"The Girls Who Grew Big" by Leila Mottley shows another, not so glamorous side of Florida and equally a beautiful but realistic side of young mums and pregnancy. In this town, where unwed and pregnant teenage girls are either sent or just happen to be, seem to head towards Simone and her red truck. Collectively they become an alternative NCT, sharing stories, advice and support for each. The Girls, as the group is called, changes over time as some drift off and others join. We see life in this forgotten Florida town from the perspectives of Simone, Adela and Emory, each with their own story to tell. Great writing.

I was generously provided an e-ARC for advance read and review by the publisher.

Thank you very much for providing me with this e-ARC. I was excited to read this next novel from the acclaimed author Mottley.

Raw, emotional and heartwrenching, this book really moved me as a young woman. I am not a mother but felt I could really relate to these women and came to a much greater understanding of young mothers' experiences of being a new mother and bringing up a young child.

An impactful read.

Set in Padua Beach, a forgotten town in Florida The Girls Who Grew Big opens with the unflinching scene of a teenage mother giving birth to her twins in the front seat of her boyfriends truck and what follows is a story of sisterhood, motherhood, love and overcoming adversity.

It's raw, it's messy, it's emotional and it's incredibly touching. The writing is gorgeous and lyrical and it's completely evocative of a hot summer in a dusty town on the edge of nowhere. You can feel the salt spray on your skin and the sand between your toes. You can hear the ocean waves and smell the campfire.

It's full of big characters who will stay with you, and I loved everyone of the girls. I found the story incredibly powerful and poignant. Having been a young mother myself, it just put into words all the feelings and emotions that are hard to vocalise at the most vulnerable time of your life.

It staggers me that Leila is not yet a mother and yet she's written this stunning book that was like she'd read my soul. I loved every word and I would give it 10 stars if I could.

Readers who enjoyed Tiffany McDaniel's On the Savage Side and Barbara Kingslover's Demon Copperhead should not miss this one.

such an impactful, extraordinary read. this was really refreshing, not just in terms of its sometimes difficult topics but through its writing as well, which was hard when it needed to be and fun when it could be. i really enjoyed this!

I really enjoyed this novel about a group of teenage mothers in Florida and, unusually for a story with multiple perspectives, I felt they were all given equal weight in the narrative and in theircharacterisation. Highly recommended and thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

In The Girls Who Grew Big, Leila Mottley brings us deep into the belly of Padua Beach—a forgotten town in Florida’s panhandle where everything seeps. Heat into your skin, memory into your bones, and prejudice into the very air. It’s a place where the streets crack, the ocean groans, and girls like Adela, Emory and Simone try to carve something tender out of what’s broken.

Adela arrives like a secret no one wants to claim, sent away by parents who hope distance will erase the mark of her pregnancy. She’s meant to stay quiet, give birth, and return unscarred. But Florida doesn’t do clean. It does mildew, red dust, sweat-slick limbs, and salty air thick with judgment. It does secrets you can’t rinse off, no matter how far you run.

Emory is bold, brilliant, and unbending. She carries her baby through the school corridors with her head high, refusing to be small.

Simone is the spine. Her truck is part crèche, part sanctuary, part confessional. She carries more than just her twins—she holds up the Girls trying to be mothers while still half-children themselves.

There’s no easy redemption here, just the raw rhythm of survival told in lush prose, breathless, full of salt, heat, and ache. The ocean isn’t the backdrop; it’s the bloodline. It hums through every page, rising and falling like breath, like prayer.

This is a story about being too young, too visible, and never quite enough for a world built to shut you out. It’s about aching for softness and being met with hard edges. And that’s the thing: These girls are still girls—stubborn, wild, learning to love with broken maps.

The writing is rich, tidal, and beautifully unflinching. There’s a rhythm to the prose that feels tidal, pulling you close one moment, slamming you into heartbreak the next.

It’s a novel about choice when no good ones exist. About community made from the bones of what’s broken. And about girlhood—messy, defiant, beautiful, resilient.

A brilliant, blistering read. I didn’t want the book to end, and that is undoubtedly a true sign of a great read. All. The. Love.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy via NetGalley; as always, this is an honest review.

Leila Mottley's 'The Girls Who Grew Big' is set in the coastal town of Padua Beach, Florida, and follows the individual stories of a group of teenage mothers - Adela, Emory and Simone. Until she fell pregnant, Adela was a swimmer with hopes of going to the Olympics. Emory was top of her class, and had college plans. Simone, despite her equally young age ends up becoming a mother figure to the girls. Told through alternating perspectives, Mottley's novel is about resilience, and personal growth in the face of societal judgement.

Mottley is an extremely young novelist, who is able to create complex characters, and write in a way that gives a clear sense of location and emotional honesty. This is a book for people who love lyrical writing and character development. For those who are more plot focused, I'm not sure this book is for you. I have to admit at times I found myself feeling like I'd got the message, and I didn't have a sense of wanting to find out what would happen next. However, this is beautifully written and will be enjoyed by many.

Envision this: Three teenage moms standing and holding hands, stretch marks on their legs, thighs and bellies, sore backs and mountains of trauma and abandonment weighing them down; but in the corner of their eyes you’ll still find them following their children’s steps as they run around in the sand, not capable of leaving their whole worlds unattended. The ocean roars behind and in the midst of these sounds, you’ll hear a deep cry for more.

We meet Adela, Emory and Simone.

Adela is sent away to live in Padua Beach with her grandmother until her pregnancy is over, and she is allowed to move back in with her parents and become the great Olympic swimmer she had been training for before this entire mess began.

Emory thought having a baby at fifteen would finally make her lovable. Now, she stubbornly attends school with her baby in her arms, refusing to let anyone take that opportunity away from her.

Simone is the spine that carries all the mothers; the one who holds, educates and houses. She tries to be the best mum she can to her four-year-old twins as she navigates her grief.

Narrated by these three teenage mothers, this novel covers pressing topics in such beautiful language and writing. The imagery of the ocean carries the story and almost feels like a distinct character in itself. We question the choices of these mothers, their stubbornness a characteristic they all share, reminds us of how young they actually are. Adela, as the one who has yet to experience what it is to be a mother, kept frustrating me the most as I struggled to understand her reasons and actions, but again, she was just a teenager going through something most teenagers don’t usually have tools for.

All in all, this book was so powerful and one I’ll remember for a long long time; especially, its message on community, motherhood and what it means to be asked to grow up so fast.

I’m so excited for the world to meet these characters and their stories.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin General UK, and the author Leila Mottley.
There were parts of this story that I enjoyed and felt involving, but there are a few reasons why I can't give it more than 3 stars.
I found the writing style too hyperbolic, and the thoughts and decisions of some of the girls as too ridiculous to take seriously, and as a result affected my connection to their characters. However, I think the story and the style was raw and moving, and can appreciate the author's talent.

Days after reading this book, I kept thinking deeply about the content found in these pages. I was conflicted. I had a range of feelings about this book...stunned, irritated and disheartened, but equally moved, mindful and educated. This was a chance for me to step out of my world and learn about The Girls.

The Girls is a group of young women/teenagers in the panhandle of Florida who are pregnant, overlooked, judged/misunderstood and find themselves with a limited support system or no support system at all. That is, until they find each other.

This is a story about the power of community, life-changing choices, childhood trauma, repetitive behaviors, as well as a glimpse into lives that simply survive a day at a time. However, it is overwhelmingly about the deep human desire to be understood, accepted, nurtured and loved. If your thoughts are anything like mine, you will not agree with everything that happens in this book. You may even find yourself making comments to The Girls like "What are you doing?", "Stay away from him." or "Why do you keep doing that?", as if you are in the very same room as them. If you are also like me, you will be drawn to hearing the story of these three young women, at times desiring to give them a big hug or a high five. It's a mix.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced digital copy via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I'd like to add, with three gifted narrators, this would be great as an audiobook.

This coming-of-age novel may take a moment to find its rhythm, but once it does, it offers a poignant and layered exploration of young womanhood on the margins. Set in the Florida Panhandle, the narrative alternates between three compelling characters. Simone is the matriarch of a group of teenage mothers who live in her trailer. Emory is a determined student who defies the education system by bringing her baby to school, and pushes forward toward university life, while Adela, an Olympic-aspiring swimmer, harbors her own secrets.

The story vividly portrays resilience: girls living in trailers, raising children, experiencing unrequited love, and navigating the complexities of identity, desire, and survival. An undercurrent of danger (alligators at school lunches!) and deception runs through the narrative, not out of malice, but from a desperate need to belong. Emory’s romantic journey, including her experience of queer love, is depicted with quiet honesty.

Part gritty realism, part emotional coming-of-age tale, this book resonates with deeper themes of motherhood, class, and the courage to rewrite one's own story. The girls may be young, but their choices are sharp, sometimes cunning, and always deeply human—a testament to the power of forgiveness and the acceptance of flaws. Their determination serves as a powerful reminder not to underestimate the ability of teenagers to steer their own destinies.

I really enjoyed this book. Told from three points of view, it follows the story of three young mothers in a forgotten town Florida - Adela, Simone and Emory, along the timeline of Adela’s pregnancy.

Their stories are fascinating and brilliantly well told, capturing the disgust and isolation that the small town projects towards teenage mothers.

I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the writing style and would recommend.

Wow, Leilas words are beautiful ! Shes 23 !! Hows can she find a beautiful way with words at 23 ! A group of teenage mums and pregnant reens have a strong community together and would do anything for thier baby, their friends and themselves during their hard times. The descriptions of love for their children brought back all my memories of pregnancy and when I had my tiny babies and how I had people around me but also searched for myself. The book dares to make us rethink how we think and speak about teenage / younger motherhood and how we can live free in a world that wants us to stay confined to the "norms". You dont need to be a mum to read this, the author herself doesn't have children but the poetic words help you feel the love, pain, loss, fear, community, loneliness in such a beautiful way.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book for a true review.

“Motherhood made you believe blindly, hope
endlessly, behave irrationally, as long as it meant those children tucked safely in the pocket of your love”

Thoughts:
This is the second book I’ve read by Leila Mottley. I enjoyed Nightcrawling and couldn’t wait to read her upcoming book. I really enjoy the way she writes about coming of age. It’s so raw but also beautiful.

It took me a little while to get into this, as it’s incredibly slow-paced, but once I got to around the 40% mark, it started to get quite interesting. The story is told from the POV of 3 girls, who build a supportive community around motherhood.

Most of the girls’ family members were awful. As if being a mother wasn’t hard enough, they had to deal with difficult family dynamics on top of it. It does become a little messy and complicated, further into the story. The men in this book were questionable as well. It definitely had me saying to myself “Are you for real?”

The girls had dreams, wanted something different out of life, and made decisions they knew were right for them. No matter what those decisions were, the other girls supported them.I also loved the ending. I thought it was truly empowering because it really does take a village!

Quotes that stood out to me:

“Maybe the only real reason I got is I'm tired and don't wanna give up nothing else”

“Some of the Girls had mothers who didn't know how to love them, who saw their children as an obstruction to their freedom”

Definitely check the TW/CW before diving in.

i will always read leila mottley’s books. she is one of my “whatever she writes, i’ll read” authors, and i was not wrong about this instinct with this book. the girls who grew big is a phenomenal and powerful novel that broke my heart and healed it with its prose, characters and themes. mottley writes with such sensitivity and love and realness, and it’s an honour to watch that beauty develop and grow over the course of her (hopefully very long) career!

This book cracked me wide open in the best way. It is vibrant and messy and alive with every complicated feeling of girlhood and motherhood colliding too soon and too fiercely. The writing is so raw and tender I found myself pausing just to breathe. The Girls Who Grew Big doesn’t flinch from pain or joy. It makes space for both. It’s a novel about survival, yes, but also about joy, about rewriting what it means to grow up and grow into yourself. This story stays with you. I loved every word.

The Girls Who Grew Big is a powerful and tender story about friendship, resilience, and growing up. Each of the girls feels so real—brave in her own way—and their community is what gives the book its heart. I loved how they didn’t just grow because of pregnancy, but truly grew into adulthood.

If I had one small critique, it’s that the metaphors were a bit heavy at times. Beautiful, but occasionally distracting.

I looked up the author while reading and really think it’s amazing that someone so young could write something this layered and thoughtful. I’ve already added Nightcrawling to my reading list and look forward to her future work.

Set in Florida, but definitely not the touristy area we meet Adela, Simone and Emory. All teenage mothers having to face the challenge of bringing up their babies without parental help.
Each girl has her own story to tell and each girl determined to do their best for their baby.
I didn't think I'd enjoy a book about the difficulties faced by teenage mothers, but the story is so well written I was rooting for each character, although they were all quite different characters and from differing backgrounds. An eye opener for me.
A multi-layered novel full of warmth and friendships.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This is an ambitious, lyrical novel that delivers readers complex, hyper-realistic characters while building a beautiful poetic world around them. Leila Mottley writes of teen motherhood in such a nuanced way that she’ll have you re-thinking prejudices you didn’t even know you had…. If you’ve grown up watching predatory shows on tv that portrayed teen mums as irresponsible children having children, Mottley will rear this simplistic preconception on its head.
We meet Simone, leader of the Girls, young women who have been shunned by everyone in their small town for having sex and having babies. We meet Emory, freshly a mother of a newborn, but unwilling to give up on her dream of graduating high school and going to college, despite what everyone around her is saying. We meet Adela, aspiring Olympic swimmer that has grown up hating herself in a mostly white town, and has now been sent by her parents to stay with her grandmother to hide her pregnancy like a stuck-up lady in confinement a century ago. These three girls are the beating heart of a book about the constant obstacles in young women’s way if they want to have fun, have sex, have a future, have a baby or decide not to have a baby. I am in awe of this book and its achievements. I’ll now be reading Mottley’s other book!

Fierce and loud Leila Mottley explores a side of womenhood rarely touched by others. Smart and devastating writing.