We had a fun Zoom discussion of Yesteryear by Claire Caro Burke, our first group read! Thank you to everyone who came. I appreciate you! 🧡 Once it's processed, I'll post the AI summary of the discussion so others can join in the conversation. In the meantime, what are you reading this weekend? I'm still reading The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li.

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.

SPOILER ALERT!!! Don't read this if you don't want spoilers. Unfortunately, I don't think the AI summary is that great! I haven't used this feature on Zoom before, so will explore alternatives. It didn't even know what book we read! (I haven't edited anything.) Book Club Character Discussion The group met for a book club discussion hosted by Zena, focusing on the character of Natalie from the book they had read. Participants shared their locations and favorite books before discussing how sympathetic they found Natalie to be. Opinions varied, with Kayleigh finding her unlikable throughout, Marilee viewing her as a tragic figure, Felicity starting more sympathetically but losing patience with her poor decisions, and Janie characterizing her as naive with cult-like mentality. The discussion also covered the role of gender roles and Caleb's character development, with most participants finding his transformation and complicity in the situation difficult to believe. Off-Grid Plot Twist Discussion The group discussed a book's plot twist involving a family living off-grid to evade prosecution, with Janie explaining that the father was buying people off to keep them safe. The participants expressed skepticism about certain elements of the story, particularly why the father would commit to the 1855 lifestyle and how going off-grid would effectively protect them from law enforcement when their children were still in the area. Zena noted that while the twist was initially convincing on a first read, upon rereading she found it less plausible, especially regarding the explanation for the doorframe markings and why Clementine didn't intervene sooner. Book Discussion: Character and Plot The group discussed their thoughts on a book, focusing on character development and plot inconsistencies. Adrienne noted Caleb's shifting personalities and his treatment of the children, finding it difficult to believe Clementine didn't know about the abuse. Janie mentioned a key plot point where Stetson called the officers, which explained Clementine's delay in acting. The group expressed some skepticism about certain elements of the story, particularly regarding how the abuse was allowed to continue without intervention.

We're talking about Yesteryear by Claire Caro Burke on Zoom at 4pm Pacific today (Friday 29th May). The Zoom link, passcode etc are under the Calendar tab.