Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

For over six years, I have kept to my original pledge of only looking at Tik Tok from 6:20 am until around 6:35 am, in order to waste the minimal amount of time on the app. The bulk of my early morning is dedicated to learning Spanish and French on Duolingo, of which I am a steady Diamond League member for 741 days. Despite limiting myself on Tik Tok, it does not mean the content is not riveting. There are thousands of fascinating influencers, chief among them is a category called the "tradwife." Otherwise known as a "traditional wife," she is a woman who embraces our grandparents traditional view of marriage and gender roles, such as, the wife is a homemaker, and the husband is the breadwinner. "Yesteryear" is a novel about a tradwife named Natalie, who has amassed more than 8 million followers. Her content centers around her six children and handsome, cowboy husband, Caleb. She has nannies for the children, and team of producers who help her create daily content. Things seem to be going swimmingly for Natalie until one day she wakes up and the year appears not to be present day, but rather 1855. Her state-of-the-art refrigerators are gone and she is left with a small wood burning fire place and no electricity. The nannies and producers have vanished, too. Things get even more confusing when her husband and children have been replaced by another set of husband and children, not her own. Has Natalie been transported to another time as some sort of punishment for her wealth and fame? Or is she rather a prisoner trapped in some kind of reality television show from which she cannot escape? A psychological thriller from beginning to end, "Yesteryear" follows the life of a tradwife that has gone terribly wrong. The question remains how can she get out of the life she has so carefully planned and crafter for herself? And, by the way, Anne Hathaway is rumored to play Natalie in the film version. To buy this book on Amazon click on this link.