Leila Mottley, the youngest author ever longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2022 for her debut novel Nightcrawling, has released a new novel titled The Girls Who Grew Big. The book follows a group of teenage mothers in the fictional Florida town of Padua, where they form an impromptu community led by 20-year-old Simone. Among them are 17-year-old Emory, who struggles with breastfeeding, and new arrival Adela, a champion swimmer exiled by an unplanned pregnancy.
The novel explores themes of solidarity and sisterhood against a backdrop of poverty and social judgement. However, a review notes that while the premise is potent, the execution falls into mawkishness and melodrama. The writing often becomes syrupy and gratuitous, contrasting with the lucid, politically pointed style of Nightcrawling.
Examples of excessive graphic content include the opening scene where Simone chews through umbilical cords during childbirth, and a later reference to a nipple-sucking favour. The Florida setting allows for dramatic set pieces such as a hurricane, a fallen tree closing a Planned Parenthood clinic, an alligator at a high school, and a beached orca, which the review describes as melodramatic rather than realistic.
Despite these criticisms, the review acknowledges moments of poetic clarity, particularly in capturing the atmospheric quality of the neglected Florida panhandle. Mottley's work as a doula informs the novel's focus on maternity, but the book ultimately fails to meet the high bar set by her debut.
