcrawling, the author's debut novel, which she published when she was 19 years old, on my KOBO. I am very interested in reading that as well.

Stunning novel!



Publication Date 24/06/25
Goodreads Review 01/08/25