When We Were Worthy by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

In When We Were Worthy, the small town of Worthy, Georgia, is turned upside down when three cheerleaders die in a car accident. The town turns against the boy who hit them and his mom Darcy, and questions surround the location of a fourth girl, Leah, who should have been in the car with them. Marglyn, whose daughter was killed, is wracked by grief and regret. Then there’s Ava, who recently moved to town with her husband who grew up there, but is having trouble fitting in, and formed an inappropriate relationship with one of her high school students. The narrative alternates between the four women, with intersections, accusations, and eventually resolutions between them all.

I liked Marybeth Mayhew Whalen’s previous novel, The Things We Wish We True, which was also set in a small town and also told from multiple points of view, and I liked this one as well. She has a great knack of capturing the feel of a small town, whether it’s the positive way that everyone connects and helps each other, or the negative ways that people judge and ostracize each other. The multiple narrative trick can be a bit tough to follow at times though, and I’d love to see what she can do with only one narrator at some point.