You know how much I love historical fiction. The Last House on the Street was the latest @bookfriendsbookclub pick for January.  Filled with fiery female leads and compelling historical details we can still learn from today, it met all my greatest historical fiction needs!  Told in a dual timeline through two points of view, the story flashes back and forth between modern day North Carolina in a newly built residential neighborhood, to 1965 when the area was all thick woods.

The story is seamlessly woven between Kayla, in the present, wrestling with the recent death of her husband and trying to move on in her newly built home with her daughter…and then Ellie, a young college woman in 1965 working with the SCOPE program to register black voters in her town.  The mystery slowly unfolds as to how these two women from two time periods are so deeply connected. 

The Last House on the Street is immersive and “moody”.   Usually when there are dual POV or dual timelines, I find myself more deeply invested in one over the other.  But not in this book.  Each woman’s narrative was compelling and each had a hurdle to overcome.  I wondered how it would all come together and how they would ever be able to move forward with their lives.

It is heartbreaking at times to read this, as there are vivid descriptions of the KKK but also so very timely, as we see the same struggles over voter suppression troubling our country today. This book felt compassionate, important, and timely.  I loved learning more about the SCOPE program. 

Special thanks to Diane Chamberlain who sat down with us to discuss the book when we finished.  I thought I’d read several of her book, then learned she’s written TWENTY EIGHT!  So I’m off to check out some more of her back list books.  We look forward to whatever she writes next!  Thanks also to my co-hosts Missy and Kristin for kicking off a great year of reading! Head to their pages to see their reviews.

Next Steps

You can pick up a copy of the book here.  To read more of my reviews, check out the rest of my blog.  To enter the latest giveaways and see what I’m currently reading, head to my Bookstagram account in IG.  And to listen to me chat all things bookish and share my latest reviews, head to my Booktube Channel. To try the book on audio go here!