The Commonplace Book

Be careful what you pray for. You just might get it.

It might be audacious of me to proclaim I know what the biggest book of 2026 will be in January, only seventeen days into said year, but here goes: I think Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke will be one of, if not the biggest, books of the year.

There’s a certain genre of books that is a particular favorite of mine, in which a woman’s inner monologue is so honest and outrageous that it becomes electrifyingly bold and hilarious. Some examples of this genre are My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, Vladimir by Julia May Jones, Sky Daddy by Kate Folk, and, most brilliant of all, The Worst Bad Man and All Fours by Miranda July. I don’t know why it feels so subversive to me to hear the honest thoughts of a woman. I’m sure it says something about the misogynistic society we live in and the pressure on women to project a picture perfect image to the world, but I love the hilarious honesty of these women’s minds.

Natalie, the protagonist of Caro Claire Burke’s brilliant debut novel Yesteryear, fits perfectly into this bold group of deliciously complicated women. Natalie is a tradwife influencer with millions of followers, promoting traditional Christian values and rigid gender roles from her picture-perfect Idaho farm. From the outside, Natalie is successfully doing it all: farming, raising children, homeschooling, and baking perfect sourdough bread, all while looking beautiful. Behind the camera, life is never as perfect as it seems.

One morning, Natalie inexplicably wakes up in what seems to be 1805. The cold farmhouse she now inhabits is her own, only far more rustic and uncomfortable. The children calling her “mother” look like they could be hers—but they aren’t. And her husband, Caleb, looks like her real husband Caleb—only older and far meaner. Suddenly, all her traditional values are no longer just aesthetic choices, they’re her brutal reality. Why is she here? Time travel? An elaborate prank? Has she been kidnapped? Most importantly, how can she get back home?

Yesteryear is fast-paced, darkly funny, and impossible to put down. I read a lot, but I can’t remember the last time a book made me want to spend all my free time immersed in it. And when I had to stop reading to go to work, all I wanted to do was talk about it. Yesteryear is more than just a thrilling page-turner, though it is that too. It also delivers a sharp critique of social media and how curated lives distort belief, identity, and desire.

I can already think of so many people I want to recommend this book to, from fans of psychological thrillers and speculative fiction to the most serious literary fiction lovers. That’s why I’m certain Yesteryear is going to be a huge hit and one of the biggest books of the year.

Buckle up. It’s a wild ride from start to finish.

Yesteryear will be released in April 2026.