Women and Children First

A Novel

By: Alina Grabowski

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

“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.

©2024 Alina Grabowski (P)2024 SJP Lit

Hard to follow as an audio book

I would get into a section narrated by one character and understand the plot then it would flip to a different perspective and it made the book choppy. I read the story straight through but still found it hard to engage.

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 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.

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.

SJP really built this up… I was disappointed

Too many characters involved in the same story that never seems to go anywhere. This didn’t live up to the hype for me.

The Relationships of Mother’s & Daughters!

Such a sad story of loss and love told by ten different women in their own voices.

Women, their children, & the world they exist in

First off, do not go into this book thinking that you'll be following the plot line of a small town mystery and the death of a teenaged girl. You will not. Despite her being the center of the story, it's not really about Lucy. It's about a small town, any small town, probably yours, and the tragedy that strikes as seen by the women closest to it.

What's most striking about this story is how we all know these women. It's so easy to see people we grew up with here and we've probably all dealt with similar tragedies. The perspectives in the book all change, we see the characters through each others eyes, how they judge, or sympathize, or envy. How this death in their community impacts them, and then is left behind, relegated to 'that thing that happened that one time', like how a sea wall is broken by a storm. It just becomes part of the story, the every day.

Women and Children First is a beautiful example of the complex relationships between mothers and daughters and the world they exist in. Each characters is beautifully fleshed out, not just in their own chapters, but in the ways they interact with the other characters in the book. The narration for each was excellent, and it was clever to have different women portraying them.

From other reviews I can see people are disappointed by the lack of plot, or the short time with each character. I wasn't. It's a different format, certainly. But no less worthwhile. Highly recommend.

Please

Just could not do it. Read first few chapters but unable to stick with it despite trying to make myself.

Unforgettably chilling

Rabbit rabbit: literary art and diverse narration.

The writing format is neat and interestingly told mainly by women young and grown, with the chapters named after women. The reader must pay attention to the characters, and chapters as with all good mysteries.

This is a book for anyone; a timeless tale of growth, and moral consciousness.
American literature of our generation speaking of the historical public school age dilemma for males and females now. This is a story of boys, men, women, their son’s and daughter’s and the HS experience. This is not a charming romanticized tale rather it is foggy, dark and mysterious.

Poignant; witty; outstanding

Alina Grabowski is such an incredible writer that I have to read this in print too. Her characters have the depth that real women possess but so often are robbed of in novels. Grabowskis prose is magnificent and you find yourself wanting to rewind just to hear sentences and phrases over and over. love this novel so much!