Little Movements

“Lauren Morrow’s debut urges us to take charge of our own narratives and resist the pressures to conform, no matter the cost. It’s a beautifully wrought tribute to all that inspires us to move, and a necessary reminder that, though missteps and stumbles are inevitable, they’re only a part of life’s wondrous dance.”—Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck

“Little Movements is a triumph—a story of self-discovery and reinvention that’s written with energy and distinctness, humor and heart. Lauren Morrow is a writer I’d follow anywhere.”—Julie Buntin, author of Marlena

“With writing as moving, exhilarating, and nuanced as dance itself, Little Movements is gorgeously imagined and deeply important. Its details are so correct and meaningful—about love, art, race, family, loneliness, and love—that they will break your heart and put it right back together again. I will never forget this one. Ever.”—Jessica Soffer, author of This Is a Love Story

“A sparkling debut, incisive and funny, moving and startlingly real . . . Morrow’s voice will linger in your head whenever you aren’t reading and beckon you back to Layla, her world, her troubles, and her triumphs. This is a novel that is not to be missed.”—Naima Coster, author of What’s Mine and Yours

“Constantly surprising and darkly hilarious, Little Movements traces the heartbreaks and triumphs of the Black artist’s life, with a sharp eye on what lurks behind an opportunity and how to make the most of it anyway. . . . A pitch-perfect satire for our socio-political moment.”—Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

“What makes Little Movements so necessary is Morrow’s thoughtful, deeply felt examination—by turns frustrated, furious, and frank—of what it means to be an artist of color amid the constant pressure of representation.”—Peter Ho Davies, author of The Fortunes

“Morrow writes about dance as only a dancer could—energy boundless, words pulsing on the page. In her capable hands, every movement—like a moment, or a friendship, or a city—becomes as expensive and perilous as young love, while capturing the pitfalls, and the explosive joy, of making art while Black.”—Rob Franklin, author of Great Black Hope

“Morrow’s tender debut traces a Black woman’s rocky path to becoming an artist. . . . Morrow leavens the heavy themes of grief, insecurity, and racism with Layla’s sharp, self-deprecating humor. . . . It’s a poignant tale of self-fulfillment.”—Publishers Weekly

“A thoughtful, engrossing first novel.”—Kirkus Review