The Girls Who Grew Big

A Novel

De: Leila Mottley

Narrado por: AhDream Smith, Erin Spencer, Khaya Fraites

From the author of Oprah's Book Club pick and New York Times bestseller Nightcrawling, here is an astonishing new novel about the joys and entanglements of a fierce group of teenage mothers in a small town on the Florida panhandle.

Adela Woods is sixteen years old and pregnant. Her parents banish her from her comfortable upbringing in Indiana to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Padua Beach, Florida. When she arrives, Adela meets Emory, who brings her newborn to high school, determined to graduate despite the odds; Simone, mother of four-year-old twins, who weighs her options when she finds herself pregnant again; and the rest of the Girls, a group of outcast young moms who raise their growing brood in the back of Simone’s red truck.

The town thinks the Girls have lost their way, but really they are finding it: looking for love, making and breaking friendships, and navigating the miracle of motherhood and the paradox of girlhood.

Full of heart and life and hope, set against the shifting sands of these friends’ secrets and betrayals, The Girls Who Grew Big confirms Leila Mottley’s promise and offers an explosive new perspective on what it means to be a young woman.

©2025 Leila Mottley (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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, author of Room

“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

"The Girls Who Grew Big is a novel about teen pregnancy that brilliantly upends every reductive trope and platitude on the subject. With impeccable and breathtaking prose, Mottley takes us into the treacherous terrain where girlhood and womanhood collide, and where families and friendships fracture, and the lines between them blur. Simone, Adela, Emory and 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

The relationship between the “Girls”

I loved the book, will be reading more of this authors books. Love a black author

Raw, real, beautiful, poetic

Incredibly beautiful. Raw and poetic. Highly recommended, especially for a new mother. One of the best books I’ve listened to this year. Very well narrated

The different voices.

It was a good book and very realistic. We read it for the book club.

This is the first fiction audible I could follow along to!

I really like the storytelling in this book the different narrators made it easier to follow along a fiction book.

pregnant teenage girls in the armpit of Florida

4 stars for The Girls Who Grew Big. I liked this book a lot but I don't know that I was so over the moon for it like a lot of reviewers have been. It's the story of a group of teenage girls living in the "armpit" of Florida who are pregnant or have recently given birth and is told from the view point of 3 key narrators - Simone, Adela and Emory. The voice in this story is as authentic as it gets. I was 100% there for their little girl gang selling jungle juice to sunburnt tourists and struggling to separate from deadbeat baby daddies who are never going to change. There is a paragraph at the very beginning of the book when Simone talks about pushing the placenta out of her "coochie" that had me howling. And the depictions of Florida were legit. Themes of self worth, identity, and loving yourself are played out so beautifully in this story it hurts. Worth a read if you can handle the grim reality of life as a teenage mother in Florida with no support save for the other pregnant teenagers in the same sinking boat. There are moments of redemption and I truly enjoyed the ending. Narration was superb in this audio version!

Rawness

This was such a great listen. It really told the story of how young pregnant women are viewed by the world and how they view themselves. I love how raw and real each girl was, and how much they loved their children and each other!!!!!!

Phenomenal read! Girls and Women are Resilient!

The Girl Who Grew Big by Leila Motley was absolutely phenomenal! You can tell Miss Motley put in the work to deeply understand childbirth—her research and attention to detail was very present. The storytelling is rich with knowledge, emotion, and vivid imagery, taking you on a roller coaster ride of highs, lows, and everything in between. By the end, she ties every thread together beautifully, leaving nothing to the imagination. (Which I personally loved!)

Whether you’re looking for a quick read or something to savor slowly, this book delivers. You’ll walk away with greater knowledge, deeper empathy, and a renewed appreciation for the strength and resilience of women in the birthing process and motherhood. I wholeheartedly recommend this read. Continued success Leila Motley!

Family comes in all shapes and sizes

Such a beautifully written book about love, life and family. Ms. Mottley is a very talented writer. I look forward to her long career.

Heartbreaking, Raw, Pure

"Now folks aren't shocked when we show up with swollen stomachs. They're disgusted. They think we're stealing their welfare and ruining the image of god. They think we shouldn't have been so stupid."
_____________
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I binged this entire book in one day. The first few chapters were so impactful. I couldn't put it down. Heartbreaking, raw, and pure. This story is about young motherhood and a group of teenage girls who band together to raise their babies out of the back of a red truck. Sisterhood, complex relationships, difficult decisions, sad truths, hard learned lessons, all woven together in a relatable and moving novel.

Well done.

The woven story felt real. The characters were developed in the story. The overlap in their distinct lives felt real and believable.