Reading Skywards – Your Friendly Bookshelf

INFORMATION ABOUT THIS BOOK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 7, 2026
Format:  Hardcover, audiobook, and ebook
Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
Genre:  Literary  Fiction, Psychological Fiction

MY PERSONAL OPINION OF “YESTERYEAR”

I have decided to continue with the book club from TBR Etc. I truly enjoyed the experience of reading Vigil by George Saunders and wanted to try again. This was the book selected for the month of April. I had so many things going on in April that I finished the book about 30 minutes before the discussion started… but I did finish, and that is what counts.

I really liked this book. The characters were overall unlikable, except for a few, but the storyline, the pace, and the slow suspense that built through the entire book until the end. I read some reviews about how the end was not satisfying, and I have to say, for me, the author landed the ending perfectly.

Natalie, the main character, was as unlikable and as unrelatable as it can be, but because of this fact, I think I enjoyed the book way more. It was cathartic to go through the “influencer” life and the cruel reality of “fake it till you make it,” knowing that just a few (or none) really have the perfect life.

The other characters had their incredible flaws, but none more than the husband Caleb, who was the most unlikable person! In my opinion, especially towards the end, it was clear to me that it takes two to go off the rails in life this much. It was not a one-person derail to mad life; it was a joint effort.

I also read other reviews about religion in this book. I was raised catholic and have no problem. In my opinion, a fiction book is a fictional book, and I don’t like attributing my beliefs to a crafted written story that is meant to entertain me. So no issues there.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book.

PREMISE OF THE BOOK AS FOUND IN AMAZON / GOODREADS:

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.

MY RATING: 4.5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caro Claire Burke received her Master’s in Fine Arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is the co-host of Diabolical Lies, a politics and culture podcast.

Bibliography:

• YESTERYEAR is her debut novel.