Title: Yesteryear
Author: Caro Claire Burke
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Published: April 7, 2026
Publisher: Knopf
Source: E-ARC (NetGalley)
Length: 391 Pages
Goodreads Synopsis:
Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the Republican equivalent of a Kennedy? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.
Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a brutal reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.
A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.
My Rating: 3 stars
First, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher Knopf for an E-arc copy of this book.
This book unfortunately was my second DNF for the year. It takes a lot for me to not finish a book and part of me feels guilty any time I do, as I hate leaving things unfinished. I did give the book a fair chance stopping around the 50% mark. I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the mood for this type of book or I just wasn’t connecting with the characters in the story the way I had hoped to, or some combination of both. I know this book has gotten so much hype. I still keep seeing ads for it when I’m doomscrolling on Facebook. I don’t really get it. I may at some point pick this book up again to finish it, and then maybe I will get it. For now the following is my review of what I did read.
The author did a really good job writing the story. The prose, dialogue, reflections, etc. are all beautifully written. I had no problems picturing what was happening, how the character was feeling, etc. This is the reason I am giving a three star, despite not finishing it.
The more I read though, the less I liked the main character which is problematic because the story is told from her perspective and if I don’t like the main character how can I enjoy the story being told since to me the story is very character driven rather than plot driven. Something will happen and then we get flashbacks of her life and how it lead to the point where the story begins or reflections on what is currently happening, and sometimes combinations of both.
The flashbacks show us Natalie’s life as a child, a young women off to college outside her small hometown, her early married life, etc. I won’t go into details about those various stages of her life as I am trying to keep this spoiler free as much as possible. The synopsis tells us that she has haters — The Angry Women — as she calls them. For me all of these reflections made her seem like the exact type of person she claims are just jealous of her and her lifestyle. She is very much the type of person who believes that the only right way to do things, or to be is her way. Everything else is stupid, immature, etc. Someone isn’t doing something they way you want them to, or at the pace you want them to, so they’re wrong and you’re right, there is no alternative.
Maybe one of the points of the book is that Natalie is not supposed to be liked, maybe what I was feeling while reading the book is what the author intended. I have no idea. I should feel some sympathy/empathy for her right?
One morning she wakes up to a life in 1855 where -shock- she has to actually do the things that traditional living means, no creature comforts, no modern appliances to make the job easy. Every chance she gets she tries to escape and only ends up injuring herself. I found her to be whiny and annoying during these scenes, wtih an ‘oh woe is me’ attitude. As I kept reading I found myself not caring what happened to her and whether or not she makes it back to her normal life in the modern world, etc. so yup definitely not connecting with her at all in the slightest. Everything just revealed what a spoiled, entitled, brat she had been and continued to be. I don’t know if I had continued to read through to the end of the book if I would have found a redeemable quality in her.
If you did read this book and enjoyed it, that’s fantastic. This one just wasn’t for me. As I said in the beginning of this review I may at some point pick it back up to find out what does happen, if she gets back to her time, and if there was any character growth on her part, etc.
Have you read this book?
What were your thoughts on it?
Are there any books you would recommend for me to read based on this book review?
Leave a comment below and let me know.
Happy Reading!
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