Nightcrawling
A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
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4.1 • 266 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK • A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole” (Tommy Orange, author of There There).
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, TIME, GOODREADS
Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison
But while Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent—which has more than doubled—and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department.
Rich with raw beauty, electrifying intensity, and piercing vulnerability, Nightcrawling marks the stunning arrival of a voice unlike any we have heard before.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Prepare to be gutted by Leila Mottley’s poignant yet devastating debut. Teenager Kiara Johnson and her older brother, Marcus, are facing eviction from their Oakland apartment. Marcus dreams of becoming a famous rapper, but sweet, sensitive Kiara knows better. Without family to help the siblings out, Kiara turns to sex work, eventually becoming a key witness in a police department scandal. Inspired by true events, Mottley—a young Oakland poet who was practically the same age as her heroine when she wrote this book—finds beautiful words for the cruel economy of Kiara’s life. Nightcrawling can be heart-wrenching to read, but it’s even harder to put down.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mottley, Oakland's former Youth Poet Laureate, debuts with a bold and beautiful account of two Black siblings striving to thrive and survive. Seventeen-year-old Kiara and her older brother, Marcus, have been on their own since their single mother was convicted of negligent homicide three years earlier. When the landlord raises the rent on their Oakland studio apartment, Kiara grows desperate. Marcus is no help; he can't hold down a job while he chases dreams of becoming a hip-hop star. Kiara turns a few tricks—at first, just enough to pay the rent and buy groceries for her and the neighbor's son she's taking care of. But soon Kiara is caught up in a sex-trafficking ring servicing Bay Area cops, and her world collapses when the scandal goes public. Mottley powerfully chronicles Kiara's desperation and her bravery, as well as her determination to keep moving forward despite the crushing torrent of losses affecting her family as well as those of everyone she knows. Scenes of realism are rendered with a poet's eye, as Kiara experiences moments of beauty and joy by tagging an underpass wall with spray paint, learning to swim in a dirty pool, and finding shelter in the arms of a friend. This heartrending story makes for a powerful testament to a Black woman's resilience.
Customer Reviews
Heart wrenching and graphic…But
Heart wrenching and graphic story of the plight of trafficked young women with little hope. Huge kudos to such a young writer for shining a light on this. Still, I felt that there was something off in the writing, which switches between street talk and perfect grammar, making it less than authentic.
Good book
I did enjoy this book however I was slightly disappointed with the ending.
Heavy Work
Leila Motley’s debut novel is as raw and unnerving as they come. It reminded me of the movie “Requiem for a Dream.” It serves as an accurate and gritty representation of what life is like in the shadows and between the cracks. While also being a stern warning of how badly life can spiral in a few decisions. Overlaying all of this is an exploration sisterhood among women and what defines kinship.
Especially when faced with the choice of swallowing one’s pride or being consumed by it. As Motley portrays them, these lives are so broken they serve as an indictment against a country that would let youthfulness be destroyed because of greed and racism. So the choice is not really a decision between options but desperately grasping for some of what’s left while surviving the trauma of a patriarchal world.
Pulling no punches, Motley makes us accept the bitter truth of the outcomes of various plot threads. The perpetrators operate with impunity. Behind badges and guns that give them power over the voiceless. The marginalized move between gaps in the broader society hoping against hope for something to change. Speaking the truth, even if it amounts to little is the only power the disadvantaged have.