Leila Mottley, a young debut author, provides readers with palpable images of Oakland, where Kiara, the first-person storyteller, lives. Kiara provides a sordid picture of the housing complex she reluctantly calls home. She emphasizes the pool as being filled with feces and sets the stage for unpleasant waters in her part of the city. But, of course, beautiful, attractive waters surround the more picturesque parts of Oakland, and the extreme differences between the haves and have-nots are apparent. Kiara and her friend Alé stage “funeral days” on which they pretend to be mourners and steal food and clothes from funeral homes. After desperately trying to obtain legitimate employment, Kiara compromises her integrity in various ways to meet her basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter. The incredible writing made me sympathize with her difficult decisions throughout the story.
Nightcrawling refers to working the streets at night, and Kiara does just that. When she is seventeen, parentless and responsible for her older brother, Marcus, and a crackhead neighbor’s child, Trevor, she prostitutes herself to avoid being evicted from her seedy apartment. Marcus is determined to make it big with his music. Although he has Kiara’s fingerprint tattooed on his neck, indicating an everlasting devotion to her, he abandons her with his refusals to find work and contribute to their living expenses. The fingerprint seems like a character at times since its movements describe the pulse of his feelings and the status of his relationship with his sister.
When the Oakland police officers notice Kiara on the streets, instead of charging her with prostitution, they use her services for their benefit. She becomes part of a sex trafficking ring and provides sexual entertainment for multiple members of the Oakland PD. When word gets out that the police are involved in such illicit activity, Kiara attains an attorney, Marsha. After some hesitation, Kiara trusts Marsha to defend her against the police, and real-world drama ensues.
I highly recommend this modern story of factors related to young adult survival without family or financial means. Add tenuous societal safety nets and police corruption, and this novel presents an incredibly realistic story. Kiara’s story is so much more than having been robbed of childhood by poor parenting. It portrays the helplessness and disappointment experienced because of a broken system.
I am most grateful to Penguin Random House and Goodreads for providing a copy of this book.
