Review: Yesteryear by Caro

 

Publication Date: April 7 2026

Publisher: Fourth Estate Books

Blurb: 

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and her followers are sick with envy. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What her followers don’t know won’t hurt them.

Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

I would say this is the book of the year - EVERYONE has been raving about it, so naturally enough I was somewhat apprehensive going into it. I honestly can say I feel the hype was warranted in this case. 

This is a book where I feel like I am left thinking about it long after I turned the last page. Not solely because of the content, but because of the message, its execution and the societal changes that have warranted this book being published. 

The "trad wife" discourse is not a new one. It has been going on since the feminism movement began. With family and lifestyle content being one of the biggest most influential and highest selling types of content consumed by social media users now, this massive turn we have seen in society returning to these ideals is having real effects on our youth - both good and bad. Yesteryear begins with Natalie, a lifestyle content creator who rejoices in showing her traditional lifestyle of being a stay at home mother, homemaker and farm manager who produces all of her own food. Then she awakens in the 1800's where suddenly there is no choice other than being a "trad wife". 

Once this choice to be a stay at home mother is taken away, it doesn't seem so appealing to Natalie without her independence. This was a very interesting view and didn't shy away from the dark and brutal aspects of this which although was sometimes hard to read, it is so important to note how privileged it is to be a trad wife influencer when not only in the past, but in many countries this is the only option for girls and women. 

The characters were so multi faceted and incredibly interesting. I have read a lot of discourse online about the characters being "unlikeable" but in my opinion this is the true nature of humanity. Natalie's husband who feels emasculated by his successful wife in the present day, the 1800's Caleb seems to thrive in this misogynistic era. Even the role of the children in the modern day and past are starkly different- kept out of the way with nannies in modern day and young girls put to work morning to night in the past. With Caleb's family in the modern day, we see the link between extremist white supremacist and misogynistic politics with this trad wife lifestyle content. 

The ending of the book did feel somewhat rushed. I felt it was somewhat the author tying things up quite quickly but at the same time, the stark contrast did coincide with the shocking nature of the novel. I felt there was some room left open for a possible novella or re-visit to the Yesteryear story but we will have to wait and see. 

Overall, although I don't think this was a top book of the year for me it is one I have continued to think about long after reading. Although some clumsy scenes, the message really rang true for me and I would recommend you pick this one up and form your own opinion.