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The Best of "Best Book" Lists

Leila Mottley

Adult

Novel

Fiction

Guide

Find words hidden in the grid and uncover the story's key themes.

Drag key events into the right order and rebuild the story from start to finish.

Test your knowledge — decide if each statement about the book is true or false.

Study Guide

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Overview

Get ready to explore The Girls Who Grew Big and its meaning. Our full analysis and study guide provides an even deeper dive with character analysis and quotes explained to help you discover the complexity and beauty of this book.

The Girls Who Grew Big Overview

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Background

The Girls Who Grew Big Background

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of racism, pregnancy termination, alcohol use, and sexual content.

Part 1: “First Trimester”

Chapter 1-Part 1, Chapter 8

The Girls Who Grew Big Chapter 1-Part 1, Chapter 8

Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of pregnancy termination, and sexual content.

Part 1, Chapters 9-15

The Girls Who Grew Big Part 1, Chapters 9-15

Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of racism, child sexual abuse, pregnancy termination, and sexual content. A collective narrator, representing all of the Girls, refers to this stage of pregnancy as “the moment of complete peace, “[t]he gentle lapping between waves,” and “a stomach swollen enough to rest a cup of tea” (151). As the baby grows to become a “truth demanding to be unleashed,” (151), the Girls grow aware of their unborn children and begin to anticipate the birth.

Part 2: “Second Trimester”

Part 2, Chapters 16-25

The Girls Who Grew Big Part 2, Chapters 16-25

Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of racism. This interlude, told from the first-person plural perspective, details the mingled fear and anticipation that pregnant young women feel as the time comes to birth their children into the world.

Part 3: “Third Trimester”

Part 3, Chapters 26-33

The Girls Who Grew Big Part 3, Chapters 26-33

Part 3, Chapters 34-40

The Girls Who Grew Big Part 3, Chapters 34-40

characters

Character List

The Girls Who Grew Big Character List

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Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of racism, pregnancy termination, and sexual content.

Character Analysis

The Girls Who Grew Big Character Analysis

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Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of racism and pregnancy termination.

Themes

The Girls Who Grew Big Themes

Content Warning: This section of the guide features depictions of pregnancy termination.

Symbols & Motifs

The Girls Who Grew Big Symbols & Motifs

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Important Quotes

The Girls Who Grew Big Important Quotes with Page Numbers

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Essay Topics

The Girls Who Grew Big Essay Topics

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Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of pregnancy termination and child abuse.

Book Club Questions

The Girls Who Grew Big Book Club Questions