A brilliant debut by an exceptionally skilled writer - I'm stunned to learn that this is the author's first novel. This is a wholly original premise executed impeccably: the pacing is just right, the world-building and character development is thorough, and the multi-character POV (rarely something I find is done well) works as each storyline is a complete, standalone story worth telling.

I picked this up one morning with 15 minutes to kill, intending to read the first chapter or two. Hours later, my plans for the day long abandoned, I came to every bibliophile's Sophie's Choice: when a book engrosses you so entirely, do you savour or burn through it? I did the latter, and then went back for the former, discovering new subtleties and nuances along the way.

In short, this is an all-consuming story that will get under your skin like a virus (see what I did there?) and stay with you long after.

Note: It's a mistake to advertise this as "for fans of Emma Cline and Emily St. John Mandel" as this book is far more substantial than that - in fact, I picked this up *despite* my great aversion to the aforementioned authors' forgettable (sorry not sorry) works.

They itch. They ache. They leave. And once they reach the Pacific, they vanish.

In Christina Kovac’s stunning speculative debut, Westward Women, an unexplained disease sweeps through the female population of 1970s America. It starts with just an itch in the arms, then a fog in the brain. Not long after, women are abandoning everything and walking westward,

Aimee, is left reeling when her best friend Ginny joins the exodus. Determined to understand why, Aimee sets off in search of her — across highways, diners, and the desolate stretches of America no one talks about. Teenie is already on the road, her memories slipping like sand through her fingers. Riding in the van of a shadowy figure known only as The Piper, she can’t remember where she’s headed. Eve, a disgraced journalist chasing one last shot at redemption, thinks the Piper might be her story the one that will restore her name.

This story is gripping and haunting and may need a bit of an author's explanation. How the women connect at the end surprised me and I did enjoy this story. I also thought long and hard about how I felt today when my arm started to itch....
#WestwardWomen #SpeculativeFiction #FeministThriller #LiteraryDebut #WomenOnTheEdge