This was a great read. It is about Judith, now an elderly woman, exploring her past primarily through the use of heirlooms from her home. A family drama hidden behind the stories of their antiques. A little slow going at times, but worth the effort.

An amazing first novel by Andrea Bobotis. She tells of a family, the Kratts. Daddy Kraft worked for a rich man in the cotton industry in a small town called Bound. An ambitious man who worked hard to ingratiate himself with his boss and eventually gets the boss’s daughter to marry him. So ambitious was he that he bankrupted his father-in-law’s business and became the towns leading merchant in the cotton industry. He built his wife Miss Judith and himself a luxurious house, sparing no expense. They had 3 children, Miss Judith (as she is known throughout the book, Quincy and Rosemarie. Daddy Kraft was a mean man who demanded respect. His children were afraid of him. Judith worked in a store he built, doing inventory, Quincy became his snitch, spying on everyone and providing Daddy Kratt with details of any misdemeanours he could search out. Even his mother was not exempt from his spying. The story goes back and fore in history, but one incident sticks in my mind that changed so many people’s lives. Daddy Kratt had a Tiffany Lamp in the store and when he decided to be the first to introduce electricity to Bound, the lamp was to light up. The events that took place after this occasion shape the book. You will enjoy Miss Judith and Olva who moved in with her and helped around the house. Highly recommend reading it..

Not until the end of the book did I understand the meaning of Ms. Kratt's list, how the things on this are connected to one another and how they are essential to Judith's story.
Two events, 60 years apart, are narrated here: the death of Judith's brother, Quincy, and the reunion of the two estranged sisters, Judith and Rosemarie. The narrator and main character, Judith, a 75 years old woman, buried in her family house for 60 years, decides to take inventory of the house. It seems that the stories of each object on the list are a bit forced upon us (who cares about a peacock hat never worn, the mannequins in Daddy Kratt's store or the butterfly tray, one of Kratt's family heirloom). The description of the objects on the long list, as well as the alternation between the two timelines, slows the reader down. You either enjoy or hate being led like this. I chose to sit back and enjoy it

A good storyline but it needed polishing up,especially the characters,more background information was needed to fully understand the story,and who was related to who.
The mother was not portrayed as well as dhe should have been and left the reader with a lot of unfinished questions.became boring after a while and could not keep the readers interested in finished the book.I found it hard going after a while.

Judith is an elderly woman in her 70's. She decides to make a list of her family heirlooms along with the story of each one. Of course, it's not that simple. The story alternates between 1929 and 1989 in a small town in South Carolina. As the story unfolds, family secrets are revealed, and other family members are introduced. The themes of race and family secrets run throughout the story. It's well written but slow, like life in the south. The characters are not all likeable. Judith is interesting then dull. She's like a neutral character. Overall, it's an interesting read but slow. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

“I supposed it was going to be a war of questions, and fatigued by the idea, I pretended not to hear her.”

I absolutely loved this book. The writing is excellent and Judith’s character was sharp, quirky and shaped by family history. She entertained me and she surprised me. The concept of creating a list of family heirlooms (with their stories) is perfect—I wanted to read more when I reached the end! I love lists, I love heirlooms and I love the stories. Judith’s list was woven beautifully among the family secrets, their history and life in the South.

I highly recommend The Last List of Judith Kratt. The first chapter is slow, but then the story picked up and was hard to put down. I didn’t want it to end and re-read the first chapter after I finished because I knew there were details I missed the first time.

Thanks to the publishers at Netgalley for the advanced reader copy for review.

When I first started this book, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. In the beginning, main character Judith is prickly, stuffy, standoffish, and hard to like. I really couldn’t take her brother Quincy- his constant sneaking around and watching made me really loathe him. But I stuck with it, and I am so glad I did. The book moves back and forth between 1929 and 1989 in the Southern country town of Bound. The Kratts have always been an influential family in town, but times have changed. The main bulk of the story happens in 1929, but it takes the events in 1989 to get the full picture. So there is an element of mystery mixed in with your historical fiction.
It was a pleasure to read this book. The characters, especially Judith, had emotional growth and realizations. Judith, for all her fussiness, is a character at the end that you can admire. It is a thought provoking book, on how much people lose from secrets and what we think we know, as well as what African Americans lost in the South during Jim Crow.
I very highly recommend this book.

I love it when an author stirs my emotions. Bobotis succeeded in this feat.

Daddy Kratt, Quincy not exactly endearing to ones heart. The eras the plot takes place demonstrates the ignorance mixed with twinges of disgust. The secrets and assumptions painted heartbreaking scenarios.

The plot was intricate and the characters drawn fully. There was a bit of suspense along with redemption. Bobotis demonstrates her way with words, easily manipulating words into brilliant prose.

The ending was fitting, a compliment to both plot and characters.

A compelling read, evoking and visceral. Looking forward to Bobotis next endeavor.

Andrea Bobotis has skillfully written an engaging and intriguing story. The characters are described in such a rich way that one quickly becomes invested in their dramatic struggles.
The novel is hard to put down. It builds, and twists sometimes shocking the reader with its secrets. Set in the South at a difficult time of our history, themes of race, rage, love and forgiveness carry one to ponder long after finishing this treasure.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the copy
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I have to say I really didn’t enjoy this book. It was too slow for me and the story didn’t hold my interest. I stayed with the book until the end to give it my best chance but overall I was disappointed.

As always, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this proof in return for honest feedback.

Whilst it is not always necessary to like the main character, Judith's character was neither likeable nor dislikeable. She seemed to simply exist to carry the other side stories along and this made it quite difficult for me (as the reader) to really get immersed in the book. The use of the inventory / list was an interesting way to tell the story and something that I enjoyed, however this itself was a little repeatitive and in some places a bit slapdash. The book felt about 50-75 pages slightly too long and could do with removing some repeated elements in order to keep the story at a good pace.

Something I found slightly unnerving was the type of racism/racial elements with the piece, as a historical fiction I understand the use of some language that would no longer seem appropriate (it never was, but these were "the times") however quite a bit of it felt unnecessary and gratuitous.

Not for me sadly, but I look forward to seeing what Bobotis publishes next.

This is a wonderful story and the concept of an older woman doing an inventory of family heirlooms and writing a story for each item is unique and very unusual. Set in South Carolina alternating between 1989 and 1929, Judith is cataloging her families home. When her sister, Rose Marie, turns up some family secrets are revealed. Judith's best friend, Olva has served the family for years and knows the truth. I enjoyed the southern pace and the revelations from this old mill town. I really liked Judith, she is so alive and a force to be reckoned with. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a book I really wanted to like, but it just never quite got there for me. It is a genre that I read a lot, but this one was just missing something. The beginning was slow, the main character was mostly unlikeable and had weird quirks that were never really explained (and not really necessary,) and the surprise ending wasn't much of a surprise.

However, I did think that this book touched on some important themes...racism, abuse, how you can never quite get free of your past. I just wish it had done more with them at the end.

A book about family secrets, race and the south. Split between 1929 and 1989, we follow the Kratt family and how secrets led to loss, pain and impossible choices. I found myself equally feeling for Judith and wanting her to wake up to the plight of those closest to her. But in the end, her own life experiences and the town of Bound have made this difficult for her. I enjoyed her story told through the memories of the family's hierlooms.

Not sure how I feel about this book. The underlying "mystery" was interesting, but found a lot of the book either repetitive or uninteresting. Additional edits would make it a much better read.

A little slow moving but it sped up in the middle. Mounds of secrets. I loved Olva and Rosemarie, I wish more of them were in the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review a advance copy.

A story about sisters and family and those that become like family. The book tells the history of the Kratt family going back and forth from Judith's childhood before the Great Depression and her last years in the late 80s early 90s. A well written entertaining yet sometimes sad story of secrets and family. Highly recommended especially to those who enjoy Great Depression era history.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advance copy of the book for my honest review.
Description
Judith inherited all the Kratt family had to offer—the pie safe, the copper clock, the murder no one talks about. For decades, she's been the keeper of the family house, safeguarding its valuables and its secrets. But Rosemarie, her wayward younger sister, suddenly returns home, sparking Judith to write an inventory of all that belongs to them. As Judith writes, she finds that cataloging the family heirlooms can’t suppress their histories, not when Rosemarie is determined to expose what Judith had planned to take to her grave.
Interweaving the present with chilling flashbacks from one fateful evening in 1929, Judith pieces together a list of what matters, an undertaking that lays bare the very inheritance she'd hoped to forget—one of bigotry and survival in the segregated South. As Judith faces this troubled history, she must also confront its legacy in her own household, which she shares with her companion, Olva, who occupies the disquieting space between the family member and one of the “help.”

The book was a bit of a handful. It was a BIG list for Judith Kratt. It was tension and racism filled. I found trouble connecting or liking most of the characters. It was just not a book I would recommend. But, it was well written and felt like historical fiction than not. The flashbacks . The book did have moments I felt for Judith Kratt.

Fascinating and compelling, this is undoubtedly the start of a major career for this writer. I found myself transported and learning the secrets of Miss Julia’s family and past. I definitely recommend this book. Thanks to Sourcebooks and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Quirky story of a woman and her family going thru changing times and racial tensions. Judith's father is a strict shopkeeper and assigns Judith to inventory the store. Her sister ran away at thirteen years old and her brother Quincy sneaks around to get the goods on people so his father can use it against them to get what he wants. Judith stays home and does what is expected. After her father and brother pass on, Judith begins an inventory of the house. Her sister returns. This story rambled on but told a good story.