The Girls Who Grew Big
Vivid
Deep
Expressive

The Girls Who Grew Big

Leila Mottley2025
Adela Woods is sixteen years old and pregnant. Her parents banish her from her comfortable upbringing in Indiana to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Padua Beach, Florida. When she arrives, Adela meets Emory, who brings her newborn to high school, determined to graduate despite the odds; Simone, mother of four-year-old twins, who weighs her options when she finds herself pregnant again; and the rest of the Girls, a group of outcast young moms who raise their growing brood in the back of Simone’s red truck. The town thinks the Girls have lost their way, but really they are finding it: looking for love, making and breaking friendships, and navigating the miracle of motherhood and the paradox of girlhood. Full of heart and life and hope, set against the shifting sands of these friends’ secrets and betrayals, The Girls Who Grew Big confirms Leila Mottley’s promise and offers an explosive new perspective on what it means to be a young woman.
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Reviews

Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
5 stars
Jul 28, 2025
Bold
Deep
Vivid
Honest
Eloquent
Powerful
Original
Expressive
Meaningful
Unforgettable
Thought provoking

Highlights

Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln
Photo of Lindsay
Lindsay@schnurln