‘I wanted readers to see that people are more than the worst things that happen to them,’ says the California-based author, whose book was just chosen for Oprah’s Book Club.
Leila Mottley will turn 20 this month. Like most kids her age, she has her hobbies , she has her passions and she has her struggles .
That last part is based on a real scandal that shocked Oakland when it exploded in the news back in 2015 after one officer committed suicide and confessed what they had done in the note he left behind. Ultimately, I really didn’t want to interfere with the story because it is fiction, not a representation of the case. I had a foundation of knowledge, but I didn’t want true facts of different cases bleeding into the book. I wanted to create this character who would have narrative agency.
Q. At the start, Kiara has a tough life but she also has love and hope. Then the book gets darker and darker. Were you determined not to let readers off easy?
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