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.

What an emotional, heart-wrenching novel! Leah's story is one of sorrow, for sure, but also one of determination, love for family, defining what (who) family is, and a reminder of how far things have come. Leah lives a simple life with her father, yet after he tragically passes away, is sent to live with another family and become their helpmate. She is not treated well to say the least, and her story becomes intertwined with our country's history of the eugenics movement. Though the book was a bit slow at times, the writing was wonderful and the characterizations of Leah and the other children were captivating. I would definitely read more by Meagan Church in the future!

Also, I appreciated the author's note which shared about a dear family member's story as the inspiration for the novel. The author also shared about current day connections to eugenics/sterilizations in government and politics... even in my home city of Nashville. Appalling!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this one but the pacing and writing style just wasn’t my cup of tea. It’s more telling than showing and not much happening in the plot so sadly I DNFd at 40% but I’ll be recommending to my audience and hopefully it works for others!

This heartbreaking story is set in my hometown of Matthews, NC. While the author seems to have done a little bit of research on the history of this town, she missed the mark for the time period. In the 1930s, Matthews was not the bustling suburb of Charlotte, NC that it is now. The 1930 census had the population of Matthews at 454 people. The main source of income for families during this time period was farming, specifically cotton, and was still considered a rural area. There was the small downtown area that housed several gin businesses for the cotton, a livery, Renfrow's Store, and the Matthews Drug Company. The Matthews Drug Company is what the author got correct about the town's history. The town cemetery that becomes the main character's refuge does not back up to the railroad tracks. Also, while Matthews does have a yearly festival, which is currently called Matthews Alive, the festival did not exist in the 1930s. It began as the Stumptown Festival in the 1970s as a way to earn money for the town to restore historical buildings. I wish that the author had done more research into Matthews, or set the book in another area that she knew the history of better.

While this story was a slow burn start for me. When it picked up. IT PICKED UP, and I was hooked. The authors writing was wonderful. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions she put forward for us readers to truly see what was happening. One of the big concepts in this story is eugenics and the role it has played in history for sterilizing marginalized groups of people that didn’t fit society’s superior guidelines. I love Leah, and my heart was in deep for her through this story.

So this also reminded me a bit of the book I read Children on the Hill which also had to do with eugenics. So The Last Carolina Girl is a heartbreaking but also necessary shed of light into this part of history. I would definitely recommend.
I will post to social media within the week.

THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL by Meagan Church is an historical novel set in the 1930s. 14 year old Leah lives with her father, a handyman, who teaches her to love nature especially the sea. Her life is upended when he dies. Leah situation goes from bad to worse when she is sent to live with a family she doesn’t know. She is used as a servant and no longer allowed to attend school. Leah’s heartbreaking story sheds light on a shameful period in US history, eugenics programs that allowed the forced sterilization of girls and women deemed socially, mentally or physically deficient. Leah’s hardships had me crying. Her fortitude had me cheering for her. I will not soon forget this admirable character.

This book was a pleasant surprise! I haven’t seen it anywhere on Booksta yet and I went into it blind, so I had no idea what to expect. The beginning was a little slow for me, but it didn’t take long to become totally invested.

There’s a focus on eugenics, which is the practices of sterilizing certain people with the hopes of breeding superior generations and doing away with “inferior” qualities. I’ve learned about this in university classes I’ve taken and I have always found it to be an interesting (and horrifying) topic. So I was especially invested in that storyline. I do wish that there was a much bigger focus, but what was covered was wonderfully done.

There was also somewhat of a focus on a childhood friendship turned romance, and you know I can’t resist that childhood friends to lovers trope.

I don’t want to say too much else for the sake of spoilers. BUT I will add that Mrs. Griffin infuriated me more than any character has in a very long time. She was written very well but couldn’t there have been a scene where a character screamed in her face or told her off or something?? There was no justice.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for my gifted copy.

This book is astonishingly beautiful. It sweeps you up with gorgeous descriptions and a main character you want to cherish and love. While the entire world seems to be beating her down. Leah has had pain in her life since her first breath was taken. Her mom passing away during childbirth. Her father is a gentle giant who works as a lumberjack. Their life is simple, but Leah knows love. During a horrific ice storm her father is torn away from her, leaving her on her own as an orphan at the tender age of 14. She knows she belongs in their tiny home. The state has other ideas for her. Sending her away into the unknow, Leah hopes another family will be waiting for her to bring her a bit of happiness. Instead, she is a helpmate, sleeping in a tiny room off the porch. The mother is hiding her own secrets and is determined to make Leah's life miserable. As Leah feels a storm churning, she has no idea what awaits her.

This book had me sobbing as I read about Leah and her sheer determination to make it back to her home and to the family, she calls her own. I wanted to take Leah in and take care of her. I am dismayed at how horrible a young child was treated because her parents were taken too soon. This book brings to light our dark history of eugenics, that touched so many young women. Meagan Church does an astounding job bringing this story to life, and the descriptions and details will touch your heart. Thank you to Meagan Church and Sourcebooks for this emotional tale.

For Leah Payne, life is simple: she goes to school and she enjoys her time at home with her father. A lumberjack by trade, when her father is killed in an accident, she is uprooted from everything she knows. Just fourteen years old, she is forced to live with a foster family, The Griffins. The lady of the house, Mrs. Griffin, is cold, mean and demanding. While serving as the family’s helpmate, she is introduced to a doctor studying eugenics. What happens next is truly horrifying and evil.

I picked up this book because I had seen it compared to Where the Crawdads Sing, which I loved. Though quite different, it still had the same type of imagery, of nature and enjoying the little things in life. My heart broke for Leah as she tried to navigate a life away from all she knew, with someone who hated her just for existing. In a historical aspect, I had no idea that there was such a eugenics movement in the United States. It was disgusting and frightening to read Leah’s story, and even more so to learn part of it was based on true events. The author provided a note at the end, explaining her inspiration for writing this book. It’s not an easy story to read, but it’s important that it be told. This one will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley, Meagan Church and Sourcebooks for the ARC! “The Last Carolina Girl” will be released March 7.

Leah’s Dad dies and having no other family, she’s sent to be a helpmate at the Griffin’s house. This wasn’t what she thought was going to happen.
I enjoyed the story but it was so sad. The way they treated her and what was done was just awful. I couldn’t put this book down even tho it really made me mad.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

It's just Leah and her dad after her mom dies. In a freak accident, Leah's dad dies. She is forced to leave everything she knows behind to go to a foster home. Leah is treated like a servant and nothing more. Leah is an amazing girl. Her story is heartbreaking but she is hopeful life will get better. I really enjoyed this book and Leah. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

this book touts that it's for people who were fans of Where the Crawdads Sing. That is significantly misleading. Yes, it takes place in the south. Yes, there is something unexpected in the end. That's about it.

It moved slowly and just overall made me very uncomfortable. It's hard to put into words without ruining the story, but proceed with caution. You'll pick up on it pretty quickly, but it's still terrible.

For the record, this was a 2.5 star read that I rounded up to 3 stars.

I thought the character development was great but the pacing was a bit choppy. A lot of went on in this book was unfamiliar to me (eugenics in the United States), but I thought the author did an excellent job describing it all. The descriptions of North Carolina were vivid, and as someone who has never been to that region of the States, I appreciated it. This was an emotional read - Leah goes through SO much heartbreak and trauma at such a young age - so be prepared!

This book is tragic. Gosh, my heart is broken for young Leah who had everything and then nothing after absolutely everything is taken from her in such a short time and at such a young age. My momma heart almost couldn’t handle this book. It was hard to read, but I loved Leah so much I kept going because I needed her to have a happy ending. Thank you to the author for bringing this tragic time of history to life within this book.

Maeve the cat also had my heart in this book. I’m such a cat lover - that was a special touch.

REVIEW: The Last Carolina Girl || Sourcebooks {partner}

Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 2.28.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆☆.5

“Truth be told, I remember most things about that day, as typical as it was until it wasn’t anymore.”

The Last Carolina Girl explores one (of many) deeply disturbing parts of our country’s history. It takes a hard look at the mistakes of our past and the consequence that those mistakes had on innocent lives. It’s a heartbreaking and traumatic story from start to finish, and while it did have moments of happiness, it was ultimately tragic because it is based on actual events.

I know that The Last Carolina Girl was blurbed for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, but, in my opinion, I don’t see the comparison. They both deal with a young child who is essentially orphaned, but the two books are considerably dissimilar. Again, just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

I recommend reading the author’s note of The Last Carolina Girl before reading the book - it will give away a crucial part of the story, but I believe the author’s note makes the story have a more meaningful impact.

👧🏽 Coming-of-Age
🤏🏼 Short but impactful
💨 Ending felt a tad rushed
😡 State Eugenics
📝 Read the author’s note

I recommend reading The Last Carolina Girl if you enjoyed reading Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain or Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

It seems this book just isn’t for me. At 55% I found myself skimming paragraphs and finally forced myself to call it what it is and DNF it.

Being the perspective of a 14 year old, the writing reads younger than I tend to enjoy. I felt for Leah, whose story is nothing short of tragic, though I somehow never quite connected with her. I had to check Goodreads again to see if I missed the YA label, since that isn’t really my thing, but it is simply listed as Historical Fiction.

I was very interested to see how the story progressed with the state eugenics board. However, by over halfway through the book, it hadn’t been brought up. I believe it was lightly hinted at a couple of times, but it would be easy to miss if you didn’t realize it was part of the story.

I wish I could have enjoyed this more and, from reviews I’ve seen, it seems many have. Perhaps I should have pushed through to the point that the eugenics board came to the forefront, but I figured that if I wasn’t invested over halfway through, I should probably move on.

Note: I don’t like to give star ratings to books I DNF because it doesn’t feel fair to rate a story I didn’t reach the end of. Netgalley requires it to submit so I went with the middle ground in an effort not to skew the ratings of readers who have finished the book.

This was a very interesting book About a girl called L SEAH SPAYN. She had a really good upgrade But her Father was very poor and they had Too struggle for everything that you need. In life Father was employed By t Buy a man name BAR ES. He was Very He's very wealthy and ran the store and lumber company. Her mother died when she was BO RN. She loved To run in the woods. Her father was trying to teach her things but was very hard. Her next door neighbor's son Russell was her best friend. She did not have much but she had a lot of love. Then her father died and things went really Sideways. It was very hard for her and she was could not go to school she could not think. Next her neighbors try to help her. Then the state got involved and It's ENT Her to a Foster home just outside of Charlotte North Carolina. She became the maid and the mother Was very mean to her. The youngest one called Mary Ann she really couldn't relate to her. She loved nature just like LEA H. She also helped Connect with the boy Name Russell. She really missed everything about this because she was Who is being yielder. The oldest child Jean trying to be really friendly with her. It has a lot of twisting turns in this book And I'm really headed home when you find out what really happened to this little girl. It does have a happy ending. She wrote to the boy to ask her to come to the state fair. And this is one thing started getting really interesting. She really wanted to go home and really head home with The father of this family really helped out at the end Because he got from where she needed to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Wow! The Last Carolina Girl was heartbreaking, inspiring, and all-around beautiful in its characterization. The evilness of our history continues to shock me, and yet I am forever thankful that novels such as The Last Carolina Girl exist to provide a face to that pain.. Such an immensely powerful story of loss at an early age, and yet maintaining hope through it all.

A solid 4 stars and my deepest respect for the author. Definitely will keep a lookout for future books by Meagan Church!

THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL would make a great book club novel for those that enjoy historical fiction and stories about family and coming of age. Reminiscent of Where the Crawdad's Sing, it's the type of story that will tug at your heartstrings as she fights for her family and her independence.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an advanced copy!

As a debut novel, The Last Carolina Girl pulls no punches. In the span of a few hundred pages, fourteen-year-old Leah Payne experiences the many ways in which life can change at the drop of a hat: from the split second when the person you love most is claimed by the universe to the harsh edicts of a corrupt government institution. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an ARC copy for me to review.

As someone who has lived in the South for most of her life, the ability to picture the scenery Meagan Church described played a huge role in how much I enjoyed this book. Even if readers have never set foot in coastal Carolina, I can attest that they’ll have no trouble at all mapping the terrain as they follow the protagonist’s own poignant journey through adolescence and the turmoil that the region experienced in the 1930s. This attention to detail also spilled from the surroundings in the book to the pointed interactions between characters, leaving little room for doubt as to their intentions and inner musings as the story played out. In a way, this made them almost transparent, even predictable, but with a plot such as this, it’s my opinion that readers will still have plenty to speculate on as they go.

With the state eugenics board looming behind and supporting one social and medical horror after the next, The Last Carolina Girl sheds light on one of the not-so-secret truths about the past that still stain the South’s reputation today. Given the controversy surrounding these events, it almost seems as if the plot lines focusing on the exploits and tailored trials of a teenaged girl would get lost in the greater scheme of things. However, Church does an excellent job of keeping the story local, so to speak, and introduces new ways for readers to invest themselves in Leah as a person, not just as a function of the book and the history it represents.

Despite the heavier subject matter, the prose itself also reads as though the reader were having a heart-to-heart conversation with the characters, especially Leah. Applying this personal touch down to the very choices involving which words she used to insert exposition is, in this reader’s opinion, something that will set Church apart from authors of similar works. Informative, yet engaging, the description of events from the time we meet Leah to the book’s conclusion is an almost perfect combination of straightforward and poetic and makes it clear that the protagonist is indeed a bit of an old soul even before her life is irrevocably disrupted.

Readers who often lose themselves in historical fiction told through younger voices like Lily’s Crossing, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Out of the Dust will appreciate the mature topics covered in The Last Carolina Girl as told with the relative innocence of a child forced to become an adult before her time.