In the loving arms of her lumberjack father, Leah is content with their simple life and their tiny cottage next to her best friend Jesse, unbothered by the judgement of others. But when tragedy strikes and she is forced to move away from everything she has ever known and into a house of strangers, she is disheartened when she is not welcomed into the house with loving arms but with cold contempt from the matriarch, who sees her as a low class citizen. Yet as she continues to grow up and wonders what the future holds for her, she has no idea how deep the resentment in her new community lies.
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There was a melancholic tone to this story from the very beginning, a dread that sat like a rock in my stomach as I read it, but I will say when the looming threat is finally revealed, I was not expecting it. It moves slowly, without much action to keep the story moving, and you're just waiting for the shoe to drop. The overarching antagonist is deep-seated prejudice and jealousy that amounts to devastating cruelty and I feel ashamed and angry that it is a reality of a too-recent history for those of low socioeconomic status and POC.
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I went into the story somewhat blind and even if I had read the description, I'm not sure I would have been ready for what I found. Ultimately, this was not was I was looking for in a read at the time. This is not escapism but is meant to inspire important conversations. There is beautiful imagery that evokes Where the Crawdads Sing with the energy of the North Carolina coast in the 20th century. Overall, not for me, but beautifully written.
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Thank you Net Galley, Meaghan Church, and Sourcebooks for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church.
The Last Carolina Girl is a story of coming to age when life is no longer in your control. Church creates a story that is both sad and promising. The story of a young girl forced into a life she doesn't want.

A haunting coming of age story with a couple of surprises. Great Southern Historical fiction.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Leah’s life is turned upside down when her lumberjack father passed away. She is sent away from the only home she knows to live with family she has no relationship with. Rather than live among her new family, they chose to use her a housemate. While Leah desperately tries to stay connected to her past, her future tries to stop it. How and does she get back to roots?

This book teaches us to hold on to our values, trust our instincts and never give up.

The Last Carolina Girl is an incredibly well researched and well written novel. Church states in her author's note that her inspiration was the eerily similar story of a family member, making this novel even more impactful in my mind.

This novel depicts the eugenics movement in the 1930s where disabled and epileptic people were forcibly sterilized, so if that's not something you want to read about, this is not the novel for you. However, if you're open to reading about these topics, it's a must-read.

This is a fantastic coming of age story following fourteen year old Leah, an orphan sent to work as the help in a rich household. I immediately fell in love with Leah's character and that made it a very difficult and emotional read at times. Be prepared to feel everything acutely right alongside her.

This story is similar in some aspects to <u>Where the Crawdads Sing</u> by Delia Owens, but I think I liked The Last Carolina Girl more. I don't think I would have picked this one up if I didn't have the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this novel. Review will be posted on Instagram (@ellie.reads.a.lot) by the end of the week.

⭐⭐⭐.5

The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church is a novel that follows the life of fourteen-year-old Leah Payne in her coastal Carolina town. Leah’s simple and free life, spent with her lumberjack father and exploring the wilds where the forest meets the shore, is disrupted when a tragic accident takes her father’s life. She is then forced into a family with a dark secret, separating her from her home and making her work for a wealthy household. When Leah becomes embroiled in an act of violence and prejudice, she must fight for her future in a world that doesn’t always appreciate the spirit of a Carolina girl. The story is set in 1935 against the backdrop of a recently formed state eugenics board.

The Last Carolina Girl has an appealing cover that caught my attention. I was initially drawn to the setting and time period, which I found intriguing. The inclusion of the eugenics movement as a plot thread added depth to the story. I particularly enjoyed Leah’s character and found her compelling.

However, I felt that the overall pace of the book was choppy. I would have liked more depth in both the plot and characters. Additionally, I found the ending abrupt and felt it needed a few more chapters to bring about a satisfying conclusion. Despite these shortcomings, The Last Carolina Girl offers powerful themes of strength, forgotten history, autonomy, and finding one’s true home.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Oh my goodness, this novel. It is such a sad story, but you will feel the main character’s strength and perseverance as she goes through one terrible experience and traumas inducing event after another. The book is not based on a true story, per say, but taken from inspiration from something that happened to the author’s relative and with research, it is shown in this book. Just when you think you know the direction of this novel, you will be hit with something so unbelievably horrendous and then a plot twist you didn’t see coming.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e copy

Absolutely loved this book! With similar vibes to Where the Crawdads Sing, I was insta to sucked in. The writing is beautiful and I was transported while reading. Highly recommend this book

Leah is a young girl on the brink of her teenage years living a simple life with her dad in North Carolina until one day when an unthinkable tragedy happens and sends Leah's life into a tail spin. She is sent away from everything she's ever known and thrown into a world of chaos, rules and propriety. She does everything she can to start a new life while never forgetting who she is or where she came from.

This was an unexpected surprise hit for me. I wasn't too sure what to expect when I started it. It sounded very much like Where the Crawdads Sing, and was very similar in style and story. My only reason for not giving it 5 stars was that I felt the ending was a little bit rushed. While I enjoyed the turn the story took at the end, it felt like there was so much building up, then in 1 chapter the author had everything come to fruition and it was over too quickly. I would've liked to have seen the ending get a little bit more time that it deserved. Other than that, it was a delightful story and kept me captivated the whole time.
Thank you to the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review and opinions.

This was a DNF for me, I just was not immersed enough in the story to want to keep going. I think others might love this

This story is full of raw emotions. The characters are beautifully developed, especially Leah Payne. I could not put the book down and kept a box of tissues at my side. The author brings to life the Carolinas in 1935. The class-divide is palpable and the rich truly believe that the poor lack intelligence just because there is less money in their bank accounts. This book is one that should not be missed.

At its core, this debut novel is about home, and that home isn't the four walls we surround ourselves with, but rather how and where we can be our true selves. Set in 1935 in coastal North Carolina, Leah is a free spirited 14 year old living with her lumberjack dad in a ragged cabin. When an accident kills her dad, she is forced from the people and land she loves to go live with a foster family in a city several hours away. She thinks and hopes she will be cared for and loved, but instead is forced to be the "helpmate" to the mother of the family. She bonds with the children, but the mother is mean to her for reasons that are later explained. Since childhood, Leah has experienced "flashes" where she spaces out for a few seconds. That's enough to make her foster mother make decisions on Leah's behalf that will affect the rest of her life. Told with poignancy and vivid descriptions, fans of Where the Crawdads Sing will love this book! Be sure to read the author's notes - this is based on her great-aunt's story - something she was unaware of until after her passing. A great debut - looking forward to reading more from this author! Thanks to Netgalley for a chance to read this one; all comments are my own.

The Last Carolina Girl is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel. Meagan Church does an excellent job of bringing Leah's story to life. The characters are well-developed and believable, and the plot is engaging and suspenseful. The novel explores themes of family, loss, love, and hope, and it will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

I highly recommend The Last Carolina Girl to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, women's fiction, or coming-of-age stories. It is a powerful and moving novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Here are some of the things that I loved about the book:

1. The characters are well-developed and believable. I felt like I got to know Leah Payne as a person, and I cared about her deeply.
2. The plot is engaging and suspenseful. I couldn't put the book down!
3. The book explores themes of family, loss, love, and hope in a way that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
4. The writing is beautiful and evocative. I felt like I was transported to 1935 North Carolina while I was reading the book.

Overall, I thought The Last Carolina Girl was a fantastic book. It is a powerful and moving story that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, women's fiction, or coming-of-age stories.

This was a beautiful story that reminded me of Where the Crawdads Sing many times. With that being one of my favourite books of all time, that says something. A recommendation!

A heartbreaking and powerful debut!! This book is set in 1935 and inspired by true events. A beautifully written coming-of age-story that brings to light forced sterilization, specifically under the Eugenics board of North Carolina. It explores themes of family, found family, loss, grief and friendship. Furthermore, it is about finding resilience and strength after the unthinkable, making our own path and the places and people we call home.

This book has a cast of dynamic and nuanced characters. Leah Payne is an unforgettable main character that I’ve found myself thinking about long after reading this book. Before reading this, I wasn’t aware that forced sterilization that took place in the USA! I don’t remember this being mentioned in school. Rather, eugenics was talked about when we learned about Hitler and Nazi Germany. So I appreciate that this is being given a voice. This is an emotional ride. I cried at the end and cried even more when I read the author’s note detailing what inspired this story. The Last Carolina Girl has my whole heart!

If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing and The Girls in the Stilt House, this is the book for you! Church is an author to watch and I will definitely be reading whatever she writes next!

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Meagan Church for the opportunity to read and review this absolute gem!

The Last Carolina Girl follows Leah, whose life was recently upended with the death of her father and placement into a foster home.

Overall, The Last Carolina Girl was a very engaging, fast-paced historical fiction read. I was very intrigued by the overall premise, which is why I requested this one even though historical fiction isn't my go-to genre.

The story was very well-written and emotional - I teared up many times throughout the book. and it also covers a very serious/important topic that folks should know more about. I also really enjoyed the author's note at the end of the book - it explains the author's personal reasons for writing this book. Very powerful.

My one critique is that one of the main plot points appeared to be very rushed toward the end of the book - I thought it was going to be more focused on throughout the book but seemed almost an afterthought.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review

When a girl is orphaned her world collapses. She is finally sent to a home where she hopes to be accepted only to have her world collapse even more.
Old rivalries. Petty grudges. The personal embodiment of the saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
She is punished for choices her parents made that other family members didn’t agree with. She was physically scarred by someone looking for revenge.
Thankfully her neighbors from before come to her rescue. They all realize that they are more than neighbors, they are family. And when you find your true family you get your happy ending and find your place in the world.
This book had me hooked from page one. It was a phenomenal read about a history that the US tries to forget about.

Whenever I read books like this, they are incredibly sad and disheartening.
However, that should not deter a reader from reading it. Found within the fiction are true facts.
Leah becomes an orphan and is sent to live with another family, who are actually relatives, although she is unaware.
A procedure is done without her consent that forever changes her life.
I liked the author’s end nite which detailed the inspiration for the story.

I really enjoyed Leah's story and could feel the heartbreak. I thought this would be a 4 star book up until about the last 50-100 pages. It tied up neatly, but I also had more questions. The use of eugenics in the book was interesting, but wished it would have addressed it more. Overall, it was a good read, but not great.

My thoughts: This book gave me immediate where the crawdads sing vibes, and lasted throughout the book! I actually really liked the story in this one, a bit more then Crawdads, as it was set in the 1930's and based on actual events here in the states that I had no idea actually happened, the eugenics movement (Google it! Its horrifying! Does anyone remember reading this in school? or is this more of the US covering up their disgusting history in school text books? Didn't see that coming! I'm jk! sort of...) ANYWAY! this book will punch you in all the feels, it's a powerful and heartbreaking read that will stick with me a very long time! Thank you so much to @sourcebooks for including me in this ARC team!

I give The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️