Nightcrawling, by Leila Mottley

Nightcrawling is Leila Mottley’s debut novel and it’s an eye-opening read. She took inspiration from a high-profile case that took place in Oakland, California, which involved the sexual exploitation of many young girls by various members of the police department.

It tells the story of 17-year-old Kiara, who lives with her brother Marcus. Her brother Marcus is unemployed, trying and failing at making it big in the music industry. But with the risk of eviction from the ironically named Regal-Hi looming over their heads, Kiara is forced to take it upon herself to find work. From there, she stumbles into sex work. We learn about the hardships and abuse that she and her family go through in the impoverished part of Oakland.

This is an extremely difficult read due to the details of sexual abuse throughout. Leila’s extremely descriptive and almost poetic writing style imprints these images of abuse on your mind. However, the prose also helps to soften the extremely dark story. I didn’t personally enjoy the writing style but understand that it comes from Leila’s roots of writing poetry.

Leila does a great job developing the complex relationships that Kiara has with her best friend, brother, parents, and even her neighbours’ ten-year-old son, which is particularly heart-warming. She takes him in when he’s abandoned by his mother and cares for him so deeply - it’s very touching. But these relationships are strained as we see how Kiara is forced to take difficult decisions that ultimately lead to her abuse. It’s very bittersweet at times.

This novel helped me learn more about the struggles that many people in sex work go through, both in Oakland and in other communities, and I appreciate the way Leila tells the story without sugar-coating it. It was an extremely raw but refreshing approach.

In summary, this was a very difficult read but also gave an incredible insight into the daily battles that people in poverty and in sex work face. I would avoid reading it if you do have triggers with regards to sexual abuse and exploitation. It was well written, especially considering that Leila started writing the novel when she was only seventeen years old! Leila is an amazing young talent, and I can’t wait to read more of her work in the future.

Rating: 3/5

-Maisie

Hardback, £16.99.

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