A very interesting book about this girl named lucy and how she died in the book and everybody had different opinions why she died. It was told by different women in this book. Everybody had a chapter Named after her and they told the story through.They are perspective why this happened. It was really interesting to look at.How these social media came about and how I can destroy people. Lucy was gonna be a great artist, but she wanted to have some freedom too.. It was interesting.When one of the girls went to new york to visit her grandfather who raised her as a child. Lucy always wanted to go to new york and lose her virginity. So they decided they were gonna do it for her but nothing ever happened. The older sister was a hell raiser. Her mother left her to go live in california when she divorced her father because she couldn't take it anymore. I like the bar scene when they're all working. But this start to go away because they opened a new bar down the street. It was interesting how they described lost an especially south station. Like how the older sister reacted to Lucy.Because she was going to camp and how she was starting to change. Things become very difficult in high school for lucy but she made a go of it. I think this is an interesting book. On the title called women and children first. The women were talking about their lives but also about the children who were involved in this book. The ending is very different and you'll find out why.

Alina Grabowski's "Women and Children First" is a poignant exploration of grief and community dynamics in the decaying coastal enclave of Nashquitten, MA. Through the lens of ten local women, Grabowski weaves a gripping literary puzzle that unravels the private lives intertwined by tragedy.

Set against the backdrop of a small Massachusetts town where locals have long held sway over its industries, the novel unfolds with the mysterious death of a young woman at a house party, leaving the community reeling. As mothers mourn, teachers grapple with loss, and friendships are tested, blame is assigned and secrets buried deeper, revealing the complex interplay of emotions and relationships.

Grabowski skillfully delves into themes of womanhood, class, sexuality, ambition, and disappointment, painting a rich and multi-layered portrait of life's interconnectedness. Each character's perspective adds depth to the narrative, offering a compelling glimpse into the diverse experiences and struggles within the community.

While "Women and Children First" is a beautifully written exploration of love and loss, it occasionally falters in its pacing, with some plot points feeling rushed or underdeveloped. Despite this, Grabowski's talent shines through, making this novel a thought-provoking read that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.

Overall, "Women and Children First" is a compelling debut from a promising new literary voice, offering a poignant reminder that no one navigates life's trials and tribulations alone.

We get to know high school student Lucy through the people in her life both before and after her untimely passing. I enjoyed the writing style, which was more like an interconnected set of short stories than a sequential novel. Although some of the characters felt repetitive (like they had the same personalities), I felt like I was really getting a glimpse into their lives, their thoughts, and their relationships.

I had a hard time with the first half of the book - I found the plot a bit hard to follow, but I caught on eventually, and I’m not sure I’d say the plot is the point here. Each chapter (and they are long chapters) is told from a woman’s POV (some of them are high school kids). As you read, you’ll start to see how they’re all connected, even if they don’t know each other, not just through Lucy but by virtue of existing in a small town.

I think you might like this one if you enjoyed the Lucy Barton books from Elizabeth Strout, or Jhumpa Lahiri’s book Whereabouts.

This book followed a unique structure, in which each of the 10 chapters was told from a different female narrator. It's definitely more of a character-driven story, which can be hit or miss for me. I ended up really liking this one, but I also wanted more from some of the women's stories.

The person that connects each chapter/character/story is Lucy, a high-school student that meets a tragic end. Each one of the narrators had some type of connection to her, with the book starting out with those that had the most distant connection and working through people that had a stronger connection to her as the book continued, finally ending with the chapter told from the perspective of Lucy's mother.

Despite Lucy being what connected everyone, each chapter gave us a deeper glimpse into the narrator's life. While there was always a Lucy tie-in, she wasn't the full focus of each story. The book covers so many different issues and touches on so many of the struggles that women endure, as well as the way people handle tragedy and grief.

In some ways this felt like a book of short stories with one central theme tying them together, but the crossover of some characters making appearances in each other's stories helped the whole thing to feel more cohesive. That said, I wish I would've made notes about each character's name and some defining things about them, because if a character from story 2 was mentioned again in story 7, I might not remember exactly who they were or what their backstory was anymore. It became easy to mix people up at times, especially since some characters were not mentioned for several chapters and then suddenly popped up in someone else's story.

The book was really well-written and I found myself eager to see where it would lead. I did really like it, but I really wanted more from some of the stories. Some of them really felt like they were leading to something - like the whole chapter was building up to something, and then it would just...end. I wouldn't go so far as to call the endings abrupt, but some of them did feel unfinished. And I was a little frustrated that by the end we still didn't really know for sure what caused the actions that led to Lucy's death. I do think this was left open-ended on purpose, especially since different characters in the book had different ideas and perspectives on it. The cause of her death wasn't really a central issue that was meant to be revealed at the end, but because so much of the story focused on it, I thought we might learn something more by the end. That said, I wanted to know more about several character's stories and what ended up happening to them, so leaving the reader to form their own ideas or thoughts about it must have been the author's intent.

I think there's a lot that could be unpacked with this book and it would make a great book club or buddy read book and result in lots of great discussions.

Thank you to Zando / SJP Lit and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Although I requested it several times I was never able to get this title on my Kindle from Netgalley. I will not be request any more novels from them. This was one I really wanted to read, but now retired I don't have much discretionary spending at my disposal.

Sometimes, Alina Grabowski's novel Women and Children First was too complex. But, it is a superbly written story about the POV of ten women who lose one of their own, Lucy. The setting is a small ocean town in Massachusetts where people of different social and economic classes mingle and try to carve out life or plan to flee at the first chance.

A small town setting made me assume everyone knew what was going on, what everyone thought and felt. AG's skill in slowly unfolding the myriad layers of life makes this a profoundly wise novel about women.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Based around the story of a teenage girl who died, this book is split into the stories of 10 women, who all in some way have a connection with the girl.
I enjoyed this book as each voice is unique and offers a different perspective into what was going on around the time of the girls death.
I enjoyed the style of writing and would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a slow paced character driven book.

I found juggling these different characters a bit confusing, but ultimately stuck it out because I liked the writing. I would read another book by this author in the future.

Normally I don't enjoy multiple POV for a story, but this one worked so well. I really enjoyed getting to know each and every character we got introduced to as a reader. Alina Grabowski is such an amazing writer, and I can't wait to read more from her because Women and Children First blew me out of the waters. What a fantastic debut.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Women and Children First! I was hesitant at first - ten sections from 10 different women, getting their perspective on the same event (a tragedy, no less) sounded repetitive. But this was so wonderfully done and intricately plotted. I love that the writing was slow but the division of perspectives made it feel much shorter or easier to get through. I really enjoyed this one, my only note was that the different names and characters did get confusing by the end, but I'm also probably to blame for not keeping up. Looking forward to seeing more from Grabowski!

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski. I had high hopes for this book, but sadly it fell short for me. I was expecting more of a mystery and suspense, but it seemed to focus more on the characters in the story than the death of Lucy. The book is centered around the death of Lucy, a high school student and is told through stories of women who are connected to each other and to her. To me this felt disjointed and I was unable to connect with the characters or feel their emotions. The book was well written, so this is definitely an author I will give a second chance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing an advance copy of Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski. This was a tough one for me. Not just because of the subject matter, but also because of the constantly shifting point of view and timeline. It felt a bit chaotic as it bounced from perspective to perspective throughout the time surrounding a young girl named Lucy's tragic death. This is perhaps what Grabowski intended as a way to make the reader feel like our various narrators as they navigated the difficulties of being a woman (or girl) dealing with class struggles, sexual awakenings, drug addiction, and other indignities of life. I believe there's at least one perspective in here that every woman can relate to; it could be the tough school principal o her daughter, Lucy's mom or best friend, or other women that came into Lucy's orbit at some point in her short life.

Despite feeling a bit of whiplash while reading Women and Children First, I still enjoyed the overall experience. It is full of tough truths, but that's what it's like to grow up as a woman in America. I would stay away from this one if you don't like talk of suicide, addiction, and sexual assault.

5 Stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando Projects for sharing an advance copy of WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST.

I was captivated by this story of a high school girl's death, and the waves her untimely passing made in her small town. Set in Massachusetts, the novel follows ten different girls/women, all written in the first person. There are echoes of Elizabeth Strout's OLIVE KITTERIDGE and Jennifer Egan's A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD.

Grabowski's strength lies in the voices of these characters - I found her writing to be witty, wonderfully specific, and a bit cynical. There are a lot of clever observations in this novel that will appeal to readers who focus on voice over plot. As the book progresses, we learn more about Lucy and how she died, and the characters form a chorus revealing the different ways grief reverberates through the town.

Overall, a compelling and kaleidoscopic examination of a tragedy and of the inner lives of women.

I was initially perplexed by this book and honestly was only going to stick it out for the sake of seeing where the book went, if it went anywhere at all, and I am glad I did, because the writing seemed to me to improve as the book continued.

Women and Children First is a non-linear story told from the perspective of 10 different girls and women in a small, economically depressed, Massachussetts town somewhere outside of Boston. Each of their stories focuses to a degree on a local high school girl who has died at a house party under questionable circumstances and each of their stories reveal how they are interlinked to each other.

I appreciate books that weave a web like this, showing the small and big ways we are connected to and impacted by each other. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo is an excellent example of this manner of story telling. Unfortunately Women and Children First does not quite deliver quite the same way mostly because the beginning chapters are written in such a vague and disjointed manner that it's very hard to tell what is even going on. I felt like everyone was making random declarations, suddenly dropping things, lying for no reason, because maybe that is the only way the author can convey that many of these women/girls have underlying psychological issues stemming from their circumstances or otherwise? I have no idea but it made the first almost hundred or so pages very hard to read. In the first chapter there is an almost laughable exchange between characters about lying about liking Dunkin Donuts. Maybe a Boston area in-joke that falls flat?

I found that the most compelling characters were the adult women, particularly the mother of the girl who died. It's not that teen girls can't have compelling stories to tell, it's that the author was writing them as if teen girls are just assholes who do things that are nonsensical and that's it. Underlying motivations were only superficially examined. Because of this manner of writing, the actual death of the girl who this book focuses on was very confusing and underwhelming. I think the goal of this was to focus on the aftermath and how people are affected by a death in their community, particularly that of a child, but it would have been more impactful if the death itself were more clearly explained. I had to read it twice to even understand what exactly happened.

While the perspective of her mother was very well written, the one part that made very little sense was the big reveal of the secret life that the girl who died led. It was effectively not a reveal at all and then the book just ended. Sometimes it works for a book to end on an open ended note like that, but this was just a huge let down.

My minor complaint about this book is there is a brief segue to New York City and I am fairly certain there is no way the author has been to NYC, at least not in the past several decades. This book clearly takes place in the present yet the girl who goes to NYC somehow is hanging onto a subway strap which haven't existed for 20+ years.

I am rounding this up to 3 stars from 2.5 because there were some chapters which I really enjoyed.

Many thanks to Zando Projects/SJP Lit and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This review is my honest opinion.

An interesting character study especially on tragedy, community, and mother-daughter relationships! This novel was Thought provoking and I marked quite a few lines.

We get 10 different character POVs, we get to know some of them more than others but even then it still felt too short to really get to know anyone especially well. I didn’t like some character’s chapters compared to others and was left with a lot of unanswered questions.

I finished this in 2 days! I was so engaged and pulled into the lives of these young girls and women. We don’t ever really get answers but it makes sense for the book. Also even though there’s a lot of characters to keep track of, you get POVs from characters on the outer edges (not as close to the girl who passes) which adds depth and shows just how far the ripples of tragedy go in a community!

Dark, emotional read but despite this there were still some beautiful moments too. Overall I’d highly recommend if you like character driven, stories centered on a small community coming together, through the perspective of its women and teens.

I’ll be sharing my review on IG and TikTok in the next few days and update my review here once I do!

TW/CW: adult/minor relationship, sexual assault, death, cancer, emotional abuse, drug use, alcoholism, grief

Many thanks to NetGalley and Zando | SJP Lit for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a well written story about the murder of a young girl. However, each of the characters, all women who are connected to the crime or the girl, tell their perspective on what happened. I struggled with moving through so many characters, their connection to Lucy and to the crime that I had a hard time keeping up with everyone. After I had read the first 25%, which was really too slow, the pace seemed to become more frantic and the ending I found confusing.

While this did not work for me, definitely try this if it is of interest. The writing is very good just not a great read for me.

I just finished Women and Children First and this is going to be one of those novels that I find myself thinking about for a long time. This takes place in a small town in Massachusetts and at the heart of the story, a teenage girl dies while at a party and we see the effects this has on her friends, family, and town as a whole. Told from the perspectives of ten female residents of the town, we see how everyone is connected and how the community is impacted by Lucy's death. This is a unique read, sometimes it's confusing to know if you are in present time or the past, but I thought it was beautifully written.

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was the story of a young girl who died and was told from the perspectives of 10 different women and how they were related to her. I really liked the idea of this story, but had a hard time following it. I found myself rereading pages/chapters to make sure I was fully understanding what was going on. I would recommend this book, but make sure you have the time it takes to really get into the story and take notes! I wanted to give 4 stars, but took one away for having to reread so much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader’s copy.

I loved this book for the first half. I loved the different women, and how their lives intersected. But the book is broken into pre and post death of a teenage girl, and I spent the entire post death part confused. I think I expected it to be the same women, but instead it was 5 new ones and I just felt like no story was finished. It was an interesting book and I think a lot will love it, but I struggled.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The writing is absolutely gorgeous. I highlighted so many lines that felt so poignant and insightful about womanhood and existing in the current world and that felt they would continue to resonate with me beyond the confines of the story.

I really liked seeing the same timeline and some of the same events from the different perspectives. However, you only get inside the head of each character one time and there were a few characters and loose ends that I really wanted to go back to! I also felt like with the wide spread of characters, some of their voices were not distinct enough to really feel different from previous perspectives.

Overall, it is well written and interesting but ultimately left me kind of unsatisfied and searching for answers. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.