The Girls Who Grew Big

This broken world is lucky to have Leila Mottley writing in it ... Mottley is the real deal—a vital voice in the American literary tapestry, giving us a full, empathetic understanding of the parts of life the rest of culture tells us to ignore.

Kaitlyn Greenidge, author of Libertie

With impeccable and breathtaking prose, Mottley takes us into the treacherous terrain where girlhood and womanhood collide ... The Girls live out loud and are flawed, tender, and absolutely unforgettable. Mottley continues to show us the power and beauty of her pen!

Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Raw, wild, and achingly beautiful, The Girls Who Grew Big is one of the most spiritually accurate and electric portrayals of motherhood I’ve ever read. Leila Mottley is the real deal

Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles

Mottley is a dazzling writer and this novel opens up the world of young mothers in all its makeshift, sticky, struggling glory. The Girls Who Grew Big is sensuous, gripping, and utterly believable

Emma Donoghue

Written in big, beautiful prose that expands throughout the novel and leaves the reader full and satisfied … Leila Mottley’s grasp of human nature is unmatched

Candice Carty-Williams

Mottley’s tough, vital lyricism drives a fiercely compassionate novel about survival, hope, and love

Daily Mail

A big-hearted story ... Mottley’s refreshing, no-holds-barred approach sees her join the ranks of other Gen-Z novelists who are reinventing how motherhood is portrayed in literature

i paper

[Mottley] is excellent at capturing the mysterious quality of this neglected patch of Florida: its close, salty air, its turquoise waters and its white sands

Guardian

Striking

The New Yorker

A powerful story penned with a surprising maturity ... Quite extraordinary

Trip Fiction

Blistering, wise, empathetic ... Mottley has brought the physicality and pain and beauty of birth and new motherhood into the light

New York Times Book Review

Poignant without being saccharine ... This distinctive coming-of-age story is worth seeking out

Publishers Weekly

Blistering, wise, empathetic ... Mottley has brought the physicality and pain and beauty of birth and new motherhood into the light

New York Times Book Review

Poignant without being saccharine ... This distinctive coming-of-age story is worth seeking out

Publishers Weekly

Should be a cult classic

Elle

Breathtaking and gut-punching. Mottley’s world truly won’t leave me. I think about it almost every day

Candice Carty-Williams