The Last House on the Street
Author: Diane Chamberlain

My Rating: 5 stars
Opening Line: 2010 I'm in the middle of a call with a contractor when Natalie, our new administrative assistant, pokes her head into my office. I put the call on hold.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Diane Chamberlain for an ARC of this book. It is now available!

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain was such a fantastic read. This is an historical fiction drama that kept me up at night. I couldn’t put this book down. It is emotional. I found myself talking out loud to the characters (Don’t go there!) & thinking about the story during the day.

The Last House on the Street is about voting rights and presents a split storyline that pivots from 1965 and 2010. It takes place in North Carolina with a base located in the small community of Round Hill. You will be tussled in both directions.

Haunting, real and so good! With dual timelines, this book will keep you engrossed from beginning to end.

Diane Chamberlain is quickly becoming a favorite author. This is only the second book of her extensive list I’ve read but I will read everything she puts out in the future and plan to work my way through her backlist.

This is a dual timeline book set in both the 1960’s when Ellie Hockley, a white college girl, is trying to help register Black people to vote, and 2010 when Kayla Carter is trying to finish building the dream house she and her husband started before his accidental death.

Ellie is Kayla’s neighbor and fills her in on what has happened in this area of North Carolina in the past.

This is a powerful social justice book which reminded me a lot of John and Mary Margaret by Susan Cushman. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a digital ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! It was part historical fiction and part mystery. I couldn’t put it down. Diane Chamberlain never disappoints!

This would happen to be my very first book by Diane Chamberlain but it wont be the last!

Such an interesting read about the life people lived before the modern day. How awful people of color had it when the white people had it all. How awful colored people were treated when the ones who treated them harshly were no other than your neighbors or even your family- the ones you thought you trusted and love.

Such a heartfelt read of an interracial love. A love that not everyone could understand or even accept, but yet felt it was their duty to intervene and control the situation how they felt was acceptable.

The Last House on the Street had even educated me on what the SCOPE program was. I had never knew programs like these existed and lead me to do more research on the subject. This was such a moving book, It is one that will stay with me for years to come.

*Some subject matter in this book may be hard for individuals to read, Please allow yourself to check out trigger warnings before you start this wonderful book*

Mixed Feelings

3.25 stars

The Last House on the Street is a historical drama about voting rights and a related mystery.

In the 1960s, Ellie, a college student at UNC, joins the SCOPE Project, an organization focused on voting rights for African Americans. Being a white woman from a privileged family in the south, Ellie becomes embroiled in controversy. When she develops romantic feelings for a black man, she becomes a target of the Klan.

Shift to 2010, and the reader meets Kayla, a young widow who has just moved into a beautiful house in what was once an uninhabited area. When someone begins leaving threats around her house, Kayla begins investigating, which leads her to uncover secrets about the past, including ones involving her father.

Told in dual timelines, the narrative alternates between the 1960s and 2010. Ellie narrates the 1960s chapters and Kayla in 2010. Ellie’s chapters had depth, whereas Kayla’s chapters were more of a plot device. Kayla’s character wasn’t fully formed, and it took some time for me to warm to Ellie. She has a childish voice (IMHO) that annoyed me, but she eventually grew on me.

The themes center on systemic racism and oppression, but Chamberlain only touches the surface. I would have loved more on the SCOPE Project, more on Wyn and the oppressed vs. Ellie and her family. Instead, this is a story about Ellie and Kayla and righting the wrongs of the past. There are lessons to be learned, but they are wrapped in a white savior narrative.

The Last House on the Street was easy to read. The narrative flows and parts were compelling. I expected to be gutted, and while I was moved, I wasn’t as emotional as I anticipated. I didn't love this book, but I appreciate that it introduced me to the SCOPE project.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Chamberlain hits another one out of the park! The chapters taking place in 1965 No Carolina describe the well-known racial divide, at the time when LBJ was signing the landmark Voting Rights Act to make it easier for everyone to vote. That's the bill that was derailed by the Supreme Court in 2013 so that now states can pass basically any type of restrictive voting law they want to. The authors own review of her book explains it so well:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4142584942?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Read this book -- it's important and topical -- and read her review.

My thanks to Erica at St Martin's Publishing Group for guaranteeing me a copy from NetGalley. I mostly listened to this on audio - excellent narrator!

Yep, this one made me cry!

I’ve read one other book by Diane Chamberlain, Big Lies in a Small Town. I yawned through the first half (and swore it was too light a book), when suddenly the tide changed and I was swallowed up by this gigantic whale of a plot, and I was tumbled round and round in its guts. And guess what? It just happened here with Chamberlain’s latest book, The Last House on the Street. Same deal: antsy to get to some grit, critical of the slow pace and mundanity and predictability of it all, and then WHAP! I’m a goner. And like in Big Lies in a Small Town, I cried! I hardly ever cry when I read, so it’s major if a book pulls tears out of me.

Wow, Chamberlain is such an expert storyteller! Like in the other book, she weaves together two plots happening at different times (here, 1965 and 2010), and when they meet in the middle, it’s crazy good. It reminds me of a song that starts out too slowly (the slow part seems to last forever), and then the tempo changes and it gets louder, and all the sudden you can’t sit still. In the end, that’s what you remember—the incredible part. I realized that the slow setup was critical in making me go so wild later on.

The 1965 story is told by a 20-year-old white college kid in North Carolina. She joins college kids from the North to canvas the black neighborhoods to get people to vote. I was wary, because I don’t like message books and I figured I’d get hit over the head with a cause. And it felt like a Hallmark movie. But let me tell you this: I couldn’t help but get pulled into the story; the more it went on, the more invested I got. The book taught me a lot about how people lived during that civil rights movement (I knew so little!) and put me right into the scene; very vivid. There were some incredibly heartbreaking scenes that unfortunately were reflections of what was really going on back then. The Ku Klux Klan stuff is frightening beyond belief. It’s obvious that Chamberlain did her homework.

The 2010 story is told by a woman who is moving into a fancy new house. She’s a widow and she has a little girl. Some crazy woman comes into her office and threatens her. This storyline is full of mystery and suspense. Who is this woman? Why are scary things happening as the woman gets ready to move in? Because I love reading about the present more than reading about the past (and because I love me a good mystery), this story interested me more at first. Before long, though, the first storyline grabbed me, and I started loving both stories equally.

This isn’t literary fiction. I didn’t highlight and I didn’t look up any words. The language is straightforward; no jazz or poetry here. But the book isn’t pretending to be hotsy-totsy. It’s a great read—the characters are well-drawn and so sympathetic, the plot weave is amazing, and the reveal at the end is totally unexpected and phenomenal. Oh, and as a bonus, the book teaches you something about an important issue in our history (a topical one, it turns out). Like I said, this one made me cry, and any book that does that earns big points.

Chamberlain pulled off a terrific read, one that I’ll remember. I should say there is some tough stuff going on here, so don’t expect a comfortable story. I’ll be checking out more books by this writer, that’s for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain is a book that will get you thinking while you are reading it and stay with you even when you are done. It is the story of Ellie Hockley in 1965 and Kayla Carter in 2010, their stories told in alternating chapters. Ellie is a passionate civil rights worker willing to give up pretty much everything for what she believes in and for who she loves. Kayla is a young mother and architect that has moved into the home she and husband designed together before his untimely death. The stories meld together beautifully and there is enough backstory to feel completely involved in what is going on. Some pretty heavy topics are met head on in the story such as interracial relationships, prejudice, and death, to name a few, but as always, Diane Chamberlain is a solid author that brings well-researched stories that keep the reader invested from beginning to end.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain. This is her latest, it just published this year, and it is another instant fav for me. Chamberlain’s books make me feel allllll the feelings. When she weaves two stories together - one from the past, one the present - it’s pure magic. I had very high expectations going into this one, and it exceeded them all.

I was particularly impressed by Chamberlain’s ability to write about a white, female civil rights worker during the 1960s, without making that character feel like any kind of white savior.

Definitely snag this historical fiction (with a smidge of some mystery) and be prepared to feel all the things!

Wow. I didn’t really have much background on this book before reading it so it took me by surprise a bit with the historical fiction side of things. I have loved everything I have read by Diane Chamberlain, and this one is high on that list.

The story is split between two perspectives, 45 years apart. There’s a connection, and it gets more deep and complicated as the story evolves. It’s part set in 2010 with a young widow and her daughter moving into a new house on a street that has a lot of history in her small town. That history unravels when she meets her neighbor who is back in town after being away 45 years. The other part of the story is set around the neighbor, as a young girl who is coming of age and becoming involved with civil rights and activism.

I will be thinking of this story for a while. What I love so much about reading is how much you learn about different times and history, especially in our country. There are some difficult parts to this book, but ones that need to be heard.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this wonderful book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This story takes place in the South, specifically Round Hill , North Carolina. In the past 1965 we meet and follow Ellie Hockley as she decides to join a summer program to assist registering black voters. Being young and naive, with all of the right intentions we follow the trials and tribulations she experiences. While in the present we meet Kayla the architect who recently lost her husband to a freak accident during the building of their home. She decides to move into their new home and raise their daughter. But soon Kayla feels watched and is threatened to move out of the neighborhood.
Chamberlain does a fantastic job of tying these two women's lives together and I enjoyed learning about the past and the present of Round Hill. This book also made me realize how much racism was still around in the 60's and really has never gone away. I could unfortunately imagine some of the scenes still being true today.
It is a great story leaving your heart broken but content. As well as a story to make you think about your fellow man. Not for the sensitive hearted.

This is the first book by Diane Chamberlain I've read, and I really enjoyed it! The dual timelines added so much complexity and depth to the story. The author has a skillful way of weaving together the past and the present storylines. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for an interesting story that will stick with you for a while after you finish reading.

The book was incredibly eye opening. I loved the main characters, Kayla and Ellie, and all their flaws. It took about 100 pages to get me hooked, but once I was, I couldn't put this down. The ending was shocking and so incredibly sad. Such a great read!

Synopsis: Kayla Carter is moving into her newly built house at the end of Hockley Street. She is a little trepidatious about moving as her husband died in the house after a tragic accident and there are odd occurrences that have taken place around the house and the surrounding land. Ellie Hockley has returned to Hockley Street after leaving forty years ago after her summer working with SCOPE, the Summer Community Organization and Political Education project that involved helping the African American community to get registered to vote after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This story is told in dual timelines as Kayla discovers secrets about her community and her house, and as

Ellie’s story is revealed. The two woman meet and help each other move past the secrets of their community.
What I liked: I love a historical fiction novel that reveals aspects of history for which I was not aware. I had no idea that students from the Northern US came to counties in the South and educated and assisted the African American community to register to vote. I also loved that Ms. Chamberlain subtly educated the importance of this right to vote. I also enjoy a romance that is challenged. In this story, the romance is pretty much doomed from the beginning but I still rooted for the two involved and was devastated at the ending.
I also liked in this story that Ms. Chamberlain’s portrayal of the “heroes” and the “villains” was very gray shaded. For the storyline set in the mid-1960s, the characters I thought were good turned out to have ingrained biases that make the reader question their motives, their actions, and the results.
What I didn’t like: The interaction between the students from the North and students from the South was very stereotyped. Kayla’s story wasn’t the most interesting story to me. And the lady at the beginning that seems to be otherworldly at first was odd to me. I was able to get over that and everything did come together nicely at the end.
The reveal and resolution was very satisfying to me. There were plotlines I didn’t see coming. There were character reveals that shocked me. That makes a very good book to me. This wasn’t the best Diane Chamberlain book I’ve ever read, and I’ve read quite a few, but overall, very true to Ms. Chamberlain and a good read that will teach the reader a lot about our history, get the reader googling quite a bit as it’s read, and make the reader question our own biases and understand how much more work is needed for racial equality.
Thank you to the #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advanced e-copy of #thelasthouseonthestreet. I look forward to Ms. Chamberlain’s next book.

In typical Diane Chamberlain form, this is an easy 5 ⭐️. I loved the dual timelines, multiple POVs and the historical aspects of this book. It helped to show just how hard it was in the south in the 1960s for the people in the civil rights movements. And of course, like most of her book, knew just how to tug at your heartstrings. Kayla, Ellie and Win will be with me for a long, long time.

I'm grateful for receiving an ARC of the Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain. I loved the concept of the book blending the turbulent times during the Civil Rights movement of 1965 and more contemporary times of 2010. The writing was exceptional as you were effortlessly pulled into the lives and events of the characters. I found myself learning so much more about the 60's in the South and the SCOPE movement. It was informative and eye-opening. I'm a huge fan of Ms. Chamberlain's books and commend her on dealing with this sensitive and controversial issue that affected families in the 60s only to still impact their lives in this new century.

I've read and enjoyed several books by this author, but for some reason, it does often take me quite a while to get into the books and sort out the dual timelines and what exactly is going on. This one was no exception that way but I'd say it took me even longer than usual to catch the thread of the story. It was also extremely sad from the get-go, which I suppose is the case with a few of her other books as well but it hit me hard and I didn't feel a strong desire to pick it up and immerse myself in the story. I blazed through the second half on audio on a long car ride, and I am ultimately glad I read it, but my experience with it wasn't as gripping as it would be for some people.

I read Diane Chamberlain's 2020 book Big Lies in a Small Town and I thought it was so well done! I was thrilled to receive a review copy of this book - her latest - The Last House on the Street!

This author does such a great job weaving in historical fiction with current day narratives and I enjoyed it very much! It's also a timely novel because voter suppression and the national election process are still under attach...LONG after President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Oprah did an episode on her talk show with the Freedom Riders years and years ago, and I intend to rewatch that episode after finishing this book!

This book is also an important read - shedding light and insight on previous generations views on race and integration and equality in comparison with the current generation. This book, while fictional, also indicates the gap on the work that may still be yet to come, while allowing a compelling fictional storyline with wonderful characters all along the way.

In a book spanning two time periods, Chamberlain takes us to North Carolina where in 1965, the college-aged daughter of the town’s druggist becomes involved in the Civil Rights movement and getting Blacks registered to vote. Ellie’s family is furious that she would do this. Her involvement with a young black man gets him killed and she ends up in San Francisco, only to return 40 some years later to care for her ailing brother and her fragile mother. In 2010, Kayla, a recent widow moves into their dream home, built on property bordering that of Ellie’s family. Kayla is constantly facing actions which are attempting to force her to move. She becomes friends with Ellie and is confronted not only with the fact that her father and Ellie were almost an engaged couple in the 1960’s but she and Ellie come face to face with the history of the local Ku Klux Clan and who was involved in the death of Ellie’s Black friend. Taunt and fast-paced, the reader becomes involved in a gripping story of how the past impacts the future.