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Yesteryear

A Novel

Caro Claire Burke

Ages 16+

Readers rate it 3.9 (482 on Hardcover)

401 pages · Released Apr 7, 2026

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LGBTQ+ themes

Substance use

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A note for parents

Yesteryear is an adult literary novel published by Random House as a GMA Book Club selection, designed for mature readers engaging with satire about performance, identity, and gender. While it contains a brutal injury scene, profanity, and dark psychological tension, the primary content concerns are the unsettling atmosphere, the disturbing premise of a woman trapped in a nightmarish reality, and the novel's exploration of trauma and desperation. The book's sophisticated themes about fame, feminism, and authenticity are not suited to younger teens.

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From the publisher

A GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • A traditional American woman, a “tradwife” influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel. "A bold and biting satire, Yeste... A GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • A traditional American woman, a “tradwife” influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel. "A bold and biting satire, Yesteryear…will have you cackling and gasping right to the final page." —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid series My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive. 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 heir to a political dynasty? 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 ruthless 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.

Shelved under

  • Fiction
  • Unloveable Characters
  • Not Diverse Characters
  • Weak Character Development
  • Character driven
  • A mix driven
  • Strong Character Development
  • tradwife
  • memoir
  • History
  • audiobook
  • dark

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ISBN 9780593804216 · Random House