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#12DaysofChristmas September #12booksof2022

A book about a young black teenager‘s struggle to survive when all the odds are against her. It is sad and brutal but there are moments of sweetness and hope. A very fine debut novel.

Last book of 2022. For a short novel this took me a long time to read. This book about a difficult subject was written well. Just not my cup of tea.

A devastating story of a teenage girl who is let down by everyone in her family and then forced by poverty to become a sex worker. The way she is used and abused is harrowing, and while she does experience love, too, her life as a whole is full of pain and loneliness. Like others have said, it‘s not a perfect novel but one that stays with you.

I'm torn about this novel. It addresses some big problems that aren't often addressed, at least not in a way that retains the humanity of the women involved, but it feels...young. It lacks the perspective and emotional complexity that comes (hopefully) with age. (Continued in comments)

While this book isn't perfect in its construction, it is a deeply moving story of one girl's survival and fight to do more, for herself and for those still in her life she cares about it.

I'm still blown away that this was written by a 17 year old and I can't wait to see what she writes in the future.

#adventrecommends @emilyrose_x

Kiara is a 17 year old dropout who lives alone with her dropout brother and keeps an eye on the 9 yr old living next door with his drug addicted mother. Their rent doubles when they are already behind. Her brother refuses to work hoping for a rap career instead leaving Kiara to keep a roof over their heads. The option she finds leads her to be taken advantage of and abused. A harrowing story I had to put down often to calm my nerves. Fantastic.

Finished this in 2 days. It‘s beautiful & awful, poetic & gritty, horrific, believable, sad but hopeful.

Based on real events, in 2015 Oakland PD made the news for exploiting teenage girls and then disappeared from the news cycle. A fictionalize account of a Black teenager who turns to the streets while trying to hold what‘s left of her family together.

Truly worth all the hype.

11-7-22: My 111th finished book of 2022! Exceptional story about Kiara, an almost 18 year old girl, trying to make a life for herself, her brother Marcus, and the boy next door, Trevor. Without her parents support, both gone for various reasons, Kiara tries to find a job but winds up nightcrawling. The Oakland police do not protect but take advantage of her age and use her for their own enjoyment. Based on real girls suffering this abuse of power.

^^p 107, confessing to a friend, β€œletting the streets have you.”

P 170 β€œnow we‘re sitting in a car running from things you can‘t run from and trying to forget that we are just babies who wanted to skate and walk around without no shoes.”

P 33 β€œMama used to tell me that blood is everything, but I think we‘re all out here unlearning that sentiment, scraping our knees and asking strangers to patch us back up.”

First-person POV of 17-yr-old Kiara fending for herself and her 9-yr-old neighbor Trevor in East Oakland. Wholly familiar yet unique character, other characters underdeveloped. Tender scenes of ear piercing, sudden swim. Second half w/ legal, social services feels less focused, less lived in. Who has the β€œluxury of f*ing up?” Teen forced to β€œgive up comfort for something stable and harsh” (p 120). Strong, confident debut by 19-yr-old author. 2022

17-year-old Kiara and her brother are barely surviving, and she is trying to shelter a young neighbor boy as well. All three are without parents, without help, without options. And as the situation becomes more dire, the siblings both slip into dangers that cannot be easily escaped. It is an impressive debut. The audiobook narrator was fantastic. Some of the prose at times is poetic, almost musical and listening really enhanced the experience.

I have more to say about the tagged book in my most recent video β€”

https://youtu.be/u39qpjpCVXU

Inspired by a true scandal about Oakland police officers having sex with underage teens, Nightcrawling is a gritty tale of poverty, drugs & sex work. It reminded me of books in the street lit genre that I used to read (Sistah Souljah; Omar Tyree etc). The voice of 17-year-old Kiara kept me listening to this audiobook, together with Joniece Abbott-Pratt‘s expert narration. Kiara is a memorable character, doing her best to hold her family together.

I listened to Nightcrawling while walking through a temperate rain forest yesterday.
Highlights from a three-hour walk through Stanley Park, Vancouver are linked below, but no talking about the book, just 3 minutes of ambient sounds together with images.
https://youtu.be/p2_8q759D80

The 4th I‘ve finished on the #booker2022 longlist, all on audio so far. I was into this the whole way.

Mottley is a little famous for being the youngest Booker nominee, at age 20, and for being really charming in televised interviews. She reimagines Oakland underlife from the perspective of a 17-yr-old prostitute. (Based on a nonfictional unprosecuted Oakland police-run prostitution ring).

Motley based this story off of a true case in Oakland, CA of cops taking advantage of underage call girls. She addresses the dangers that young girls & members of the trans community face. The main character, Kiara, turns to becoming a call girl at 17 since she could not find a job because she was a high school dropout. The story highlights the difficulties that unfortunately many young kids face: poverty, family incarceration, loss of a parent,

Best of September:

Nightcrawling: I was blown away by this book. To be so young and write a book that has hope in despair and moments of joy in hard living. It was hard and gritty and lyrical. One to watch for sure.

I‘m Glad my Mom Died: I had never heard of McCurdy before this book and can‘t imagine growing up as she did.

My next audiobook, based partly on a true story. Iβ€˜ll start tomorrow.

Mottley is 20 and made the #Booker2022 longlist. I enjoyed her interview by Trevor Noah in July: https://youtu.be/eHg9M80GThA

5🌟/5🌟

Looking forward to this one! Hoping to get to it this weekend. This was a #goodreadsgiveaway I just received! #beautifulcover And oh, yeah.... It's my 6th #litsyversary!

I should have known this book would be amazing before reading it based on Oprah's recommendation but I was still surprised. What really convinced me to originally read this book was the audiobook narrator. Joniece Abbott-Pratt is far and away my favorite audiobook narrator so I came for her. I stayed for both her excellent narration and the touching story of Kiara, and the many other women of color who suffer but fight, just like she does.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think I‘m over my little reading blip. Nightcrawling was hard but not bleak. The writing was excellent as was the audio. 4.5🌟 I enjoyed The Vanishing Half for #LMPBC 4 🌟 The JA mystery was better than the first and I was glad to be reunited with Quan & Justyce. Secret Sisterhood was meh. I think this is my plan for the upcoming week but who knows if that‘s what will stick.

The Seed Keeper
Dovetails in Tall Grass
Take My Hand
Mercury Pictures Presents
The Night Always Comes
The Unsinkable Life of Greta James
#littenswanttoknow

Given the complex themes and heavy subject matter the narration felt a little one-note at times. This book, though, is so layered, nuanced and compelling with such masterful prose that the unwavering narration made it easier for me to process.

At 20-years-old this is Mottley‘s debut novel. I can‘t wait to see where she goes from here.

27 Aug-10 Sep 22
#Bookerlonglist 4
An impressive debut with interesting, albeit frustrating, characters and strong writing.
Kiara and her brother are struggling to keep afloat having lost both parents (one to prison) and dropped out of school. With her brother increasingly absent, Kiara stumbles into streetwalking and sexually exploited by the Oakland police department.
Uncomfortable to read and a bit uneven, this nonetheless leaves an impression.

A tough read at times & took me a few pages to get into but so rewarding. This more than lived up to the hype. The writing is strong, the perspective is fresh and the characters feel real. I was cringing at some of her decisions but that‘s a sign of being invested in the story & characters. It felt authentic & highlighted the barriers faced by the poor, but kept focus on the story. Uneven but brilliant debut.

Nightcrawling is a remarkably affecting debut from a particularly young author; a novel which promises that there are great things to come. Mottley's narrative is authentically voiced, in a way that sometimes reflects the messy complication of difficult decisions in an unforgiving world. I felt that Mottley wasn't quite sure how to wrap up story and so while the narrative built in the first 2/3s of the novel, the final third felt a less purposeful

And hold #3 has come in the space of a day.

https://youtu.be/Kuh1uccs6to

#kenyanreadathon

A playlist of all episodes in the Bite-sized Book Chat series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU-61cZp1pQdBH5V0Zb9q-2ujl4PY8nhf

Chat #1: with Alex from Hamilton, Ontario

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

Chat #2: with Leah from New South Wales

All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews

Another debut from the #Booker2022 longlist that I liked (or maybe appreciated is more apt?), but didn‘t love. I was hesitant to read this because of the difficult subject matter, but I‘m glad I did. Mottley tells an important story with skill and sensitivity.

Not sure that reading this right after a novel about a woman dying of cancer (Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies) was a smart choice. My heart is heavy. Booth is up next.

I‘m a bit speechless. This book is excellent and heartbreaking. I didn‘t realize it was based on a true story until I heard the author‘s note.

It‘s no surprise lots of people don‘t trust the police when things like this happen. πŸ’”

Raw and powerful, it‘s astounding that this was written by a teenager. Based on a true story, this deals with some dark subjects and the author really draws you in to the story. Number 5 from the Booker prize longlist that I‘ve read so far

Audio fiction tends to bore me & I find myself thinking of other things. It‘s a rare book/narrator that can hold my attention. This story succeeded in all ways. As others have mentioned, it‘s written by a teenager but I didn‘t know that going in & never would have guessed. The central drama is based on a true story & sadly I was not surprised by that at all. Teenager Kiera trying to navigate some terrifying situations & my ❀️ was with her 100%.

An extraordinary novel with writing that‘s really powerful, beautiful, incredible. The storyline is distressing - inspired by the Oakland Police Department‘s sexual exploitation of young women - but the writing makes you want to read all of it. The tempo, dialogue, it‘s raw and eloquent. Can‘t wait to see what Leila Mottley does next.

Ho. Ly. Crap. How was this book written by a teenager? Teenagers should not be able to write this well and should never have to know about these things. I‘m absolutely shaken. This book is extraordinary, and would have been regardless of the author‘s age.

#bookspin

This is one of those books that puts me right in the shoes of the main character. I could visualize her environment, feel her desperation, and yearned for some relief from it all. Experiencing these horrible circumstances on the page is of course nothing like the realities faced by, in this case a character who‘s based on a young woman who experienced these actual events. Underage sex, poverty, corrupt law enforcement, child neglect.

For a first book, this is well done. At times the story seemed to have random elements, but the overall plot line is compelling and the characters are well developed. Everything is stacked against Kiara who never is given the chance to be a child. She has to not only be responsible for herself, but takes on others when the adults in her life let her down. She quickly gets in over her head while simply trying to survive.

Thankfully it is a slow Monday and I could shut my office door because I had to finish the last 50 pages of this! A gritty, fast-paced story. The relationships stood out. How could you not love Trevor? There was a bit of emotion missing for me until the last bit. Not sure if this will make it to the shortlist, but glad I read it. 1/13 complete for #Booker2022 Longlist

#BookerLonglist2022 - Book 5

This is the kind of book I totally expect the Booker judges to choice bleak, dark and with an ending that promises little hope for the future. That said this is loosely based upon a real case the author has taken a news article and imagined a life for the girl in that news article, how did she end up Nightcrawling and what is likely to happen once events inevitably unfold

#BookReport 31/22

Just two books this week, I have been insanely busy at work. Good ones though!

I can‘t believe this story is based on a true one. Call me naive or maybe things are different across the ocean but I was shocked to find out. Kiara‘s story is so bleak. All alone she fights like a lioness to protect the people she loves. Fighting against the system, against a police force that‘s supposed to protect her, against racism. Leila Mottley presents us a girl who should be a hero instead of a victim. #BookerPrize2022

(Pic: Me & my girl)

#WeeklyForecast 31/22

It‘s my turn to host #CampLitsy so I‘m reading this month‘s first book, Either/Or. I also want to read as much nominated books for the #BookerPrize2022 as I can get my hands on! I already had a copy of the tagged book. And I want to read the little Kawakami that @Megabooks sent me ❀️

#UnpopularOpinion
A truly sad, poignant and timely novel. I have much respect & admiration for Leila Mottley for shining a spotlight on how brutal life can be for young brown & black women. Reading about their daily struggles was heartbreaking but this book had some rough spots. A worthwhile read yet left me slightly disappointed after seeing and hearing all the stellar reviews.

Holy shit, this is extraordinary. Leila Mottley is a preternaturally gifted author who has shown wisdom and maturity FAR beyond her years. My heart is broken for these girls and I so appreciate the tenderness and care Mottley has shown them. Just phenomenal.

Based on a true case of an exploited teen sex worker in 2005 the prose and characterization are so well done!

Usually I write my thoughts on a book. But this time, it is going to be a bit different. I will express thoughts, but not on a tangent I usually ponder. After reading Leila Mottley's phenomenal debut novel NIGHTCRAWLING, the first thing that came to my mind is privilege.....(continued in comments)

Kiara Johnson comes from a difficult background, an errant mother, no father in the picture and a brother who would rather spend time in the recording studio than help his family.
Life pretty much falls to Kiara including trying to help another local kid Trevor with a similar family situation.
With little options and job avenues open to her Kiara starts "Nightcrawling with disastrous consequences.
She attracts the notice of the police who use her.

Kiara Johnson has never had the opportunity to actually be a child or a teen she has always had to be the responsible one in the family.
Now she is trying to help a local kid, Trevor in a similar situation with an absent mother.
In desperation she starts street walking but the day she gets picked up by the local police her life changes into one of being at their beck and call for obscene purposes.
Is she brave enough to escape this life?