Nightcrawling

Main characters are African American teens living in Oakland, California. White and Latino characters also.

Some very violent and potentially disturbing scenes, including the murder of an infant, an attempted suicide, and multiple rapes, including gang rape and rape at gunpoint.

Sexual intercourse is described in explicit detail multiple times as the main character performs sex work with different men. Hint of a budding romance between the main character and her best friend, another teen girl.

Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "bitch," "nigga," and "ass."

A pregnant woman uses crack and begs for "the rock and pipe" while giving birth. Teens smoke pot. Underage teens drink beer.

Parents need to know that Nightcrawling is the debut novel of Leila Mottley, the 2018 Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California, who began writing the book when she was a 16-year-old high school student. She was only 19 on the novel's publication day. Nightcrawling is an adult book -- not a YA novel -- but teens may be interested since the book is an Oprah's Book Club Pick, the author was named a New York Times Writer to Watch, and the main characters are teens. The novel tells the story of 17-year-old Kiara, a high school dropout who turns to sex work to pay the rent after receiving an eviction notice. Eventually, she's sex-trafficked by the local police. (The story is based on true Oakland events.) There are some very violent and potentially disturbing scenes, including the murder of an infant, an attempted suicide, and multiple rapes, including gang rape and rape at gunpoint. Sexual intercourse is described in explicit detail multiple times as the main character performs sex work with different men. There's a hint of a budding romance between the main character and her best friend, another teen girl. Strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "bitch," "nigga," and "ass." A pregnant woman uses crack and begs for "the rock and pipe" while giving birth. Teens smoke pot. Underage teens drink beer.