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A review by renzoreads
The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church
4.0
Fourteen year old Leah Payne lives a simple life with her daddy in a small coastal town. It’s just the two of them, in their tiny house, and although they don’t have much it’s more than enough for Leah. When an accident takes her fathers life Leah’s world as she knows is ripped from her when she is forced to leave the only home she has ever known to move hours away to live with a new family, who have agreed to care for her.
But all is not as it seems with this new family. Leah is expected to sleep in a small room attached to the outside of the house, and be the house holds “help mate”. While to the outside the family seem to be perfect and commendable for taking on someone in need they hold secrets that they never want exposed. It doesn’t take Leah long to realize that she can’t live this way, and she will do whatever it takes to find her way back to the place she once called home.
This was a great read. It really highlighted class inequality and also other social issues and beliefs held in the 1930s. I found the historical aspect interesting and terrifying at times. The book reminded me a lot of Where The Crawdads Sing, with its focus being on a young female protagonist trying to make it on her own, and repeatedly coming up against obstacles and prejudices due to their age, sex and social status.
Leah, the protagonist, was a likable character and at times her nativity was hard to read. But it wasn’t unbelievable, it was just intense understanding the world around her better than she did and wishing she would realize things that could be about to happen.
Overall a great novel, very engaging, well written and thought provoking. I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.
But all is not as it seems with this new family. Leah is expected to sleep in a small room attached to the outside of the house, and be the house holds “help mate”. While to the outside the family seem to be perfect and commendable for taking on someone in need they hold secrets that they never want exposed. It doesn’t take Leah long to realize that she can’t live this way, and she will do whatever it takes to find her way back to the place she once called home.
This was a great read. It really highlighted class inequality and also other social issues and beliefs held in the 1930s. I found the historical aspect interesting and terrifying at times. The book reminded me a lot of Where The Crawdads Sing, with its focus being on a young female protagonist trying to make it on her own, and repeatedly coming up against obstacles and prejudices due to their age, sex and social status.
Leah, the protagonist, was a likable character and at times her nativity was hard to read. But it wasn’t unbelievable, it was just intense understanding the world around her better than she did and wishing she would realize things that could be about to happen.
Overall a great novel, very engaging, well written and thought provoking. I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.