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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Death of parent
I really wanted to like this one but the pacing and writing style just wasn’t my cup of tea. It’s more telling than showing and not much happening in the plot so sadly I DNFd
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This heartbreaking story is set in my hometown of Matthews, NC. While the author seems to have done a little bit of research on the history of this town, she missed the mark for the time period. In the 1930s, Matthews was not the bustling suburb of Charlotte, NC that it is now. The 1930 census had the population of Matthews at 454 people. The main source of income for families during this time period was farming, specifically cotton, and was still considered a rural area. There was the small downtown area that housed several gin businesses for the cotton, a livery, Renfrow's Store, and the Matthews Drug Company. The Matthews Drug Company is what the author got correct about the town's history. The town cemetery that becomes the main character's refuge does not back up to the railroad tracks. Also, while Matthews does have a yearly festival, which is currently called Matthews Alive, the festival did not exist in the 1930s. It began as the Stumptown Festival in the 1970s as a way to earn money for the town to restore historical buildings. I wish that the author had done more research into Matthews, or set the book in another area that she knew the history of better.
It seems this book just isn’t for me. At 55% I found myself skimming paragraphs and finally forced myself to call it what it is and DNF it.
Being the perspective of a 14 year old, the writing reads younger than I tend to enjoy. I felt for Leah, whose story is nothing short of tragic, though I somehow never quite connected with her. I had to check Goodreads again to see if I missed the YA label, since that isn’t really my thing, but it is simply listed as Historical Fiction.
I was very interested to see how the story progressed with the state eugenics board. However, by over halfway through the book, it hadn’t been brought up. I believe it was lightly hinted at a couple of times, but it would be easy to miss if you didn’t realize it was part of the story.
I wish I could have enjoyed this more and, from reviews I’ve seen, it seems many have. Perhaps I should have pushed through to the point that the eugenics board came to the forefront, but I figured that if I wasn’t invested over halfway through, I should probably move on.
Being the perspective of a 14 year old, the writing reads younger than I tend to enjoy. I felt for Leah, whose story is nothing short of tragic, though I somehow never quite connected with her. I had to check Goodreads again to see if I missed the YA label, since that isn’t really my thing, but it is simply listed as Historical Fiction.
I was very interested to see how the story progressed with the state eugenics board. However, by over halfway through the book, it hadn’t been brought up. I believe it was lightly hinted at a couple of times, but it would be easy to miss if you didn’t realize it was part of the story.
I wish I could have enjoyed this more and, from reviews I’ve seen, it seems many have. Perhaps I should have pushed through to the point that the eugenics board came to the forefront, but I figured that if I wasn’t invested over halfway through, I should probably move on.
challenging
emotional
I received an advanced copy of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark. This novel will publish on March 28th, so reserve your copy. Meagan Church will join the show to discuss her favorite book club books to spark conversation, including this historical fiction novel that is set against the backdrop of the North Carolina eugenics project.
Meagan Church bursts onto the historical fiction scene with a captivating coming-of-age story page-turner that will be difficult to put down and that any Diane Chamberlain fan will devour.
In 1935 beachy North Carolina, readers discover Leah, a character who delivers Ramona Quimby's mischievous energy. She lives in a cozy coastal shack where money is tight, but love from her father is abundant. While Leah is creative and happy on the beach, her academic life leads much to be desired by her teachers. She also struggles with troubling seizure spells that affect her ability to concentrate and cause her to lose portions of time.
Her life takes an unfortunate twist when her father tragically dies in a logging-related accident that leaves her both orphaned and penniless.
With nowhere to turn, she is sent to the wealthy Griffin family, who live in a beautiful home and have agreed to take in Leah. She barely has time to settle before discovering that her room and board come with a new set of duties, working full-time as the family helpmate instead of attending school and the freedoms she had before.
As the other children in the home live their everyday wealthy lives, Leah is constantly corrected and thrown into situations meant to humiliate her and remind her of her poverty by the lady of the house, Mrs. Griffin. Although letters from her childhood friend only come through sporadically, they offer her the only comforts of home and sustain her through these moments.
As Leah blossoms into a young woman, Mrs. Griffin becomes vengeful, especially when she worries that Leah is catching the eye of her only son. Leah does not know there will be a dramatic retaliation to punish her for a lifetime of secrets.
It is impossible to write this review without saying what has also been included in the official book blurb and that this story is set against the backdrop of North Carolina's newly formed eugenics board. At that time, girls deemed "feebleminded" could be forcibly sterilized without consent for the "betterment of society."
While this is a big part of the inspiration for her story, there are other surprising fictionalized mysteries that many readers will appreciate that are just as beautifully done as this element. As Church often foreshadows what Leah's fate might hold, readers will be waiting for this scene to take place, but there are many well-crafted elements that any historical fiction reader will appreciate.
In the Author's Note at the end, we truly grasp how close to home this story was for Church as she uncovered the story of her great-aunt and then began researching North Carolina's sordid past with forced sterilizations in women who were deemed "feebleminded," criminals, the promiscuous, and those in poverty.
Church's scene-setting is where her writing, indeed, shines. She paints the landscape of North Carolina with breathtaking strokes that make readers feel as though they are on the beach with Leah exploring the sand. In addition, the historical details and well-thought dialogue are well-researched and meticulous.
If you find this read impactful, Take My Hand (the 2023 MomAdvice Book Club selection for August) & Necessary Lies would be a phenomenal book flight that will both inform and infuriate you on the troubling past of the government involvement in women's reproductive issues and the fight for body autonomy. As Church thoughtfully quotes from Mark Twain, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes."
This author is not afraid to grasp the rhythm as she completes her second book on women's issues and explores the Baby Scoop Era of the 1960s.
In this planned next book, we learn more about "wayward girls" who were sent away to maternity homes, forcing them to give their children up for adoption and returning them to society as though nothing had happened. It sounds like another illuminating and surprising examination I cannot wait to discover.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
The Last Carolina Girl is a beautifully written story. The story takes place in North Carolina during the 1930s. It is a heartbreaking story of pain and loss but also hope and strength of courage and resilience. Leah is the main character and she is a young free spirit. She loves nature and dreams of living on the beach. At 14 her life has been filled with many hardships including losing her mother at birth and now her father. She temporarily moves in with their landlords until they can find a place for her to go. From there her story moves on to her new ‘family’ the Griffins. I say family loosely as this was not a family type situation she had hoped for. She does make friendships and finds ways to cope with what she has been dealt with. I am inspired by Leah’s courage and strength.
I think everyone should read this book. It will be a fantastic book for book clubs as it inspires tough conversations of the hardships and historical events that took place during the eugenics movement during the 1930s. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I think everyone should read this book. It will be a fantastic book for book clubs as it inspires tough conversations of the hardships and historical events that took place during the eugenics movement during the 1930s. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5/5 I received an ARC from NetGalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was a tragic story about an orphan who gets adopted in the 1930s. I enjoyed the mystery element and the social issue element (don’t want to give too much away). I will say it took awhile to get going but once she got to the Griffins’ house, it picked up and those scenes did have a sense of foreboding throughout. I mostly enjoyed the writing style. At times it bordered on a little too sentimental for me but the author explained that she wrote it that way to give the characters more depth and make the social issue less black and white, so I do think it worked for the story. Overall a good read, I think very approachable even though it gets into heavy topics.
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.” - Mark Twain
This one was a heartbreaking read. Poor Leah can't catch a break - she has seizures, her mom died at birth, and then her dad dies when she's only 14 years old. Nothing that follows goes well for the poor girl. There's definitely a deep appreciate for nature here, but it doesn't shine through each page the way it did in Where the Crawdads Sing.
Overall, I really wanted this book to be longer. It was hard to read for Leah's sake but I felt like the plot skipped through too quickly. We don't get a deep character development of any character except Leah, we barely get a resolution to her story at the end of the book, and I generally felt like a bunch of chapters were missing. There was so much potential in this story to see how Leah could overcome these unfortunate events and truly become her own person.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
This one was a heartbreaking read. Poor Leah can't catch a break - she has seizures, her mom died at birth, and then her dad dies when she's only 14 years old. Nothing that follows goes well for the poor girl. There's definitely a deep appreciate for nature here, but it doesn't shine through each page the way it did in Where the Crawdads Sing.
Overall, I really wanted this book to be longer. It was hard to read for Leah's sake but I felt like the plot skipped through too quickly. We don't get a deep character development of any character except Leah, we barely get a resolution to her story at the end of the book, and I generally felt like a bunch of chapters were missing. There was so much potential in this story to see how Leah could overcome these unfortunate events and truly become her own person.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Classism