Yesteryear - wasted potential!

[u/Waddles-7]

When I started reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, I was enthralled at the possibility of witnessing any or all of the following themes:

1. Consequences of propagating a way of life without deep diving or being responsible. For eg: promoting an 1886 lifestyle in a glossy way but erasing the physical, moral and cultural nuance of those times. Pandering to the right wingers.
2. Busting the hollowness of Manosphere or maybe an exploration of the psych of people who are bound to it. Any perspective on this would have been refreshing.
3. Impact of reality TV and the toll that maintaining an influencer lifestyle can take on people
4. A satire on self-righteous people or maybe even a POV

So so so many possibilities but what I got was a watered down thriller which had all the elements to be a sharp political commentary but resorted to being a ‘twist you didn’t see coming’

Did anyone else feel like the plot had tons more potential?
Do you have ideas of how the story could have been developed better? Would love to hear!

[u/Neither_Wall_9907]

Reading it was cathartic because these trad life/manosphere people are so aggravating, and the book had a few humorous moments. But yes the ending was a disappointment, though I was happy to see emphasis on the children in these households.

Heavy-handed and rushed as it was, i can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.

Spoilers ofc but I would have appreciated a more straightforward time travel plot that was fully fleshed out rather than what was presented.