Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Caro Claire Burke co-hosts a podcast on culture and politics called Diabolical Lies, Yesteryear happens to be her debut novel. And man - did she come out swinging. It has already been optioned as a movie produced and starring Anne Hathaway, though we don't have a release date yet. It was only published in April of 2026 and is already a New York Times #1 Bestseller as well as being chosen as a GMAS Book Club Pick and a New York Times Best Book of the Year (So Far). It deals with animal cruelty and death, child abuse, domestic abuse, homophobia, infidelity, mental illness, misogyny, sexism, religious bigotry, pregnancy, gaslighting, injury, and classism - all in a light, fun way.
Natalie has built a social media following that showcases her and her family's traditional beliefs and style of living. That includes baking bread from scratch, milking the cow every morning, and making sure that her home-schooled children help around the farm. Even the littlest of them helps to gather the chicken eggs. So what if they built this life on the money of her husband's family? So what if she has several nannies and producers standing just out of frame making everything seem effortless? So what if she can't stand to be in the same room with her own children for more than a few minutes at a time? What her followers don't know won't hurt them. And so what if she has angry women in her comment sections - they're just jealous of the life (and the empire) she has built. Then one morning, Natalie wakes up to children that almost look like hers, and a husband who almost acts like hers, and a house that almost is the house she built - but nothing is quite right. Especially the fact that there. is. no. electricity. Have you ever handwashed clothes with homemade soap? Yeah, Natalie hasn't either, and it turns out she's not a fan. She realizes that she has to escape this new life in any way she can.
Let me start by saying that Natalie is so self-absorbed, narcissistic, selfish, self-centered, and every other synonym you can think of in that vein. She's also absolutely hilarious. I couldn't get enough of her inner monologue, while the image she presents to the world was so irritating. The flow of the book is quite interesting. We start by seeing Natalie's life now with flashes of how she came to have the life she leads - then about halfway through it really flips the script. I was not confused at all, everything is easy to follow, but I didn't know what was happening. It really kept me on my toes and I loved every minute. The setting is really well described, the secondary characters are seen through Natalie's lens so you don't get a whole picture of them but that's definitely because Natalie doesn't really care about anyone but herself. It felt shorter than it was, and the audiobook narrator did a phenomenal job. I really liked this one.
I'm giving Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke 4.5 stars out of 5. It is a satirical book commenting on the state of social media and the influencers that only show the best sides of life, all while speaking on the bigger narrative of feminism and what it means to be a woman.
For more from Caro Claire Burke, check out her website at www.caroclaireburke.com/
Pairs well with truffle pasta (it will grow on you) and being thankful for your washing machine.
My favorite quotes:
"That lost little lamb. That stupid little bitch. Sorry Lord. Sorry, sorry, sorry."
"...men who screwed the small handful of women in the office nonstop, personally and professionally."
"On one of our early dates, Caleb had said he wasn't book smart. But that wasn't the full truth, was it?"
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