The Last Carolina Girl is the story of fourteen-year-old Leah Payne. For Leah, 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.

After the accident, Leah is sent to live with a Foster Family several hours away from the only home she's ever known. Her life takes a drastic turn soon after arriving in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, who have three children of their own. Instead of being taken in by a kind family, Leah is being placed in a home that expects her to work as an unpaid servant. The family's children take to Leah quickly, but Mrs. Griffin seems to harbor a grudge against young Leah, which she doesn't understand. Secrets and betrayals abound as Leah navigates a life very different from the one she came from.

This book is sad and complex, but it's missing something, and I'm not sure what that is. The characters are well-written, with characters that are realistic. The setting is well-done; the Carolinas are my favorite place on earth and Meagan Church was able to take me back to the Atlantic shore, smelling the sea breezes and seeing in my mind's eye the blowing sea oats on the beach. However, I really feel like the pacing was off. The book focused for quite a while on Leah's childhood, then quickly moved to her position in the Griffin's home, and then the epilogue told of her life in the future. It was just very choppy. However, I still feel that it's a great book and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction and learning more about the forced sterilizations that occurred across the United States in the years prior to and post-depression. Net Galley has provided me with an ARC in exchange for a fair review of this book.

I know people will want to compare "The Last Carolina Girl" by Meagan Church to "Where the Crawdads Sing," but while the overall "vibe" may feel like Crawdads (for at least the beginning portion), this book (for me) was much deeper and richer than Crawdads. I don't usually read books in five hours ... this one took a while for me to get into, but once I did, I did. The writing is engaging. The story (do read Ms. Church's interview and Author's Note for more information) is best entered blind. I cannot say that the book is "enjoyable" because the topic (and situation for the main character) was heartbreaking, but I'm glad that in the end the main character found peace, love, and family again. A solid 4.25 stars.

An engaging, at times intense, novel. Meagan Church’s writing is very descriptive with excellent character development and vivid settings. Her location details leverage your senses to place you exactly where she needs you to be to understand the scenarios. The historical elements are also skillfully incorporated to convey a difficult time in our history.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for this ARC.

It has been a very long time since a novel made me cry. I actually had to stop at chapter six to compose myself.
Ms. Church writing style in the very beginning brought me in. I did however found some parts dragging and was wanting to finish, but I was drawn back in again.
This novel touches on the cruelty of state eugenics board and the ignorance of society.

This book gave off some "Where the Crawdads Sing" vibes, but aside from that, it was a good book. I very much enjoyed the characters and their development throughout the book.