Audiobook received for free through NetGalley

A tough read where I felt for the main character and was drawn in. Though but somewhat hopeful at the end.

A very emotional and powerful novel that follows Leah through her childhood and the challenges she faces. Meagan Church did such a spectacular job writing this that I had visceral reactions while reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in historical fiction with strong female protagonists as well as fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.

This book was heart wrenching. I could not believe all that Leah had to endure. It broke my heart to learn things like this actually happened. The characters were well written & the plot was interesting. It was a novel that moved me deeply!

The Last Carolina Girl was a very good book! I have loved Ms. Church's previous books (Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, and Where the Crawdad's Sing, and was impressed by her ability to be able to keep me from guessing the progression of this new book. The descriptions had me feeling like I was there in the first person. The only thing I wish was that the author had expanded a little on the relationship of Leah and the family she is forced to go and live with. In being careful not to have serious spoilers, I'll just refer to the couple as the "Foster Parents"...close enough, I guess. I really wish Ms. Church had expanded on the Foster Mother's and Father's backgrounds growing up, and the experiences that led to their current, very specific, style of relationship with each other (the parents). I was also disappointed about the lack of future contact with the "Foster Family" in the end. I would have loved a little more positive style outcome. However, Ms. Church did follow her writing style from previous books. It's just hard to have such sad endings...not really sad, but yet very sad in the overall scheme of things. Not every book has a fairy tale ending; nor would I like them to.

Overall, this was a deeply well written book, just like this author's previous books. I will continue to seek her work! Thank you, RB Media, for allowing me this audio copy to enjoy in return for an honest review. As always, I am deeply grateful for this opportunity!

This was a loosely based true story, that was very beautifully researched. I loved Leah and felt so bad for her; Mrs. Griffin was a horrible person! I didn’t know much about sterilization until I did more research and it’s horrible.

This is our April book club pick! Full goodreads review and link coming soon.

3 distant and predictable stars

From the publisher: “When an accident takes her father's life, fourteen-year-old Leah is wrenched from her small community and cast into a family of strangers. Separated from her only home, Leah is kept apart from the family and forced to act as a helpmate. When a moment of violence and prejudice thrusts Leah into the center of the state's shameful darkness, she must fight for her own future against a world that doesn't always value the wild spirit of a Carolina girl.”

“I can tell my story. I tell it as if relaying the account of someone else, not someone I know too well cause then there’s emotions that want to get involved.” Unfortunately, everything felt very surface to this reader, and I did not relate to any of the characters. The author tends to do more telling of the story from a distance, and not enough experiencing and feeling emotions. Secondary characters are stereotyped as either very good or very bad. The evil Mrs. Griffin, who takes Leah in as an unpaid servant, is just mean and nasty. Her youngest child, often the brunt of her cruelty remains a sweet soul. No subtlety here. There is even a bit of a Cinderella element with a ball where Leah must serve the other debutantes punch while wearing a hand-me-down dress.

The narration by Susan Bennett really made the story come alive. Characters were easy to differentiate. The slight Southern drawl was easy to understand and coaxed the story along.

Don’t skip the excellent Author’s Notes. (They were not included in the ARC audiobook.) Church shares how her aunt inspired her to write the story. She presents some fascinating history of the American eugenics movement and forced sterilization.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited when I saw The Last Carolina Girl was available because it had several descriptors and elements that I typically really enjoy in my reading - historical fiction, family drama, coming of age, but it ended up being just ok for me. The main character Leah was fairly well-developed but most of the others could have been fleshed out much more. Much of the book is storytelling of the tragic things that happen to Leah and then the end seemed a little crammed and rushed.
I was very intrigued by the fact that this book would have some focus on eugenics as I think this topic has been underrepresented in much of fiction world. I wish this would have been a larger focus of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

Readers of Southern Fiction will love this debut! It is well researched and well written! The audiobook narrator is really great and kept me engage all the way to the end. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are entirely my own and I am voluntarily writing this review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good writing and the storyline kept things moving which made it easy to stay interested, and wanting to read more. I was able to connect emotionally and it really tugged at my heartstrings. If you have read and enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing, then you should also look into this book! This was my first book by this author, and would definitely be interested in reading more. I also enjoyed the narration - which makes a huge impact on an audiobook for me!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me early access to the audiobook! These thoughts are mine alone, and I was not paid for this review.

The strength of this book lies in the protagonist, Leah Payne. Not only due to her strong traits as a character: although orphaned and possibly epileptic, she is independent, determined, caring, and a visionary who creates her dreams despite the most unbelievable misfortunes. The way her perspective melts into and molds the descriptions of this book is what I found the most special. Every description uses the boundaries of Leah's life; the similes and analogies rely on what Leah knows, such as the softness of her cat or love of her best friend.

This book would be an excellent "buddy read" for a mother and daughter. There are many opportunities to reflect on what constitutes a family and to discuss what daughters need from their mothers.

I found the book more inspirational than heartbreaking- almost too inspirational. I prefer my characters to have a bit more of an internal struggle. Leah fights are mostly external. This felt a but too simplistic for me, but I'm sure it will be fine for readers who aren't seeking to be destroyed every time they read a book. :)

While there are historical elements, they mostly play into the setting and allow a backdrop for us to understand the characters. However, there is an important historical element which focuses on the presence of eugenics in the American south. This element affects the main character greatly. The author handles this topic with care and, I personally believe, in a way that brings light to the subject without creating too much trauma for younger readers. However, the author does not shed light on the details of eugenics and therefore does a disservice to the minority communities which were most affected by racial eugenics in this time-period.

Overall, I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook. It was a nice touch for it to be told in a southern tone, which especially captured some aspects of how speech could represent class differences during the time period. The story was easy to follow, even when there were breaks in the timeline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for access to the audiobook in exchange for my honest review. It's always appreciated <3

Reviews have been posted on Goodreads and the Storygraph. Additional posts have been made on Instagram stories and a dedicated post will be made in the upcoming weeks.

This novel is emotionally charged, heart-wrenching, and historically accurate story that takes the reader to the 1930s. During a time where it was normal to improve genetics within a family.

The characters are well developed and throughout. The reader will fall in love with the MC and find themself routing for her success. Her struggles feel like the readers own, as well as her heart break. This book will make you wonder how medical procedures were ethically performed and hoping that history does not repeat itself.

This book will be in my top ten reads for the year!

The audio book was wonderfully narrated, conveying the emotion felt by the MC. She is easy to follow and kept the listeners interest.

I want to thank Netgalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for an advanced audiobook.

This coming of age story really focuses on all the hardships that Leah had to go through. The poor girl didn't get to meet her mom and loses her dad in a tragic accident. Of course if things couldn't get any worse, she is sent to live with the Griffins and she is treated as a help mate.

I enjoyed hearing Leah's perspective, story, and voice. She was strong through a lot and just wanted to get back to childhood friend Jesse and what she knew. Mrs. Griffin was just utterly despicable and shouldn't treat anyone the way she did. I got major Cinderella vibes, but the Griffin children were at least friendly with Leah.

I wasn't sure what to think about the Eugenics portion. It was pretty disturbing, but I am not sure how some of the main points would have been portrayed if it had been left out.

This book definitely makes you stop and think about people should care about and treat others. The narrator does a good job bringing out the personalities of each character and helps convey the meaning and emotions.

Thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

"Sometimes, you gotta love even when it don't make sense."

The Last Carolina Girl is the perfect mixture of bitter and sweet. It's a beautiful story of acceptance and love while not leaving out the pains of rejection, hate, and loss. Very masterfully told.

This book is obviously being compared to Where The Crawdads Sing and I agree with this comparison a lot; there was a strong sense of familiarity as I was reading this book and I often compared Leah's story to Kya's. But while they are similar, there are some very stark differences. For one, I loved how simple and to the point The Last Carolina Girl is. It's a much shorter book and wasn't quite as heavy (topically) as Where The Crawdad's Sing was, but it is still a very emotional story and I highly recommend keeping tissues close.

I also really appreciated the underlying tone of suspense in basic, everyday life. While Where the Crawdads Sing was suspenseful for *other* reasons, The Last Carolina Girl presented suspense in a realistic way that we could relate to. Sending a letter. Riding the Farris Wheel. The things that made Leah's heart race, made my heart race right along with her and I think that's why I cared so deeply for her and her story. I could imagine myself in her shoes and the writing brought her to life with vivid beauty.

"Sometimes, tears are the only words worth sharing."

This book is also very clean. There's no cursing, gore, or explicit content. The trigger warnings include mental/physical abuse at the hands of eugenics and discrimination against the poor, however, these are not described in detail.

Overall, The Last Carolina Girl is a painstakingly heartfelt story that I won't soon be forgetting. I give it an easy 5 stars and recommend it to readers who both loved Where the Crawdads Sing and those who may *think* they would like Where the Crawdads Sing but don't want to encounter all of the extra content of that book.

I received this book for free from NetGalley. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and this review is voluntary.

My IRL book club met the other night to discuss The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church, and we had such a great discussion. We all adored the main character, fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, and our hearts broke for all of the pain, hardship, and loss that she experienced at such a young age. Her story is a sad one, so you can’t help but root for her, and hope that she’ll be okay. You’ll want to take her under your wing. Usually, I complain about books being too long, and wish that they were trimmed down a hundred pages or so. But for The Last Carolina Girl, I wished for the opposite. I wanted more on the eugenics portion of the story. I felt that Leah’s experience was brushed off, and her story was quite rushed towards the end. The rest of the novel had a much slower pace, so the abruptness was rather disappointing. That’s my only complaint. Leah’s story is such an important one, so I just craved more, is all. Overall, everyone in my book club really enjoyed this book. The majority of us rated it 4/5 stars, and few even gave it 4.5/5 stars. Lots of praise all around, and I think it’s our favorite monthly selection from the publisher so far. I’m looking forward to reading more from Meagan Church in the future. The Last Carolina Girl is out now, and I give it 4/5 stars!

I listened to this audiobook ARC and thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found the narration to be fitting for this book and wouldn’t change anything about it.

I always appreciate learning about historical aspects I knew nothing about, and the eugenics movement in the States was definitely unfamiliar territory for me. Other reviewers have recommended going into the book blind, but I suggest reading the author's note and interview first for contextual background - what happens to Leah will then resonate with you more. Author Megan Church tells a heartbreaking story of the injustice served to thousands of people in 20th century America for the betterment of society.

4.5 stars. I enjoyed The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church, narrated by Susan Bennett. I was able to get into this audiobook right away and was at the edge of my seat in the second half. This one really tugs at your heart. The narrator was fantastic! She has distinct voices for each character. There were some unresolved situations that bothered me or else it would've been a 5 star book.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the audiobook. #Netgalley #TheLastCarolinaGirl

I will recommend this book. It was clean, and interesting. It made me emotional…. This poor girl has had so much abuse, tragedy, heartbreak. This book is about finding home and fulfilling dreams. The audiobook was great! The narrator was able to give voices to each character and this aided in the story. I think had I not listened to this book it would have moved along slowly. As it was I was engaged in this story and really enjoyed it.

<b> Actual Rating 3.5 </b>

Leah lives on the North Carolina coast. It’s the 1930s, and she lives alone with her father who is a lumberjack. She’s always loved the ocean and the nature of the area. Her dream is to live on the beach, collecting shells and exploring the land. But when a tragic accident occurs, Leah finds herself and her future uprooted. Forced to live with strangers, she learns that not everyone will like her free-spirited ways, and that sometimes, secrets have a way of ruining lives.

This was a good work of historical fiction. While the characters were all good, Leah was really the only one with much development and growth. The secondary characters all felt a bit like they just existed to support or antagonize Leah rather than as real people. This made the work a little difficult to immerse myself in and it was also difficult to really feel much in relation to the characters.

I wasn’t expecting the plot to go where it did during the last fifth of the work. The subplot included was fascinating, but I wanted it to be a bit more fleshed out. A little more buildup to it would have gone a long way, rather than so much time spent focused on her struggles at the strangers’ home. Or even weaving more hints and details about it into the plot and the characters’ lives would have made it much more impactful. More details surrounding the resolution would have made for a more satisfying ending as well. Most of the read focuses on difficult and heartbreaking things that happen to Leah, so I felt like Leah and the reader deserved to have more from the ending/resolution.

Overall, this was a good work of historical fiction that tackled some tough topics and had a surprising subplot. It wasn’t as strong or emotional as I hoped, but it was enjoyable overall. My thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to read this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What a sad and depressing depression era historical novel. While I felt sadness, I will say, this one didn't make me cry. The prose had its moments, the dialogue felt stilted, but bearable. The narration was fine, nothing super exciting for an okay southern accent, but a solidly, unhinged moment in history, I suppose. Perhaps, given today's climate of "privilege" makes me less inclined to look too far down my nose at the policies of yesteryear... 😬

I really enjoyed this audiobook and it is very reminiscent of one of my favourite books Where the crawdads sing. I haven't read much fiction set in the South and now I feel like I want to read more. I still can't believe this is a debut novel as it really is fantastic. Can't wait to see what Meagan Church writes next.
The character of Leah is extremely well developed and you really feel for her. I especially love the way we see her relationship with her father and how he calls her mouse at the beginning of the book. Remember to keep some tissues near you when you read this book,


𝐓𝐖: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Death of parent