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A review by mmarlborough
The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was a compelling historical fictional novel that I can’t stop thinking about.
Kayla’s husband tragically dies in an accident while building their dream home in a new development in the town she grew up in. Struggling with her grief while managing single parenting, she is stunned when a strange woman ominously warns her not to move into her new house. Kayla meets Ellie, a middle aged woman tending to her dying family members in the sole rundown home remaining in the new development. Ellie is full of secrets as well: of the town, Kayla’s property, and the social justice work that she did in her youth that turned her family and the small town against her.
I love historical fiction that teaches me an aspect that I knew nothing about. This novel made me take a deep dive into America’s SCOPE project (Summer Community Organization and Political Education) which was a voter registration civil rights initiative in the 1960s that helped poor Black communities in the South register. The dual timelines and POVs worked so well here and kept me invested in both women. In books of this format, I tend to not care about the modern woman’s storyline as she’s often a plot device only, but I cared about Kayla very much. I highly recommend this novel for historical fiction fans and I can’t wait to read more of Chamberlain’s backlist.
✨Trigger Warnings: Racism, Death, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Child Death, Miscarriage, Antisemitism
Kayla’s husband tragically dies in an accident while building their dream home in a new development in the town she grew up in. Struggling with her grief while managing single parenting, she is stunned when a strange woman ominously warns her not to move into her new house. Kayla meets Ellie, a middle aged woman tending to her dying family members in the sole rundown home remaining in the new development. Ellie is full of secrets as well: of the town, Kayla’s property, and the social justice work that she did in her youth that turned her family and the small town against her.
I love historical fiction that teaches me an aspect that I knew nothing about. This novel made me take a deep dive into America’s SCOPE project (Summer Community Organization and Political Education) which was a voter registration civil rights initiative in the 1960s that helped poor Black communities in the South register. The dual timelines and POVs worked so well here and kept me invested in both women. In books of this format, I tend to not care about the modern woman’s storyline as she’s often a plot device only, but I cared about Kayla very much. I highly recommend this novel for historical fiction fans and I can’t wait to read more of Chamberlain’s backlist.
✨Trigger Warnings: Racism, Death, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Child Death, Miscarriage, Antisemitism