Women and Children First

A Novel

By: Alina Grabowski

Narrated by: Jordan Claire McCraw, Abigail Reno, EJ Lavery, Maria McCann, Veronica Giguere

“I am a big fan of Women and Children First . . . Alina Grabowski is an astute and limber narrative artist and I could read her prose all day long and never grow weary.”―Lorrie Moore, author of A Gate at the Stairs

A gripping literary puzzle that unwinds the private lives of ten women as they confront tragedy in a small Massachusetts town.

Nashquitten, MA, is a decaying coastal enclave that not even tourist season can revive, full of locals who have run the town’s industries for generations. When a young woman dies at a house party, the circumstances around her death suspiciously unclear, the tight-knit community is shaken. As a mother grieves her daughter, a teacher her student, a best friend her confidante, the events around the tragedy become a lightning rod: blame is cast, secrets are buried deeper. Some are left to pick up the pieces, while others turn their backs, and all the while, a truth about that dreadful night begins to emerge.

Told through the eyes of ten local women, Grabowski’s Women and Children First is an exquisite portrait of grief and a powerful reminder of life’s interconnectedness. Touching on womanhood, class, and sexuality, ambition, disappointment, and tragedy, this novel is a stunning rendering of love and loss, and a bracing lesson from a phenomenal new literary talent that no one walks this earth alone.

Confusing

Too many characters to remember, I could not keep up with them or the storyline.

depressing !!

Is life so sad that this author shares only garbage. This story was in my book club and I'm quitting my book club.

Interesting perspective, but confusing

I love books that tell the story from multiple characters perspectives, but this one had very little that tied the threads together in a way that makes easy sense to the reader. Particularly in an audiobook format, it was very difficult as there were no real segue from one to the next. That said the premise and the writing is good—it just needed better editing and could’ve been a lot shorter… But this one was unnecessarily long.

A little confused

This book left me wondering and confused. I liked the style of writing but the storyline and character connections are overwhelming and confusing.

Interesting structure

3.5 stars for Women and Children First- bumped up half a star for the really interesting structure of this book. It's the story of a teenage girl who dies in a tragic accident or possibly a suicide. It's told retrospectively from the women and girls who knew her. As each chapter opens you are introduced to a new character and don't know how that character will be tied into the dead girl. There are a LOT of new characters which might have felt overwhelming but didn't as the author takes her time with each character and really just tells their story without immediately tying it to the girl who died. In fact, I didn't even realize at first that each of the characters would be tied - even loosely- to the teenage girl who had died. It's a very compelling and unique way to tell this story. I do recommend it. And even though I wasn't fully invested in all of the characters I was curious enough to see how it played out. Trigger warnings of bullying, abuse of power, addiction and teen death. Recommend for readers who really appreciate an observatory story about human nature and don't need a grand plot or huge resolution ending.