We follow the women and girls of a small coastal town after the suspicious death of one of their own. Through the narration, we follow how they perceive life and the world around them. Each interaction between them branches off into a new chapter and a new point of view. This book delves into some intense emotions and experiences of coming of age in a small coastal town during modern times and may break your heart a bit.

I read this book as an eARC from Netgalley. I was super intrigued but it just fell flat for me. This book is very character driven which I usually enjoy but I felt like I didn’t truly get to know the characters on a deep level or relate to them at all. This was all of the place and a bit disjointed for my liking.

As I began reading Women and Children First, I was eager to find out what happened to the characters. The story should be compelling, and since it was told by a number of characters, it could have been. Sadly, I was lost and confused through most of it…and I couldn’t connect with any of them.
This one earned three stars for me.

Alina Grabowski’s book Women and Children First is a new concept book that takes a very different approach to a tragedy by examining and looking for answers in those affected by the event and its repercussions. When Lucy, a young teen, is found dead at a house party the small town is shaken to its core. This book looks at 10 women in varying relations to Lucy and how they are affected, and what the consequences are surrounding their reactions following the tragedy.
While this innovative approach is intriguing, I found myself needing more information to make the connections between Lucy and the other characters make sense. Lacking those connections I did not feel the theme was fully developed and explored in a memorable way. I would still recommend this book as a case study in grief and felt many people - as teens, mothers, sisters would relate to many of the dynamics introduced. Thank you to the publisher, I received an ARC of this book and all opinions are my own.

"Women and Children First" by Alina Grabowski is a thought-provoking exploration of a high school student's death through the eyes of ten different women in her community. While the kaleidoscope of perspectives offers a unique and insightful view, the frequent shifts in viewpoint can be jarring, especially with such a large cast of characters. The narrative seems to focus on the impact of her death on the community rather than revealing the cause, leaving room for questions and interpretation.

Despite this, Grabowski skillfully weaves these diverse perspectives into a cohesive narrative that centers on a group of women who connect through Lucy's tragic fate. The novel reminds us of the interconnectedness of our lives and the profound impact we can have on each other, particularly in small communities.

One of the most powerful themes in "Women and Children First" is the vulnerability of young women in society. The novel highlights how societal pressures, expectations, and judgments can negatively affect their lives. Overall, this is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant novel that offers a unique perspective on the complexities of human relationships.

The book revolves around a young teenager's tragic death in a small Massachusetts town and the cataclysmic affect it had on 10 women who live there.
All the women had their own personal history that allowed them to associate their own trauma with this girl's death.
Reading the book was difficult because the narrative was fragmented and keeping the various relationships of the women with the victim and their connection with her was intricate.
In spite of all the relative topics that were addressed, the book did not have an easy flow for the reader. That may have been what the author was trying to achieve.......to make us all uncomfortable with the actual event.

3-3.5 stars
A girl dies under questionable circumstances. The book follows 10 women and girls, whose lives intersect hers, before during, and after her death. It seems like a good idea, but I had trouble keeping up with how they were connected to each other and to the dead girl, and with the jumps in the timeline. It made it a bit confusing and hard to connect to the characters. It might have helped if there weren't quite so many of them.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

The concept and idea were really cool, unfortunately, it felt a little flat for me because the characters felt quite shallow and distanced from me, the reader, like I could never completely grasp what was going on in their mind but never feeling like there was more behind it either. A meh read, quite forgettable.

This is a story told, it felt to me, by revealing only the negative space around one pertinent fact: Lucy Anderson has died.

From there the story rests in the before and after observations of ten women in her community - possessed of a variety of levels of closeness to Lucy. It was difficult for me to hold onto the slippery bits and became a losing battle to weave enough together to get a good idea of Lucy Herself. I was hungry for just a few moments with Lucy and that is what kept me to the end. And still. . .hmm. For me the POVs only didn't make the one quilt for which I was hoping. That left more questions dangling than I'm comfortable with at the end of a read.

*A sincere thank you to Alina Grabowski, Zando, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

"Women and Children First" by Alina Grabowski is a powerful and evocative exploration of resilience, community, and the bonds that hold us together in times of crisis. Grabowski's vivid storytelling and richly drawn characters create an immersive reading experience that lingers long after the final page. This book is a compelling testament to the strength and complexity of the human spirit.

I genuinely wish that I had enjoyed this book the way that I thought I would. It had so much potential, but the rotating door of introducing new characters with no time to truly connect with them fell so flat. It became incredibly confusing after a while and I began to forget characters that were introduced early on and the impact/connection they had to the story. I anticipated there to be an “aha” moment where everything came together, but it never really happened. This book was sad and showcased real life, but was too disjointed for me and I felt more confused at the end than I did the beginning, which did not seem intentional at all with the style of writing in the book.

Alina Grabowski is a beautiful writer, I would certainly try reading another story, this one just didn’t have the connection a story of this magnitude should have

I did not have time to read this book before the publish date but now that I have I gave it 3 stars.

Beautifully written story of the death of a young women in a small decaying coastal town. What makes the story so unusual is that it is told from the perspectives of 10 other town women. A realistic look into the relationships that develop in a group of women.

This book had a different writing approach than most of the others I’ve read recently. The story is told from ten different points of view. Somehow the author managed to weave all of these POVs into a coherent and compelling story. Recommended!

This story is told through multiple characters, centering around the death of a teenage girl and the consequences to her friends, family, and teachers. The writing is excellent and the different timelines and voices are skillfully woven with texture and emotional depth. There are ten character points of view, and I truly admire the author’s ability to make them all sound different. It’s a literary crime novel and a women’s fiction novel—dark and hopeful both. I had a hard time putting this one down and letting it go once I finished it. Highly recommended.

The book goes between POV and timelines but I really did not enjoy this one. Maybe it was the subject matter but it took a lot for me to finish it. It was hard for me to finish but I did.

4.5 rounded up

The only reason that they say “Women and children first” is to test the strength of the lifeboats.
- UNKNOWN (quote at the beginning of the book)

I bought this and then read it right away, and I’m so glad I did. So happy it didn’t sit languishing on my shelf.

This is a slower, meandering novel with absolutely stunning writing in it. I think I saved more passages here than anything else I’ve read so far this year. Told through multiple POV, each chapter from a different girl or woman in this small seaside town. A teenager dies at a party—and each person is connected to her in some way. I found every perspective so authentic to each character’s voice, almost like a short story in itself, I found myself wishing some would never end. It was clever to see how different people view the same people and situations differently and also the ways in which memory and experience can be so absolutely subjective, and how the truth of existence lies somewhere in the middle, between people, and we can never really touch it.

The mystery is at the crux of the novel, but it’s more about the character studies along the way. A literary fiction mystery, which are some of my favourite things to read. I loved this book, the setting, the writing. I think the only reason it wasn’t a five star read for me was because going from POV to POV takes some situating each time, can feel a bit uncomfortable to me. I think the structure was absolutely intentional to make a point but that doesn’t mean it’s the best reading experience it could have been. I’d have liked to read this book from shifting multiple POVs from just three of the characters I think. I’d have enjoyed spending more time with certain people instead of only getting glimpses of who they are.

But, that’s small potatoes. This book is excellent. Highly recommend to fans of slow going lit fic.

Women and Children First is an intricately, carefully webbed net cast over a barely-fictional coastal Massachusetts town at the time of its latest tragedy. We see the story through the perspectives of a varyingly-yet-undeniably connected group of women and girls, bearing witness to their inner worlds and their relationships. There are many fantastic meditations on grief and so much keen-eyed metaphorical language, though at several points I was pulled from the story by an awkward or inaccurate phrase (so much chin touching... how many people get someone else's attention by grabbing/lifting/etc that person's chin? Everyone in Nashquitten apparently. And a warm glass of wine wouldn't sweat!). Regardless of these small faults, I thoroughly enjoyed living in the world of this book--and it's not just because I live maybe 45 miles from where I'd place Nashquitten MA on a map.

Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski was a good read told from different perspectives. This book has deep themes and emotional pathways which lead to a well written story and fully realized characters.

I would like to thank NetGalley and SJP Lit for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.