A gripping literary puzzle that unwinds the private lives of ten women as they confront tragedy in a decaying town.

Nashquitten, Massachusetts, is a 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.

Told through the eyes of ten women, Alina Grabowski's Women and Children First is an exquisite portrait of grief and a powerful reminder of life's interconnectedness. Touching on womanhood, class, 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.

'A striking debut from a brilliant new voice. Alina Grabowski perfectly inhabits her characters, shining a light on the multidimensionality of both grief and adolescence with great humor and insight.' Sarah Jessica Parker

'Magnetic...The ennui of small-town life is perfectly captured in the slice-of-life vignettes, which coalesce into a riveting set of Rashomon-style retellings. Grabowski shows immense promise.' Publishers Weekly, starred review

'Craftily constructed and deeply moving.' Booklist, starred review