I received a copy for review from Netgalley.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this as the start of it really reminded my of Where the Crawdads Sing . The beginning chapters were very similar, but once you get to part two it's a very different experience. Right away with meeting the new family that Leah is staying with you can pick up on culty, radical evangelical vibes. While I understand it's the 1930's and times were very different it's still very weird to me to have a 14 year old as your hired help. From there it's a very sad and difficult story to get through. Leah is forced to basically leave school, become a helpmate to a woman, who we find out later in the story is her aunt, and is berated constantly for minor infractions (some that are caused by some kind of seizure). The whole story is sad and by the end Leah is even forced to go through a nonconsensual sterilization AT 14.

Do I recommend people read this? Sure, I think it makes a good book for discussions, especially since forced sterilization are still happening in America to this day, but I do warn that you be in the right mind-frame to handle the content.

I really liked this book, I felt the characters were well wrote and quite diverse. There were some part of the book that I felt were slow and was difficult to push through. Most of the book was steady paced

Thank you Meagan Church, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC e-book. I have so many great words to say about this book it s a bit hard to know where to start. For those who loved Where the Crawdads Sing, this book has a similar feel but I actually enjoyed this book more and found it a much easier read. This story contains heartbreak ( so much heartbreak), just when you think this child can no longer be broken anymore she is broken down even tinier but her heart shines and her true character is something I wish we could all possess. Hands down this is one of the best books I have read so far this year.

The Last Carolina Girl is hauntingly beautiful and grabbed me from the first page. What happened to Leah made my own blood boil and to hear this story was inspired by a real person made my heart weep. While a complex story with a lot of moving pieces, I finished it in a single day. I simply didn’t want to put it down.

Thank you so much for access to the ARC!

It's a hard life for Leah and her father in South Carolina. When her father dies, she is forced to live with a cruel family. I greatly enjoyed the descriptions of this beautiful part of the United States, and the story is poignant and well crafted.

Leah Payne is a sweet 14-year-old girl with one dream - to live in a house on the beach when she grows up. Her mother passed away and Leah and her father live in a small cabin on a wealthy family's land. Her father works hard as a lumberjack until a fateful day involving big trees and bigger winds.

As Leah is thrust into being an orphan, her fate changes. Gone are her days of going to school and exploring the beautiful North Carolina beach and nearby forests and farms with her friend. She is sent away to live with a family, she believed as a foster child, but turns out to be a "helpmate," forced to clean and cook while the other children in the home attend school and balls.

The historical timeline of 1935 plays a large role in the story, as the process of sterilization becomes popular with the introduction of the state eugenics board. The author's note reveals Church's family history as it connects with this North Carolina history, making the story all the more touching. A heartbreaking tale of losses and inequities.

{3.5 stars}

Leah is a young girl living with her father, a lumberjack, in a small shack in rural NC. they are well below the poverty line and just get by. Leah’s circumstances are less than ideal but she has the love of her father. Until one day, he is in an accident and she is left on her own. She thinks she is about to be adopted when she comes to live with a family but quickly finds out she is to live as their servant. The adults there treat her horribly, acting as though she is much less than because of her background. I won’t say anymore, because there are some really heartbreaking things that happen to her.

I’m not sure I get as many Where the Crawdads Sing vibes as the blurb wants you to think, other than her being a girl on her own in coastal Carolina, the similarities end there. Leah is a sweet girl and your heart breaks for her. This deals with a really horrible time in America and if you haven’t read about it before, you’ll enjoy this book. But if you want a more heart wrenching story that deals with this issue, I would recommend A Mother’s Promise.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifted access via NetGalley. All opinions above are my own.

✨I think that I would technically give this a 3.5/5 but I’m rounding up. I was a bit of a hater going in. I think the premise originally was interesting to me but I was just expecting a where the crawdads sing 2.0 from this story but I was wrong.

✨the beginning of the story and setting are very much still where-the-crawdads-sing-esque, but after that we have a completely different story on our hands.

✨our main character leah deals with extreme loss on multiple levels. i’m trying to keep this spoiler free, but the loss really goes deep. a part of american history that is rarely discussed in fiction is brought into this story and, based on the author’s note at the end, it very close to the author personally. I think without reading that author’s note the story itself wouldn’t have the big impact that it does for me.

✨at times I felt like the main issue was glossed over, there is a twist that is revealed in the last 10% of the book and i wish there was just… more about that twist. the ending was emotional but i felt like it wrapped up too quickly. I also think that the loss that leah experiences is full of nuance in itself and those who have experienced that can still find themselves to lead full lives, though not as originally planned, but that conversation wasn’t had/an option for leah in the end I guess?

✨hopefully that’s not too open since I’m trying to be vague in order to avoid spoilers but I appreciate what this book has done. I think the part of history is important to talk about, per the author’s note it still happens today, but I wish that we were able to dive deeper into the story. maybe with more of a look into leah’s future post incident…

✨thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to read the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I really loved the beginning of this book. Everything about it, her dad, Jesse, the setting, her house… it was all so charming and special. But after she moved it just all went downhill. I didn’t love where the story went and the writing seemed to be a bit scattered and like the book didn’t even know what direction to go in. Disappointing, especially because the beginning was so great.

I can't remember the last time I was so consumed by a book! I simply could not put this one down. I was immediately taken in by Leah's heart breaking story. She was a dreamer who wanted nothing more than to live by the ocean with people she loved. Learning about some of the terrifying parts of America's history is heart breaking. We need books like this to help us never forget our past so it doesn't repeat itself.

An emotional tale of a young woman who loses everything when her father dies unexpectedly but claws her way back. Leah is 14 in 1935, her mother is dead, and her life revolves around her father, their cabin, and her friend Jesse, the son of her father's employer the Barmas. She struggles in school and she has what she calls flashes, likely a form of epilepsy. And then her father is killed, her cabin is destroyed by a falling tree, and the Barmas decide she should go to the Griffin family. Life there is a shock- she's expected to be a "helper," essentially unpaid household labor, a situation which is both distressing and frightening. And then Mrs Griffin brings Dr. Foster, a proponent and practicianer of eugenics home. You will root for Leah, who is desperate to escape and return to Jesse. There's a big secret here which I didn't guess as well as (to be honest) one unanswered question about the Griffin family. Church is a good storyteller who pulls you into Leah's world, both as she places shells around her parents' graves and as she toils at the Griffins. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a very good read and don't miss the afterword.

Thankfully, if you're like me and found a million things wrong and not likable about "Where the Crawdads Sing," this book is not that one.

The plot line of this was believable - heartbreaking, but absolutely events that could (mostly) happen. I question the reality of a 15ish year old boy driving alone nearly 200 miles to a night at the fair, especially in 1936, but the rest of the events would be very plausible.

That being said, I felt parts of this book were rushed, while other parts felt almost too drawn out. I think more attention to the last two chapters (or just simply making the book longer) would have felt far more satisfying. The big reveal was almost underwhelming.

Despite that, it was an overall good read that I'd recommend.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

This began as a slow read for me but the last 40% was amazing! Completely worth every moment. The fact that this is all rooted in a sad portion of American history eerily similar to Naziism, or maybe theirs is similar to ours? Amazing read! Broke my heart in places. Filled me with hope in the end.

Leah is a true, small town North Carolina girl. A teenager in 1935, she's content with the simple life she shares with her father and his employers, whose land they live and work on.

Tragically, her world is rocked when her father passes in a working accident. Now an orphan, Leah is sent to live with a foster family in another part of the State. Away from her beloved ocean and her childhood best friend, her neighbour Jesse, she doesn't know what to expect of her future.

Sadly, tragedy follows Leah and she is met with the horrors facing those seen as 'lesser' in a society heading towards WWII. Will Leah find her way back to the place and people she calls home? Or will the horror she experiences consume her?

Full disclosure, this book WRECKED me. It covers extremely heavy themes and I cried several times when reading what Leah went through. Worse is knowing that this really was occurring at the time and many people deemed as different in any way met the same fate.

As much as I've been emotionally rocked, I'm so thankful that I read this book as I believe it is so important to learn from the horrors and mistakes of the past. To know that this is based on the experiences of the Author's Great Aunt makes me even more appreciative of the sensitivity of the topics covered.

Thank you to Author Meagan Church, Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark Publishing for providing this free ARC of the book, in exchange for an honest review. If you're wanting to read too (which I highly encourage) the book publishes in the 28th of February 2023!

**TRIGGER WARNINGS: death, eugenics, child cruelty, infertility

A bit sappy and predictable, but many readers will enjoy this story that is apparently based on the author's own aunt's experience. It sheds light on the truly horrid plight of orphans and that period in American history when Eugenics was used as a tool for a "more superior human race." It's a story that needs to be told and hopefully this novel will inspire readers to dig deeper and learn more.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Book groups reading popular fiction will no doubt select it to read and, hopefully, discuss.

This was a powerful book⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It’s a story of such enormous loss and triumph. You will definitely feel for the main character and shake your head as you hope for Leah to have a happy ending to her story. I recommend the read👏🏻.

Leah Payne dreams of living on the beach one day. At fourteen, her life is simple and happy but is suddenly turned upside down when she is orphaned.

After her father dies in an accident, Leah is separated for her friend, Jesse, and the only home she’s known in coastal, NC. She’s sent to live with a family of strangers by child services. The family is well off and Leah hopes she will have a real family with them. Unfortunately, it’s not meant to be.

Leah is expected to be a helpmate in the home. She makes friends with the other children, but Mrs. Griffin doesn’t like Leah much. Why? As she longs to return to her childhood home and Jesse, Mrs. Griffin has other plans for Leah. Will she be reunited with her childhood friend?

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sad, hopeless and depressing. The story spends too long at the Griffin’s leading up to the event. I wanted to know more about Leah’s healing when she was reunited with people who loved her.

Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

In 1935, 14-year-old Leah who is white and whose mother died in childbirth, deals with the sudden death of her father. She is sent to live with strangers outside of Charlotte, NC. Instead of being taken is as part of the family, she is expected to work for the family. Her longing for a neighbor boy she left behind plays a central role in the book. There is a thread about eugenics that probably was the most significant historical part of this historical fiction book but it felt a bit disjointed. Overall I felt like the pace of the book was a bit off so I wasn't as immersed as I wanted to be in Leah's story.

Rounded up from 2.5 stars. A novel based on the authors great-aunt. Leah, a poor 14yo girl sent to a foster family after her father passes from a freak accident. This book fell a bit flat, as it seemed there was no plot for about 70%, and when the twist came, I felt it was an odd plot point. Overall, the pacing and writing style wasn’t my cup of tea, but I would still recommend to a friend, if it was a fit.

What a lovely novel, filled with despair and yet hope. A meditation on what family means. Leah is an amazing character, filled with strength and love. The story is set in 1935, when eugenics was an approved population control method. There are several twists and turns to the story, but Leah's relationship with nature anchors her world.

"Some folks will do anything to control the wild spirit of a Carolina girl...

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."

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.