SPOILERS!! This summary contains spoilers for Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Don't read this if you want to avoid them. @Adrienne Crowley used Granola to capture a summary of our conversation. I think it did a better job that the Zoom AI. This is a condensed version of those notes. If you've read the book, feel free to share your thoughts on anything! - The group was sharply divided on Natalie: some found her unbearable almost immediately, while others saw her as tragic, naive, and shaped by fundamentalist upbringing, low self-esteem, and social media pressure. - Several people felt Natalie’s unraveling was psychologically legible, but Caleb’s transformation was much less convincing. His long-term complicity, abuse, and commitment to the 1855 setup felt underexplained. - The 1855 twist landed strongly at first, but the more the group unpacked it, the more plot holes emerged — especially around hiding from the law, staying nearby, Natalie’s memory gap, and whether the setup could really hold for so many years. - Clementine’s long delay in intervening was one of the biggest unanswered questions. Even with the explanation that she wasn’t believed at first, people still struggled to understand why no one stepped in sooner. - The group had a nuanced discussion about religion, gender roles, and fundamentalism. Most felt the book critiques rigidity, performance, and harmful systems more than any one denomination, though they could understand why some Christian readers might feel attacked. - The social media thread resonated strongly: the group talked about curated identity, trolls, praise, parasocial audiences, and how the split between “online Natalie” and real Natalie helped drive her collapse. - Reactions to the Anne Hathaway adaptation were mixed. People were skeptical of the casting and curious how the fragmented time structure and twist would translate to screen. - Overall, the group agreed the book was compelling, well written, and rich in ideas, even if some of the plot mechanics felt shaky on closer inspection.

That name was the clear winner from our poll. Thank you all for voting and for offering your name suggestions. I appreciate it 🧡

Vote for your favourite name for our cat mascot! 🐈‍⬛ Polls in here are very basic. There can be only 10 options and you can vote for only one option. So, vote for your first choice. If you have a strong second choice, mention it in the comments. I'll give 2 points to the names voted in the poll and 1 point to names in the comments. If there's a tie, I'll cast the deciding vote. I'll announce the winner tomorrow (26th May). If you want to see the explanations behind the names, see this post: What should we name our cat mascot?

My kids named our two fluffy black cats Squid (because he's black like ink) and Dove (because of the little cooing sound she made when she was a kitten; she now sounds more like a squawking vulture 😂). What do you think is a good name for our Historical Fiction Club cat? [Edited to add: I'll create a poll on Monday 25th so we can decide.]

The winning date/time was Friday 29th May at 4pm Pacific. Thanks to everyone who voted. I'll post a Zoom link closer to the date. Here's my favourite time zone converter, if you need one: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ I've finished reading the book (Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke) and I'll probably re-read at least some of it before our call. Has anyone else finished reading it?