Nightcrawling

Switching gears entirely from beach reads and memoirs over to something darker. Another completely blind read for me, Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley.

Goodreads Stats

Why I Read This Book/How I Heard About It

I'm going to share something a little embarrassing with you: the reason I have read several of the books on my list blind so far.

OK, so you might know the author, John Green, who has written books such as The Fault In Our Stars and The Anthropocene Review. John Green is an author I enjoy, as he inserts a lot of humor into his stories, even if they deal with heavy subject matter like kids dying of cancer and such. He also happens to live in Indianapolis.

So, when I found this local treasure on TikTok, I started to follow him. In one TikTok video, he did one of those bracket challenges where you nod your head to one side or the other to make a selection and this one happened to be about bestselling books. I studied that video and wrote down every single title that John Green chose (many of them with small exclamations about how great they were and how difficult the decision was for him to make).

This is the first of what I will call my "Unofficial John Green Recommendations". I added them to my hold list in Libby with zero information about any of them, other than the fact that John Green liked them and that's good enough for me!

Basic Summary

As mentioned, I had no idea what to expect from this book. Once again, I didn't even read the back cover. Just pressed "play", hoping for something great. Luckily, this one lived up to the John Green hype!

The main character, Kiara, lives with her older brother, Marcus, in a rundown East Oakland apartment complex. Because their family is plagued with death and prison, Kiara and Marcus are high school dropouts, looking to survive the best way they know how: Marcus believes he can become a famous rapper. Kiara, pressured to step up and be the "adult" looks for any jobs she can find to make ends meet. Kiara also serves as a de facto substitute mother for the nine-year-old kid next door, who has been abandoned by his mother.

A terrible drunken misunderstanding leads Kiara into a life of prostitution. One abuse after another leads to her becoming a key suspect in an investigation of the Oakland Police Department.

First Impressions

Excellent writing and a likeable and relatable main character sucked me in right away. I could see this book was going to be a bit heavier than what I'd been reading (chick lit and beach reads) but the change in tone and weight of a story is nice sometimes.

Final Thoughts

This book was so well-written. The events Kiara experiences all feel real and unavoidable and each step in her downward journey dovetails right into the next. It's so easy to see how a person with high hopes and a bright outlook can little by little and step-by-step devolve into a nightmare situation.

With multiple storylines happening at once, the reader's heart is pulled in so many directions. The panic and fear that the characters feel is palpable. This story shines a light on how small things can pile up and lead to tragedy, but also highlights the fact that it isn't always a person's fault. Things happen and sometimes those things really suck. I don't want to ruin the story or give away the ending, but I'll tell you that this book is so much about relationships...and that part of the story is beautiful.

I hesitate to say anymore because this is one of those books that you have to experience. I recommend you do.

Rating on Goodreads

I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars. One of the few books I've read this year that rated top notch for me.

My rating method:

• I rarely rate books 5 stars. I save this for the absolute best books I've read. You know the ones...the ones that you can't get out of your head, even after you've finished them. The ones you think about for weeks afterwards.

• If a book is really, really good, I'll give it 4 stars. If you see a 4-star rating from me, I'd definitely recommend it to you to read.

• If it's just OK, it gets 3 stars. Basically, it means I could take it or leave it. I'd probably read it again because it wasn't terrible. But not like a favorite or anything.

• If I rate it 1 or 2 stars, I would not recommend anyone read it. It either didn't hold my interest or I couldn't relate to the characters/plot.