What happens when the “good old days” become your present?
Set in present-day America, Yesteryear follows Natalie, a trad-wife influencer who has built her online identity around an idealized version of traditional Christian values. One day, Natalie wakes up in her home, but not quite her home. It’s the same house, only now she appears to be living sometime in the 1850s, without any of the modern luxuries and renovations she once took for granted.
Lost and confused, Natalie slowly realizes that the life she carefully curated and sold to her Instagram audience as the epitome of “traditional Christian values” is not nearly as glamorous or wonderful when she actually has to live it.
Reading this book felt like I was participating in something important, especially in our current political climate and the ideological battle over what our future should look like. Burke raises questions that stayed with me long after I finished reading: What do “traditional Christian values” really mean? Are they something women genuinely want, or something they have been told they should value? And would they still want that life if they actually had to live it?
Yesteryear ultimately asks whether going back to the so-called “good old days” is really something we should aspire to at all. Or has our understanding of the past been romanticized and distorted over time?
I absolutely hated Natalie as a character, and at times, that hatred even clouded my ability to empathize with her and what she was experiencing. But ultimately, that is a compliment to Burke’s ability to create such a complex, fully realized character. Natalie frustrated me, challenged me, and made me think, which is exactly what a character like her should do.
If you’re looking for a contemporary, thought-provoking novel that keeps you guessing until the very end, Yesteryear is a must-read. It’s the kind of story that sits with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Months later, I’m still thinking about the questions it raised.
I look forward to seeing what comes next for this story and reading more from Burke in the future.
RATING: 4.5/5
