Nightcrawling: A Novel [L0070]

2023 - PB Excellent condition. New York Times Best Seller, Oprah Book Club Pick. A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice "bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole", Tommy Orange, author of There There. A Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Time, Goodreads. Kiara and her brother, Marcus, are scraping by in an East Oakland apartment complex optimistically called the Regal-Hi. Both have dropped out of high school, their family fractured by death and prison. While Marcus clings to his dream of rap stardom, Kiara hunts for work to pay their rent-which has more than doubled-and to keep the nine-year-old boy next door, abandoned by his mother, safe and fed. One night, what begins as a drunken misunderstanding with a stranger turns into the job Kiara never imagined wanting but now desperately needs: nightcrawling. Her world breaks open even further when her name surfaces in an investigation that exposes her as a key witness in a massive scandal within the Oakland Police Department. Rich with raw beauty, electrifying intensity, and piercing vulnerability, Nightcrawling marks the stunning arrival of a voice unlike any we have heard before.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This novel is one of the most breathtaking, beautifully written novels I have read in years and I read a lot of novels. The author's use of poetic phrases and rhythmic, repetitive terminologies is soothing and plays beautifully into the story. The story itself tugs at your heart and inspires you to contemplate the viewpoint of others you may not be able to identify with. I loved hearing what the character was thinking and comparing that to what actually came out of her mouth. The book evoked empathy and a desire to be a better person in this world by actively listening to others and doing my best to take time when I am able to support others. Brilliant writing; there was not a word out of place."; "I am a 65 year old white lady; reading this story I learned what it's like to be a young black girl on the gritty streets of a major U.S. city. Mottley wisely told Kiara's story with minimal graphic and horrific scenes. She didn't need those scenes to get her message out. She allows the reader's imagination to take themselves into that pit of hell. This is a story of an epidemic that privileged people of our country rarely see. I highly recommend this illuminating story."; "Nightcrawling is a contemplation of what it means to be vulnerable, unprotected, and unseen, says the author, the 2018 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate, Leila Mottley, whose work has been featured in the New York Times and Oprah Daily. Nightcrawling is a 2022 Oprah's Book Club pick and was long-listed for the 2022 Booker Prize with 20-year Mottley, the youngest author ever to be named. Read this book, you'll be glad you did."