Welcome to Litsy!

Note to self; stop reading books about teenagers making stupid choices Barbara, you‘re too old, you can‘t relate any longer.

Thank you Helen and Caroline for my birthday books which are brilliant choices! Just back from hols to a whirlwind of chaos in the house with painters and builders everywhere so retreating to bed early doors!! Thank you again @squirrelbrain @Caroline2 😘😘

Continuing on the trend of “I read this forever ago and neglected to review it” is this fab novel of teenage mothers. While some details have faded in the months since I read it, I vividly remember the fierce love these mothers had for their children. I also remember the rage I felt at the parents who booted their “sinful” daughter to the curb because she was pregnant and unwed at a young age. Super Christian values 🙄 Great characters!

“Young girls been having babies as long as there was babies to have. Meaning, forever. Not even a hundred years ago, nobody woulda batted an eye at me and my children, but things had changed. Somewhere along the walk of history, somebody decided we was a transgression to all things good and pure, and ever since then, despite the fact there‘s less of us now than there was a decade ago, politicians and pastors and regular folk always talking about

This month was really hard to pick. I also loved A Family Matter by Claire Lynch and Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee.
#readingbracket2025

Why do I not see more love for this book?! It was great. Add it to your tbr now.

No sophomore slump for Mottley, this book was every bit as good as her debut with perhaps an added layer of polish. A group of unwed, teenage mothers band together in small town Florida and provide each other the support that is denied them my their families and the community overall. They are still so young and making all the errors in judgement teenage girls do while trying to be the mothers their children need.

I really liked the authors debut novel and this one is even better, you can really see how the author has matured.

This one follows a group of teen mothers (The Girls) who live in a dead-end beach town in Florida. They have all of the usual teen angst - friendships, boys, parent issues, mixed in with bringing up their kids in the right way in a town that thinks they‘ve already failed.

I loved all The Girls and rooted for them all the way.

This story sucks you in, you immediately feel that you want to protect these girls who have been shunned by the whole town for the choices that they've made. These girls fight with and for each other and as the book progresses and dynamics shift, the story never loses its focus: The power of sisterhood and the female spirit.

One of the most beautiful stories I've read this year. The last chapter will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Motley continues to show a wisdom beyond her years in her second book, a story about teen moms supporting one another and they are largely abandoned and looked down upon by others. She shows a breadth to teen pregnancy many would want to believe doesn‘t exist, humanizing these girls. She does veer a tiny bit close to preachy, but this is excellent.

Been slowly chipping away at this for the past week (daughter had national exams last week and HS graduation on Saturday 🎉🥹). And it was tough to put this one down because it‘s SOOO good!

I finally got approved for this ARC and realized that this author wrote Nightcrawling, which I loved last year!

Can‘t wait to read this one 😊 #arc