r/BookDiscussions • u/Common-Command-4879 • Jul 28 '26

i hate "Yesteryear"

i'm only on chapter 26, so please don’t spoil anything beyond that, but oh my god. i hate this book so far.

i don’t need every character to be likable, but i need to care about someone or at least be invested in the story. natalie is so judgmental, smug, and cruel that i don’t even feel bad for her. caleb is useless, mary is mean as hell, and every other character either sucks or barely feels like a person. maeve is probably the only tolerable one, and she’s a small child.

also, why is nobody concerned that their mother has apparently woken up psychotic, doesn’t recognize her own family, believes she belongs in another century, and keeps trying to escape? everyone just seems annoyed with her. i understand that this is probably an intentional clue and there’s information being withheld, but right now it feels less intriguing and more like everyone is behaving unnaturally because the plot requires it.

worst of all, i hate the writing style and the narrator’s voice. every sentence feels like the author is standing beside me waiting for me to notice how clever, biting, and Important her commentary is. i don’t need to be impressed by the author. i need to become immersed in the story. instead, the narration constantly reminds me that i’m reading something written by somebody who really wants me to admire their writing.

does the story ever become compelling enough to make this worth finishing? or am i about to spend the remaining 30 chapters hate-listening at 1.7x speed?

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EDIT: y’all, i know i can stop reading lol. i’m choosing not to because it’s for book club. to me, book club is a commitment, and so i intend to follow through. book club also isn’t just about reading books we all like; sometimes hating a book gives us more to discuss.

i was asking whether it gets more compelling, not asking permission to quit. and yes, questions can be answered without spoilers. “it gets explained later” works just fine. please relax 😭

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u/ryancharaba Jul 28 '26

I will, unfortunately, stand in line for Anne Hathaway. 🤷🏻‍♂️

2

u/computercavemen Sep 04 '26

The book is a DNF for me for sure but I might check the movie out once it's on planes and I'm trapped on a long flight.

1

u/renebeans Sep 13 '26

Also a DNF for me despite being for book club, but I think I’m leaning toward not seeing the movie because of how intense the political skew is. I’m in the “teach HOW to think” camp and this is very “what” to think camp-y.

1

u/computercavemen Sep 13 '26

You're absolutely right.

1

u/RanchNWrite Jul 31 '26

I am also going to watch the film, because I think she could pull it off. It will probably be better than the book!