This was a compelling, tragic story about family and the impact of corporate behavior on communities. While it is non fiction, the narrative is fascinating & never dry.

Mill Town
By Kerri Arsenault
Audiobook narrated by the author

Mill Town is many things: part memoir, part Maine history, part labor discussion, and part environmental awareness. Lots of parts.

The narrator, also the author, has a pleasing voice and is easy to listen to. She brings the book to life making the portions involving statistics and numerical legal codes as riveting as possible given the dry content. The overall story itself was full of interesting facts, insights into family relationships, and beautiful atmospheric descriptions. However, the frequent topical shifts seemed to be lacking a primary focus and this impacted how much I was able to enjoy it.

I would recommend this audiobook to anyone with interest in the history of the paper production industry, the history of Maine, and the relationship between local economy/ industry and environmental/ health concerns.

Thank you To NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for access to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

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I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this audiobook.

I know very little about this subject, which is why I decided to give this audiobook a shot. Unfortunately, for me it just was not narrated in a way that I could get drawn in. I found myself bored and uninterested and it just did not hold my attention. For some this might be a better read, but for me it just didn't work unfortunately.

Absolutely incredible nonfictional account of unsustainable development, poverty and environmental degradation with its consequences.

I listened to "Mill Town" on audiobook, which I think was an excellent choice because it is narrated by the author herself. This gives the book an inexplicably special and intimate element which I love - especially when the author is an actually good narrator like Kerri is. I'd highly recommend this edition.

The book itself was right up my alley; I'm really interested in sustainable development the study of poverty, so to me, Mill Town was as much of a case study as a fascinating read. In this book, the author tells the story of her rural paper mill hometown in Maine, in which life basically revolved around the mill, including her own family's life. However, during the 100+ years of operation, the paper mill significantly contributed to the environmental degradation, which also heavily impacted public health; in addition, the mill's decline meant a drastic economic decline of the town as well.

Kerri Arsenault is a brilliant storyteller who made me want to know more and more about Mexico, Maine, its people and socioeconomic development. At the same time, it's worth pointing out that it's not a particularly light or easy read, which is something to bear in mind when choosing this book.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.