Nightcrawling

This is a very rough and honest book. There is a lot of darkness throughout but Mottley's style kept it in balance to allow you room to still root for Kia and her family. The fact that this was written at the age of 17 is astonishing and I cannot wait to see what else Mottley brings to the table.

This is the first fiction book that I have read that actually feels truly real. I kept having to take a moment to remind myself that this is based on an actual investigation that occured in Oakland, but everything else is fictional. The amount of times I reached for my phone to look something up before remembering says it all.

Very highly recommend, just make sure you're in the headspace for some heavy topics before starting it up.

Nightcrawling tells the story of a young woman -- a girl, really -- who is thrust into sex work trying to make rent, and ends up being trafficked by cops. The story is set in Oakland, and inspired by the real-life scandals of sex trafficking by OPD officers.

The story is told from the point of view of Kiara, the victim/heroine. We see how easy it can be to be swept in by bad circumstances when you're living in poverty, with no support systems, always on the edge of homelessness or worse. Kiara is crushed by a broken and cruel system, and by the very people who are supposedly there to "protect and serve", but still she is able to retain her humanity, her soul.

It is astounding that Mottley is only 20 years old herself. Can't wait to see how her writing evolves.