Women and Children First

"Alina Grabowski’s kaleidoscopic debut chronicles the lead-up to and aftermath of the mysterious death of a teenage girl, but it’s not a thriller or a whodunit. Set in Nashquitten, a fictional town on the Massachusetts coast, Women and Children First passes narration among a Greek chorus of 10 women and girls linked to the tragedy. Through her pitch-perfect summoning of this intergenerational female cast, Grabowski explores the fickleness of truth, how difficult it is to really see those closest to us and how easy it is to betray one another."