I turned the last page of Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke at 12:43 a.m. last night, and sleep did not come easily. It may be too soon to write about this story. Usually, I take time to process character, plot, setting, and other elements before recommending a book to you. Not this time! Reader, get this story in your hands or ears.
“This is the last day of the life I imagined for myself,” is the first line of Yesteryear.
The reader follows Natalie Heller Mills, a fundamentalist Christian, from high school to Harvard to a farm in rural Idaho, as she builds a social media empire as a “tradwife” who sells the pioneer lifestyle. Then one morning, she wakes up in 1855 and finds living without the hidden modern conveniences, nannies, and products is horrible.
“Tradwife” was one of the 6,000+ new words added to the Cambridge Dictionary in 2025 and means a woman who embraces traditional gender roles. Natalie Heller Mills, the main character of Yesterday, is a “tradwife influencer”, a social media creator who promotes a lifestyle centered on homemaking, extreme femininity, and submission to husbands, often echoing 1950s gender roles.
Natalie is an unlikeable character as well as an unreliable narrator, and the reader spends the entire book in her head. Since Natalie does not know why she has time traveled to 1855, neither do we. The reveal is certainly a plot twist! I reread those pages a couple times.
Caro Claire Burke does not offer a commentary on this lifestyle and she writes Natalie without sympathy. Natalie’s character thinks and sometimes says bigoted, racist, and sexist things. At times, I still felt sorry for her. My feelings about Natalie are complicated.
Pick Yesteryear as your next book club read or buddy read. You will want to discuss the characters and their actions.
Look for books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to inspire you to become one, too. For more recommendations or to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.
