Nightcrawling

Nightcrawling was generally well-received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist,{{Cite web |last=Eathorne |first=Courtney |date=2022-04-01 |title=Nightcrawling |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Nightcrawling/pid=9758925 |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=Booklist |archive-date=2023-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506001116/https://www.booklistonline.com/Nightcrawling/pid=9758925 |url-status=live }} Kirkus Reviews,{{Cite web |date=2022-03-01 |title=Nightcrawling |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/leila-mottley/nightcrawling-mottley/ |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=Kirkus Reviews |archive-date=2023-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506015626/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/leila-mottley/nightcrawling-mottley/ |url-status=live }} Library Journal,{{Cite web |last=Gorham |first=Luke |date=2022-05-01 |title=Nightcrawling |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/nightcrawling-1788425 |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Library Journal |archive-date=2023-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506001116/https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/nightcrawling-1788425 |url-status=live }} and Publishers Weekly.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-04 |title=Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593318935 |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=Publishers Weekly |archive-date=2023-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506001112/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593318935 |url-status=live }} According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on fifteen critics: nine "rave", five "positive", and one "mixed".{{Cite web |title=Nightcrawling|url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/nightcrawling/|access-date=16 January 2024 |website=Book Marks}}{{Cite web |title=Nightcrawling|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Nightcrawling.-a0715675787|access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Bookmarks}}

Booklist's Courtney Eathorne called the book's main character, Kiara, 'an unforgettable dynamo," stating that "her story brings critical human depth to conversations about police sexual violence."

Kirkus Reviews highlighted Mottley's writing, stating, "the real story here is lush, immersive writing and a relentless reality that crushes a girl’s soul."

Publishers Weekly noted how "scenes of realism are rendered with a poet’s eye" and concluded, "This heartrending story makes for a powerful testament to a Black woman’s resilience."

Luke Gorham, writing for Library Journal, wrote that Nightcrawling is "undeniably bleak but littered with small beauties and a powerful discourse on the dehumanizing effects policing can have on marginalized communities, bodies, and minds (and especially on Black women)." He concluded by stating, 'Mottley’s novel understands that sometimes a happy ending just means surviving."

In selecting the novel for Oprah's Book Club, Oprah Winfrey "said she was struck by Mottley's power to convey, in vivid and precise language, trauma, love, and everything in between," saying, "It always brings me joy to help introduce new writers to the reading community, and this young poet wowed me with her ode and elegy to Oakland, and her acute and insightful depictions of youth, injustice, the legacy of incarceration, and the resilience of community and chosen family."

Nightcrawling was an Oprah's Book Club pick in June 2022,{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-06-08 |title=Oprah's Book Club Pick: Nightcrawling |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4249 |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=Shelf Awareness |archive-date=2022-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717010338/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4249 |url-status=live }} and AudioFile included it on their list of the best audiobooks of 2022.{{Cite web |last=Milliot |first=Jim |date=2022-12-01 |title='AudioFile' Magazine's Best Audiobooks of 2022 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/91023-audiofile-magazine-s-best-audiobooks-of-2022.html |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=Publishers Weekly |language=en |archive-date=2023-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320194651/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/91023-audiofile-magazine-s-best-audiobooks-of-2022.html |url-status=live }}

{{reflist}}

• [https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-book-reviews-oakland-5d12830758b153ca200ac6e193ae76d3 AP News review]
• [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/02/nightcrawling-by-leila-mottley-review-a-dazzling-debut The Guardian review]
• [https://inews.co.uk/culture/nightcrawling-by-leila-mottley-review-an-extraordinarily-moving-debut-that-left-me-in-tears-1677189 iNews review]
• [https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/review/2022/05/30/nightcrawling-review-promise-but-no-fireworks/ Irish Times review]
• [https://www.liberreview.com/issue-1-2-her-story Liber review]
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/books/review/nightcrawling-leila-mottley.html The New York Times review]
• [https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/review-unflinching-tale-of-a-young-womans-path-to-oaklands-streets-is-inspired-by-headlines San Francisco Chronicle review]
• [https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/written-by-a-17-year-old-this-much-hyped-book-fires-on-all-cylinders-20220520-p5an3n.html The Sydney Morning Herald review]
• [https://www.thetimes.com/article/nightcrawling-by-leila-mottley-review-a-remarkable-debut-novel-jjvqmzn0p The Times review]
• [https://www.wsj.com/articles/fiction-book-review-peter-c-baker-planes-leila-mottley-nightcrawling-visitors-jessi-jezewska-stevens-11654263828 The Wall Street Journal review]
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/06/14/nightcrawling-leila-mottley/ The Washington Post review]

Category:2022 American novels

Category:Alfred A. Knopf books

Category:Novels set in Oakland, California

Category:Novels about lesbian topics

Category:2022 LGBTQ-related literary works