Nightcrawling

This incredible debut novel, Inspired by the true story of a 2015 sexual exploitation and corruption scandal involving several members of the Oakland Police Department, is an absolute gut-punch, heartbreaking and raw in the most visceral way.

The story centers on Kiara, a 17-year-old girl living in Oakland with her increasingly-absent older brother, Marcus. Due to the death of their father and incarceration of their mother, Kiara and Marcus are left to fend for themselves. As Marcus becomes more distant from his little sister, chasing his dream of becoming a famous hip-hop artist, Kiara becomes the “parental” figure in their strained relationship, spending her days looking for work in order to make enough money to stave off the ever-present threat of eviction, while also becoming the de facto caregiver for 9-year-old Trevor, their next door neighbor, often left alone for days on end by his drug-addicted mother. It is this very real need to keep a roof over their heads that propels Kiara to pursue every job she can think of, including asking Marcus' ex to hire her at the strip club where she tends bar. Unable to hire Kiara due to her being underage, this moment leads to a drunken “hookup” with a bar patron who mistakes underaged Kiara, who is still a virgin up to this point, for a sex worker. This is the inciting incident that leads Kiara to the revelation that she can make money through sex work, telling herself that “it's just a body.” From here the story leads into a series of events that thrust Kiara into the dark underbelly of Oakland and her abuse at the hands of those that are sworn to protect the city and its residents.

While this is the basic plotline, this book is not a truly plot-driven story. Leila Mottley presents a story that is an examination of the human instinct to survive and the events that shape our experiences and propel our decisions. This book has a lot to say about family, loss, violence, sexual assault, poverty, and survival, and the often forgotten marginalized communities that struggle to meet humanity's basic needs. It took me about 50 pages to really get into it, but after that, I could not put this down. I had to keep going; had to know exactly what was going to happen to Kiara and Trevor and Marcus. This is not a “fun” story to read, but it is a necessary one that everyone SHOULD read. Five stars from me!