The Short Version
If you loved Yesteryear, you want a narrator you love to hate, a perfect image cracking open, and a story about what families do behind closed doors. Here are six books to read next, no spoilers.
Gone Girl
Number one: Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, from twenty twelve. On their fifth anniversary, Amy Dunne disappears, and the whole country watches her husband.
A brilliant, venomous wife performing for the media. If you only pick one, pick this.
The Stepford Wives
Number two: The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin, from nineteen seventy two. A woman moves to a perfect suburb, where all the wives are a little too perfect.
It’s the original satire of the ideal homemaker, and Yesteryear is its Instagram era sequel.
Educated
Number three: Educated, by Tara Westover, from twenty eighteen. It’s a memoir about growing up off the grid in rural Idaho, with no school, and teaching yourself your way out.
It’s the real life version of the children’s story in Yesteryear.
Room
Number four: Room, by Emma Donoghue, from twenty ten. A five year old boy has never seen the world outside the one room he lives in with his mother.
If Mary’s story stayed with you, this is the book.
I’m Glad My Mom Died
Number five: I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy, from twenty twenty two. A former child star’s memoir about a mother who turned her into a product.
It’s funny, painful, and exactly about what happens to kids who never asked to be on camera.
The Push
Number six: The Push, by Ashley Audrain, from twenty twenty one. A mother is convinced something is wrong with her daughter, and nobody believes her.
Dark, tense, and all about motherhood that doesn’t feel the way it’s supposed to.
How To Choose
So, how to choose. For a narrator you love to hate, Gone Girl. For the classic satire, The Stepford Wives. For a true story, Educated.
For a child’s view, Room. For kids on camera, I’m Glad My Mom Died. And for dark motherhood, The Push.
Your Turn
Which one are you picking up first? Tell me in the comments. My review and ending explained are linked below.
