Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel “Yesteryear” tells the story of Natalie Heller Mills: a highly successful businesswoman influencer who posts about her life on Yesteryear Ranch, a homestead where she grows her own food, tends cows and chickens, raises her six children and models a particular brand of conservative Christian womanhood. But not everything is as it seems. Behind the cameras, the nanny takes care of the kids, Natalie shops for a variety of groceries she condemns online, she’s disgusted by her husband’s manipulative beliefs, and she’s on the verge of being exposed by a rogue video maker.
One day she wakes up and discovers that she has been transported to 1855, forced to live up to the pioneer persona she has been presenting online. How did she get there? How can she escape? And what does his suffering have to do with the lifestyle he has adopted for profit?
It seems like everyone is talking about “the past year.” But does it live up to the hype? In this episode of Book Review Book Club, host MJ Franklin discusses the book with her colleagues Jennifer Harlan and Joumana Khatib. You can follow along and add your comments to the discussion here.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
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“Running Out of Time” by Margaret Peterson Haddix.
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“Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn.
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“The Power” by Naomi Alderman.
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“Eileen” by Otessa Moshfegh.
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“The Compound,” by Aisling Rawal
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“Hot Girls with Balls” by Benedict Nguyen.
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“Just Watch Me” by Lior Torenberg.
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“A Good Person” by Kirsten King.
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“The Guest” by Emma Cline.
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