Scan barcode
A review by rjsetserauthor
The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
5.0
"Sometimes, you gotta love even when it don't make sense."
The Last Carolina Girl is the perfect mixture of bitter and sweet. It's a beautiful story of acceptance and love while not leaving out the pains of rejection, hate, and loss. Very masterfully told.
This book is obviously being compared to Where The Crawdads Sing and I agree with this comparison a lot; there was a strong sense of familiarity as I was reading this book and I often compared Leah's story to Kya's. But while they are similar, there are some very stark differences. For one, I loved how simple and to the point The Last Carolina Girl is. It's a much shorter book and wasn't quite as heavy (topically) as Where The Crawdad's Sing was, but it is still a very emotional story and I highly recommend keeping tissues close.
I also really appreciated the underlying tone of suspense in basic, everyday life. While Where the Crawdads Sing was suspenseful for *other* reasons, The Last Carolina Girl presented suspense in a realistic way that we could relate to. Sending a letter. Riding the Farris Wheel. The things that made Leah's heart race, made my heart race right along with her and I think that's why I cared so deeply for her and her story. I could imagine myself in her shoes and the writing brought her to life with vivid beauty.
"Sometimes, tears are the only words worth sharing."
This book is also very clean. There's no cursing, gore, or explicit content. The trigger warnings include mental/physical abuse at the hands of eugenics and discrimination against the poor, however, these are not described in detail.
Overall, The Last Carolina Girl is a painstakingly heartfelt story that I won't soon be forgetting. I give it an easy 5 stars and recommend it to readers who both loved Where the Crawdads Sing and those who may *think* they would like Where the Crawdads Sing but don't want to encounter all of the extra content of that book.
I received this book for free from NetGalley. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and this review is voluntary.
The Last Carolina Girl is the perfect mixture of bitter and sweet. It's a beautiful story of acceptance and love while not leaving out the pains of rejection, hate, and loss. Very masterfully told.
This book is obviously being compared to Where The Crawdads Sing and I agree with this comparison a lot; there was a strong sense of familiarity as I was reading this book and I often compared Leah's story to Kya's. But while they are similar, there are some very stark differences. For one, I loved how simple and to the point The Last Carolina Girl is. It's a much shorter book and wasn't quite as heavy (topically) as Where The Crawdad's Sing was, but it is still a very emotional story and I highly recommend keeping tissues close.
I also really appreciated the underlying tone of suspense in basic, everyday life. While Where the Crawdads Sing was suspenseful for *other* reasons, The Last Carolina Girl presented suspense in a realistic way that we could relate to. Sending a letter. Riding the Farris Wheel. The things that made Leah's heart race, made my heart race right along with her and I think that's why I cared so deeply for her and her story. I could imagine myself in her shoes and the writing brought her to life with vivid beauty.
"Sometimes, tears are the only words worth sharing."
This book is also very clean. There's no cursing, gore, or explicit content. The trigger warnings include mental/physical abuse at the hands of eugenics and discrimination against the poor, however, these are not described in detail.
Overall, The Last Carolina Girl is a painstakingly heartfelt story that I won't soon be forgetting. I give it an easy 5 stars and recommend it to readers who both loved Where the Crawdads Sing and those who may *think* they would like Where the Crawdads Sing but don't want to encounter all of the extra content of that book.
I received this book for free from NetGalley. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and this review is voluntary.