Trisha Ping

Femme Feral Ellie is counting the days to her boss’s retirement, when he’ll finally hand over the reins of the meditation app company they built from the ground up. After all, she’s running the place already. And she deserves something positive after taking care of her older father-in-law and teenage daughter with little help from her way-too-easygoing husband.

Each day, millions of people watch Natalie’s perfect life play out on social media. Six beautiful children; a handsome cowboy husband; a beautiful home and delicious meals made with produce, dairy and meat from her own farm—it’s a life out of sync with the modern world and one most can only aspire to. Including Natalie, who finds spinning this fairy tale harder by the day. Her oldest daughter is asking tough questions, her husband is unhappy and the farm is a money pit.

What happens when an influencer who touts the benefits of a traditional lifestyle has to actually live in the past? That’s the tantalizing premise of Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel, Yesteryear, a provocative portrayal of gender dynamics in the 21st century. Natalie Heller Mills has more than 8 million followers on social media, and they look to her for homemaking advice. If she can homeschool six children, serve milk fresh from a cow and bake her own bread, surely it’s possible for anyone?