-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A Novel
by Lauren Morrow
A sparkling debut novel about a woman who must figure out whether being creatively fulfilled is compatible with being happily married, and what it means to be a Black artist in one of the whitest parts of America.
Thirty-something Layla Smart was raised by her mother to dream medium. But all Layla's ever wanted was a career in dance, which requires dreaming big. So when she receives an offer to be the choreographer-in-residence at Briar House in rural Vermont, she temporarily leaves behind Brooklyn, her job, her friends, and her husband to pursue it.
Layla has nine months to navigate a complex institution and teach a career-defining dance to a group of Black dancers in a very small, very white town. She has help from a handsome composer, a neurotic costume designer, a witty communications director, and the austere program director who can only compare Layla to Black choreographers. It's an enormous feat, and that's before Layla's marriage buckles under the strain of distance, before Briar House's problematic past comes to light, and before Layla finds out she's pregnant.
Little Movements is a poignant and insightful story that explores issues of race, class, art, and ambition. It is a novel about self-discovery, the pressures placed on certain bodies, and never giving up on your dream.
"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
"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
"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. It's a pitch-perfect satire for our socio-political moment." —Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
This information about Little Movements was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lauren Morrow studied dance and creative writing at Connecticut College and earned an MFA in fiction from the Helen Zell Writers' Program. She was a Kimbilio Fellow and an Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellow and is the recipient of two Hopwood Awards, among other prizes. Her writing has appeared in Ploughshares and the South Carolina Review. She worked in publicity at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and is now a senior publicist at Dutton, Plume, and Tiny Reparations Books. Originally from St. Louis, she lives in Brooklyn.
If you liked Little Movements, try these:
by Brandon Taylor
Published 2026
From the Booker Prize finalist and bestselling author: a perceptive novel about a gay Black painter navigating the worlds of art, desire, and creativity.
by Miranda July
Published 2025
The New York Times bestselling author returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and surprising novel about a woman upending her life
by Maame Blue
Published 2024
An internationally award-winning writer makes her triumphant American debut in this emotionally powerful story—a potent blend of Queenie and The Vanishing Half—about a woman's journey to uncover a foundational family secret from the childhood she does not remember.
At times, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
