This was a nice coming-of-age read. Hard to imagine a person having to go through so much at a young age. I liked seeing Leah move through the different stages of life. This was an enjoyable read.

The Last Carolina Girl A Novel by Meagan Church Leah's story is a heartbreaking and thought provoking tale of tremendous determination and independence. The writing is excellent, with outstanding character development and realistic details. This book explores beginnings of eugenics and the brutality of the state eugenics board. More details regarding eugenics research during this time period are included in the author's comments at the end of the book. Historical fiction at it's best.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book

Young Leah has such a rough life, but throughout her trials and tribulations, she manages to keep holding on to hope. This story shows us that family is who you love, no matter the relation. I became attached to Leah as her first person point of view drew me into her unfortunate life where I experienced the disappointments, pain, and Hope right along with her. This is an important story; I’m so glad I read it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

How much can a young girl take?

Leah lost her mother and lived with her father. They were very close and very poor, but then he was killed in a logging accident.

She was sent to live with a family that Leah thought would be her new family, but it was not the case. 

Leah was treated like a servant and called the helpmate.

It got worse as time wore on and then she heard Mrs. Griffin talking to a doctor about eugenics and forced sterilization.

THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL is very well written and well researched but heartbreaking to see how Leah was treated when all she wanted was a family of her own.

Fans of Southern fiction will devour this book and want to take Leah into their home to keep her from the treatment she received.

A beautiful, thoughtful read that requires tissues...It has been compared to WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING and NECESSARY LIES.

A book you don’t want to miss. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

The Last Carolina Girl is a coming-of-age historical novel set in the mid-1930s in North Carolina. Leah's mother died in childbirth, so all she had in the way of a family is her father. At age 14 she was orphaned when her father dies in a work-related accident. She is sent to live with who she thought was a foster family only to be treated with hatred and abuse and just being a helpmate. My heart hurts for the Leahs' of the world. This is an emotional and riveting novel with family secrets and friendship. Family is not always your favorite people. Sometimes family is just the people who choose to love you for who you are. Thanks to author Meagan Church, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and ARC for providing me with a copy of this book for my honest review.

The book takes place in North Carolina in 1935, where the board of Eugenics made it possible to perform sterilization on women who were deemed “simpleminded and unfit”.

Leah, a 14 year old, lives near a forest and the Atlantic coast. She loves the freedom and her father, Harley, a lumberjack who dies of an accident. She also loves her neighbor the Barnas and their son Jesse who is her best friend.

As an orphan she is put into the house of the Griffins. The mother treats her terribly and calls her their “helpmate”. She is separated from the family, in a bed in an attached room. She is denied school, jesses letters are hidden. And she accused of being a whore. The mother has sectrets.

Leah tries to fight for herself, to protect her body and have a future. But Mrs Griffen is caught up in the Eugenics movement, as her best friends husband is a doctor who supports the cause.. Leah is shoved into the heart rendering procedure.

In the end she continues to fight for her right to live as she wishes and prevails.

The book is so well written, a historical fiction, using a girls life as an example of the horrid process of eugenics. At the end, the author gives a bit of history on the subject. It was surprising that it went on for so long.

I recommend the story, but it does tug the heart on a probably forgotten part of history.

This book was a book I just couldn't put down. Leah has learned that life is not always easy. She grew up with one parent and loss them suddenly. She is attached to home she lives in and the people around her. After the loss of her parent she is sent away to live with someone she doesn't know. She is full of dreams and hopes. Just wanting a family and to be accepted. The lady of this house is pretty tough on her and uses her as a servant. The missus of the house has alot of plans that are not to Leahs advantage and will alter her life forever. This book was eye opening regarding some of the things that happened to Leah.

This was an intense read. Leah grew up on the coast of North Carolina with her father. Her mother died during childbirth. She was poor in money, but rich in all the ways that mattered. Sadly, her father dies in a tragic accident. She was sent to live with another family in the Charlotte area. She was supposed to be a foster child, instead, she became a helpmate. The missus of the house was never kind to her. No matter what Leah did, she could not win the favor of her guardian.

I knew next to nothing about the eugenics movement before this book. Reading Leah's plight brought out all the feelings. I'm not sure a book has ever made me feel so sad, and also not want to put it down. The author truly brought to life what Leah was feeling and going thru.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. My review was not influenced by this.

This was such a great, yet heartbreaking, story of a young girl who has dealt with so much in her short life. Despite the heartache, she perseveres. It was a little slow to start-There was a lot of foreshadowing that took awhile to actually come to fruition. Leah's character is well developed and really takes you into the mind of a young girl.. You want to reach through the pages and hug her continually. While the ending is definitely foreshadowed throughout the story, you still wonder how she will manage her situation and the answer comes right when the author wants it to. There are 2 of these twists at the end that really just hit you hard. How can someone stay so mentally strong in the face of such cruelty is something I continually asked myself. Not only was this an intense story to read, it's also an important story. While labelled as historical fiction, some events aren't historical at all. They have real-world, current implications as recent as just a few years ago. Inspired by the author's Aunt, this story is heartbreaking but goes to show the resilience of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.

3.5/5 I received an ARC from NetGalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was a tragic story about an orphan who gets adopted in the 1930s. I enjoyed the mystery element and the social issue element (don’t want to give too much away). I will say it took awhile to get going but once she got to the Griffins’ house, it picked up and those scenes did have a sense of foreboding throughout. I mostly enjoyed the writing style. At times it bordered on a little too sentimental for me but the author explained that she wrote it that way to give the characters more depth and make the social issue less black and white, so I do think it worked for the story. Overall a good read, I think very approachable even though it gets into heavy topics.

An unforgettable novel! I loved the author's descriptive writing style and the character development. I found myself cheering for the main character, Leah, as she navigates through horrible life events. Hoping for many more novels from this author.

The Last Carolina Girl is a gut-wrenching story of grief, loss, courageousness and the brutality of the eugenics movement. This story is very well researched and is almost a coming of age story wrapped up in the historical fiction genre.

Leah and her father were very poor but very happy. She lived in a cocoon of contentment with her father and their close neighbors. When she became orphaned at the tender age of 14, her life changed drastically when she was sent to a foster home. What Leah endured should never happen to a child. She was emotionally abused and physically damaged, but she endured with a tenacity beyond her years.

I would recommend this book to all historical fiction lovers and really anyone who loves great writing. Since I thoroughly enjoyed every single page, this book gets 5 stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This is a beautiful, but tragic and heartrending story. In a tale almost as old as time, an orphan girl must learn to make her way in a harsh world while dreaming of home and wishing for a better life. Set in North Carolina in 1935, during a time of forced sterilizations and the creation of eugenics programs, this book demonstrates how detrimental and wrong a civilized society can be.

I think that the character development in this book was very well done. I felt so sad for 14-year-old Leah and how her life was affected by the lack of love and guidance she needed so much and how her entire future was directed by people who considered themselves to be well-meaning and doing the "right" thing. Though this book is unlike "Where the Crawdads Sing" in many ways, I believe that fans of this type of southern fiction will enjoy this book immensely.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book. Publication date: March 7, 2023.

What an intense read.... so much hardship for one so young: the loss of parents, home, friends, education, and bodily autonomy, all by the age of 14. The author lives in North Carolina and brings it to life for us with vivid descriptions of the region. Leah's character development is well done, but the book's pacing could have been better and less choppy.

I always appreciate learning about historical aspects I knew nothing about, and the eugenics movement in the States was definitely unfamiliar territory for me. Other reviewers have recommended going into the book blind, but I suggest reading the author's note and interview first for contextual background - what happens to Leah will then resonate with you more.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the characters. She went through so much during her life, you couldn't help be feel bad for her.
I thought the book was very good, but I didn't think the ending we powerful enough.

This has been one of my favorite reads in the past couple of months. Leah captured my heart, a 14 year old girl, who had to go through so much hardship, without anybody to guide or support her.  Meagan did a great job sweeping you away to a small Carolina town in the 1935s, I could picture everything. This would make a great movie!

I also learnt a part of history I hadn't known about. I'm so glad that Meagan was inspired to write this story to spread awareness about the prejudice and violence that happened at this time due to the state eugenics board.

I highly recommend this book. Thanks to Net Galley for the early access.

I loved this book so much, my heart ached for Leah. Leah is a young girl living with her Father in a shack, but so is very happy in life, she has good friends next store her cat, life is good, then tragedy strikes, she is taken away from the happy life she is living, has to live with a horrible woman, who has secrets she is keeping from Leah.
The book made me sad for her, I love this Author, I want to read any books from her, Meagan Church, author of, The Last Carolina Girl, This is a must read for everyone Teens, Young Adults, and of course, Grown ups.
I receive this book from Net Galley, Thank you Net Galley

This book is unlike anything I've read before. It was enjoyable to read, but in a painful way. I really felt the anguish of Leah Payne. Her lift is turned upside down and what happens to her is unfathomable.

The characters are so deeply developed and it's such a well crafted story. Leah is such a strong character and it was enjoyable, if hard, to watch her storyline evolve.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This is a beautifully told story of an orphan girl (Leah) who is sent to live with a family whose matriarch abuses her and subjects her to a procedure that will scar her for the rest of her life. Deprived of an education and her friends left behind in her former life, Leah struggles with the life she now faces. The determination of this young girl is one that the reader will not forget. The beginnings of eugenics is explored in the novel and how this will change Leah. A book that I will suggest for book Clubs and recommend to friends.

I loved this book so much. Southern fiction is one of my favorites genres and when it's well written, it sticks with you. I enjoy when you can tell the person who wrote it is either from the south, or really did their research. Such was the case for this story.