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.

I finished Leila Mottley's Nightcrawling last night and it generated every emotion possible. First, a bit on expectations, content warnings and not reading blurbs. I try to skim over synopses - for fear of spoilers - and had not realised that the book was about prostitution and specifically, teen prostitution and sexual assault. I feel the term 'nightcrawling' was common in the 80s but I'd incorrectly assumed that this new usage would refer to something different.

It becomes clear within the opening paragraphs where the story is going and by then I was hooked, in a wake-up-before-dawn-so-I-can-read-for-an-hour kind of way.

Nightcrawling is about Kiara Jackson, a seventeen-year-old girl who is existing on the very edge of poverty and deprivation in Oakland, California. Her father is dead, her mother in prison and her brother is chasing impossible dreams of becoming a rap star. Kiara needs to eat, pay their rent and she kind of falls into prostitution.

This was never going to be a tale of cute scenes featuring morally grey men. It delves into the heart of the abuse and exploitation at the heart of prostitution before introducing the police officers who take that one giant step further.

As is always the case, the situation soon spirals out of control and Kiara's situation (and that of the child neighbour whom she supports) become ever more precarious.

Nightcrawling is a stunning, devastating book and one that will stay with me for a long time. Leila Mottley was just 19-years-old when the book was released and that is a huge achievement. I've seen some criticism of purple prose and unrelenting darkness in the book. On the latter, I agree, the book is very heavy and not a light read. But I personally disagree on the former on the basis that I am usually unable to get through prose too purple but found Nightcrawling incredibly readable.

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.