For fans of Emma Cline and Emily St. John Mandel, Westward Women is a breathtaking, prescient novel of speculative fiction set against the backdrop of rural Americana, destined to become an instant classic.
"An audacious first novel to set beside Margaret Atwood." - Joyce Carol Oates
It starts with an itch. In homes all across America, women first feel a burning, itching sensation in their arms. They become tired and sluggish. And then they are compelled to walk West toward the Pacific Ocean. Abandoning their families, jobs, lives, they become shells of their former selves, all while doctors and scientists halfheartedly search for a cure that can’t be found.
Once they reach their destination, they aren’t heard from again.
Aimee has just graduated college when her best friend, Ginny, leaves. Ginny was always the daredevil to Aimee’s homebody, but now Aimee must decide between maintaining her safe life, or traversing the interstates to find Ginny. As her search leads to whispers of a man called The Piper, who helps the women travel West, she soon encounters more questions than answers.
Teenie’s symptoms are getting worse. Itchy and dazed, she can barely remember anything, staring out The Piper’s van windows as the country rolls by. The only thing she can remember with clarity is the last day she saw her sister, before she disappeared without a trace. You know. The way some girls just do.
When Eve hears a rumor about The Piper, she’s determined to chase him down. Everyone knows about the Westward Women, but actually hearing their stories? Identifying The Piper? It’s the scoop of a lifetime, the only thing that will put her journalist reputation back to rights.
As Aimee, Teenie, and Eve crisscross the country, their quests will put them on a collision course with heart-rending, devastating consequences.
A hypnotic, cataclysmic, and ultimately hopeful novel that spans 1970s America, Westward Women is the story of three ordinary yet unforgettable women in extraordinary circumstances.
Westward Women
Advanced Praise for Westward Women
"Alice Martin has written a warmly engaging parable about young women who become 'infected' with a mysterious virus that leads them to abandon their homes and travel westward—to uncertain destinies. Set in America in the waning years of the Vietnam War, ending in near-contemporary times, Westward Women has an air of prophecy enhanced by its close attentiveness to the intimate lives of girls and women. An audacious first novel to set beside Margaret Atwood's provocative first novel The Edible Woman." —Joyce Carol Oates
"A dazzlingly skilled novel. Clever and insidious, it gets under your skin like a virus and doesn’t leave until the last page." —Dana Schwartz, New York Times bestselling author of Anatomy: A Love Story
"Westward Women is a speculative feminist road trip thriller unlike any other. An incredible ride from start to finish, this is a novel you'll want to both savor and burn through. A chilling, unforgettable, and ultimately hopeful story that will get under your skin and stay there." —Gina Chung, author of Sea Change and Green Frog
"Exceptionally written and all-consuming, this is an intimate, nostalgic, and downright terrifying fable about women's instincts as a means for survival. Westward Women had me at every turn, and stayed with me long after I'd put it down." —Olivia Gatwood, author of Whoever You Are, Honey
"Westward Women is a wholly original look at what it means to be female, itching with fear and promise and the desire to find your true self in the face of constant interference. Alice Martin writes with eloquence about an imaginary-yet-oh-so-familiar world where a mysterious illness overtakes the female population. Through the lens of three brave women, the question of who will understand and protect, turn away, or take advantage is explored in an epic road trip novel that is impossible to put down." —Rachel Moulton, author of The Insatiable Volt Sisters and Tinfoil Butterfly
“In the literary tradition of Margaret Atwood and Sylvia Plath, this brave and original novel explores female agency, choice, and liberty set against a rich and authentic 1970s backdrop. It had me frothing at the mouth. Timely, terrifying and bold, Westward Women infected me in all the best ways!” —Dawn Kurtagich, award-winning author of The Madness and The Thorns
"This is speculative fiction in its truest form: no easy outs, no cheap gimmicks. In Westward Women, an altered world unearths the mess of love and hurt and power that defines our real and everyday lives. A remarkable debut." —Anise Vance, author of Hush Harbor
"This novel. An all-American fever dream of manipulation, bodily autonomy, and what it means to be free. I'm still haunted." —Lee Clay Johnson, author of Nitro Mountain
“An astonishing debut that will leave you thinking long after you close its cover. A story about misunderstood women that is so needed at this time when society seems to understand us less and less. No need to pack a bag, just head west with Alice Martín . . . I promise you’ll be glad you did.” —Ann Dávila Cardinal, author of We Need No Wings
"Magnificent, gorgeous and richly imagined, Westward Women is a wonder. The characters crawled into my bones and will stay there forever. A truly brilliant debut." —Annie Hartnett, author of The Road to Tender Hearts
