This was an intense read. Leah grew up on the coast of North Carolina with her father. Her mother died during childbirth. She was poor in money, but rich in all the ways that mattered. Sadly, her father dies in a tragic accident. She was sent to live with another family in the Charlotte area. She was supposed to be a foster child, instead, she became a helpmate. The missus of the house was never kind to her. No matter what Leah did, she could not win the favor of her guardian.

I knew next to nothing about the eugenics movement before this book. Reading Leah's plight brought out all the feelings. I'm not sure a book has ever made me feel so sad, and also not want to put it down. The author truly brought to life what Leah was feeling and going thru.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. My review was not influenced by this.

This was such a great, yet heartbreaking, story of a young girl who has dealt with so much in her short life. Despite the heartache, she perseveres. It was a little slow to start-There was a lot of foreshadowing that took awhile to actually come to fruition. Leah's character is well developed and really takes you into the mind of a young girl.. You want to reach through the pages and hug her continually. While the ending is definitely foreshadowed throughout the story, you still wonder how she will manage her situation and the answer comes right when the author wants it to. There are 2 of these twists at the end that really just hit you hard. How can someone stay so mentally strong in the face of such cruelty is something I continually asked myself. Not only was this an intense story to read, it's also an important story. While labelled as historical fiction, some events aren't historical at all. They have real-world, current implications as recent as just a few years ago. Inspired by the author's Aunt, this story is heartbreaking but goes to show the resilience of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.

3.5/5 I received an ARC from NetGalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was a tragic story about an orphan who gets adopted in the 1930s. I enjoyed the mystery element and the social issue element (don’t want to give too much away). I will say it took awhile to get going but once she got to the Griffins’ house, it picked up and those scenes did have a sense of foreboding throughout. I mostly enjoyed the writing style. At times it bordered on a little too sentimental for me but the author explained that she wrote it that way to give the characters more depth and make the social issue less black and white, so I do think it worked for the story. Overall a good read, I think very approachable even though it gets into heavy topics.

An unforgettable novel! I loved the author's descriptive writing style and the character development. I found myself cheering for the main character, Leah, as she navigates through horrible life events. Hoping for many more novels from this author.

The Last Carolina Girl is a gut-wrenching story of grief, loss, courageousness and the brutality of the eugenics movement. This story is very well researched and is almost a coming of age story wrapped up in the historical fiction genre.

Leah and her father were very poor but very happy. She lived in a cocoon of contentment with her father and their close neighbors. When she became orphaned at the tender age of 14, her life changed drastically when she was sent to a foster home. What Leah endured should never happen to a child. She was emotionally abused and physically damaged, but she endured with a tenacity beyond her years.

I would recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers and really anyone who loves great writing. Since I thoroughly enjoyed every single page, this book gets 5 stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This is a beautiful, but tragic and heartrending story. In a tale almost as old as time, an orphan girl must learn to make her way in a harsh world while dreaming of home and wishing for a better life. Set in North Carolina in 1935, during a time of forced sterilizations and the creation of eugenics programs, this book demonstrates how detrimental and wrong a civilized society can be.

I think that the character development in this book was very well done. I felt so sad for 14-year-old Leah and how her life was affected by the lack of love and guidance she needed so much and how her entire future was directed by people who considered themselves to be well-meaning and doing the "right" thing. Though this book is unlike "Where the Crawdads Sing" in many ways, I believe that fans of this type of southern fiction will enjoy this book immensely.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book. Publication date: March 7, 2023.

What an intense read.... so much hardship for one so young: the loss of parents, home, friends, education, and bodily autonomy, all by the age of 14. The author lives in North Carolina and brings it to life for us with vivid descriptions of the region. Leah's character development is well done, but the book's pacing could have been better and less choppy.

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.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the characters. She went through so much during her life, you couldn't help be feel bad for her.
I thought the book was very good, but I didn't think the ending we powerful enough.

This has been one of my favorite reads in the past couple of months. Leah captured my heart, a 14 year old girl, who had to go through so much hardship, without anybody to guide or support her.  Meagan did a great job sweeping you away to a small Carolina town in the 1935s, I could picture everything. This would make a great movie!

I also learnt a part of history I hadn't known about. I'm so glad that Meagan was inspired to write this story to spread awareness about the prejudice and violence that happened at this time due to the state eugenics board.

I highly recommend this book. Thanks to Net Galley for the early access.

I loved this book so much, my heart ached for Leah. Leah is a young girl living with her Father in a shack, but so is very happy in life, she has good friends next store her cat, life is good, then tragedy strikes, she is taken away from the happy life she is living, has to live with a horrible woman, who has secrets she is keeping from Leah.
The book made me sad for her, I love this Author, I want to read any books from her, Meagan Church, author of, The Last Carolina Girl, This is a must read for everyone Teens, Young Adults, and of course, Grown ups.
I receive this book from Net Galley, Thank you Net Galley

This book is unlike anything I've read before. It was enjoyable to read, but in a painful way. I really felt the anguish of Leah Payne. Her lift is turned upside down and what happens to her is unfathomable.

The characters are so deeply developed and it's such a well crafted story. Leah is such a strong character and it was enjoyable, if hard, to watch her storyline evolve.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This is a beautifully told story of an orphan girl (Leah) who is sent to live with a family whose matriarch abuses her and subjects her to a procedure that will scar her for the rest of her life. Deprived of an education and her friends left behind in her former life, Leah struggles with the life she now faces. The determination of this young girl is one that the reader will not forget. The beginnings of eugenics is explored in the novel and how this will change Leah. A book that I will suggest for book Clubs and recommend to friends.

I loved this book so much. Southern fiction is one of my favorites genres and when it's well written, it sticks with you. I enjoy when you can tell the person who wrote it is either from the south, or really did their research. Such was the case for this story.

The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church was a FIVE STAR read! I absolutely loved this historical fiction novel and am eagerly awaiting the author’s next book. It’s not that often that a book makes me cry real tears but this one had me sobbing. I was also swept up in the story so completely that I lost track of time. If you are a fan of southern fiction and/or historical fiction, you don’t want to miss this.

For fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, life in her beloved coastal Carolina town is as simple as it is free. Devoted to her lumberjack father and running through the wilds where the forest meets the shore, Leah’s country life is as natural as the Loblolly pines that rise to greet the Southern sky.

When an accident takes her father’s life, Leah is wrenched from her small community and cast into a family of strangers with a terrible secret. Separated from her only home, Leah is kept apart from the family and forced to act as a helpmate for the well-to-do household. 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.

This was a book where I liked the setting, the writing style, the plot, and the tension…basically everything was done so well that I had no choice but to give it five stars on Goodreads. The only problem with an outstanding book like this is that it inevitably has to come to an end.

Keep your eyes out for it when it’s published on March 7, 2023!

4.5/5 stars
A beautiful and well-written historical fiction full of depth and emotions.

The writing is amazing with vivid descriptions and incredible character development. I do wish the time-frame of the plot was bigger, we get to see Leah grow for a few years and then the plot is disrupted with the epilogue about her future, which was the reason that it wasn’t a solid 5 stars.

However, this book is fantastic. It’s heartbreaking and thought provoking, with a very well-written character. I loved how nature plays an important role in Leah’s life and how it’s her only constant friend. I went in blind and I would recommend readers to do the same, it gives a different perspective of the plot and it makes it even more immersive. My heart was breaking from the very first chapter but I found this story very important and one I wasn’t very aware of.

It’s a story of pain, loss, heartbreak and the struggles of that time and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in historical fiction. I would also recommend reading the Author’s Note since it gives the book so much more meaning and information about this story.

In the spirit of Delia Owens, Meagan Church delivers a wholly Southern story with The Last Carolina Girl.

One of the key things I loved about this book was the voice it had. As someone who has grown up in South Carolina and visited NC many times, I feel that Church brings this region to life with language, culture and the darker aspects of the South. She never sugar coats or blocks any aspects and that makes the story more revealing and heart wrenching in the end.

Church’s characters are also superb with them feeling like actual people except for a few examples such as just how maniacal Leah’s new “mother” figure is. These characters are people you could meet from the stoic father, the loud and happy young daughter and the free spirited and intelligent Leah.

Overall The Last Carolina Girl is a great story of adversity and hope that is perfect for fans of Where The Crawdads Sing!

the book centers around 14 year old Leah in the 1930's. she has to go to foster care after her father dies. really enjoyed this story.

What a powerful novel! The Last Carolina Girl is a historical fiction/general fiction novel that will definitely stay with me. Set in the mid 1930’s, this coming-of-age tale centers around Leah Payne. At the age of 14, Leah finds herself all alone when her father unexpectedly passes away. From that point, Leah goes into foster care which ultimately forces her to grow up way faster than an average 14 year old ever should have to.

I was so emotionally invested in this novel! I was completely captivated from page one and found Meagan Church create a unforgettable storyline! The characters are well-developed and will pull at every single one of your heartstrings! The Last Carolina is the first book I have read from Meagan Church, but most certainly won’t be my last!

Engaging novel with a 14-year old protagonist who needs the biggest hug! Heartbreaking in so many ways. She's naive in so many ways (who knew that people could be so cruel?) while simultaneously “wise beyond her years.”

I want to grab Leah and give her the big hug that she deserves!

Leah, a lover of nature and a free spirit, is suddenly orphaned and is sent to be a servant far from her familiar surroundings.

There are some mysteries about her new 'family,' and Leah falls victim to eugenics studies that were taking place during the 1930s. This was a heart wrenching and eye opening story. The author's notes at the end of the book provides more information about the study of eugenics in this era, and Leah's experience was unfortunately far more common that I have realized.