Brigid and her cousin Molly live in a small village in County Wexford, Ireland and the teenage girls have dreams. Brigid wants to emigrate to America or Yankeeland and where anything is possible and she believes she will have a better life?

Brigid and her husband Ben McCarthy and brother James leave with their fathers blessing and Molly stays behind and they promise to write. Brigid assumes her life will be wonderful in America, Ben works hard and they want to have children and when this doesn’t happen she becomes disillusioned and unhappy.

Decades later Brigid’s grand-niece discovers a sack of old letters written while clearing out basement of a Brownstone in Boston written by Brigid and Molly and she wants to uncover what happened to her and she has no idea she’s going to discover?

I received a copy of Yankeeland from NetGalley and Koehler Book’s in exchange for an honest review. This is the authors debut novel, and Lucy Fewer brings to the reader’s attention what it was like to leave Ireland and immigrate to America, and used letters as a way of the members of the family communicating with each other and in the narrative.

The dual timeline is set in the 1900’s and briefly in 1993, I wasn’t a fan of Brigid’s character, despite being empathetic towards her struggles to have children and issues with her mental health and I’m sure women back then were misunderstood and judged and maybe this was the point the author was trying to put forward.

Three stars from me and I recommend reading Yankeeland for yourself and make up your own mind.

I loved this story about an Irish immigrant to Yankeeland (America) told through letters to her cousin back in Ireland. Gave me a feeling of knowing what immigrants may have experienced coming to America. Good historical fiction!

Yankeeland
By: Lacy Fewer

4 Stars

This story was a story that was so real that it grabs. Brigid and Ben get married and move off to "Yankeeland." From Ireland to America, they have big dreams. Through the story, you get pieces of their lives. Along with other family members like James and Kate. Told through letters and story, you meet a couple, just starting out to a life spent in America, living the American way. Some want it all while some want for only what's normal.

This story was heartbreaking in its realness. The story of Ben and Brigid. James and Kate. Molly. Each was its own soul. It was so captivating. I was swept up in this story that showed the America that I can only know from history books. It was well written and very well researched as well. This book was all about the journey. Learning the truth. Telling a story that needed to be told. I was honored to read it.


*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

Yankeeland by Lacey Fewer it is the early 1900s when we meet and get to know cousins Bridget and Molly. two girls from Ireland who were very impressed with the fashion magazines of the day and had dreams of moving to America a place they called Yankeeland. Molly is practical and has dreams a typical young girl born in the 1800s had in her life would be a solid one with the husband and children. Bridget on the other hand was bubbly, bright and someone who once you met her you loved her. She would go on to marry Ben who was such a kind man and loved his wife until the day of his death but long before he died he would take his wife Bridget and her brother James to Yankeeland. after seeing the squalor and New York City, James would takeoff for San Francisco and Bridget and Ben would move to Niagara Falls. Ben was supposed to only stay until his sister Bridget and her husband were settled and happy but unfortunately he fell in love with his new community in town especially the owners of the boarding house the O’Tooles who treated him like a son. that would be many changes in their lives but for the most part their dreams for America came true Ben became a business owner and although James was called back home he would return to his beloved California but as for Bridget despite her aluminous nature would have some very dark days and threw it all Ben would be right by her side, wheather that be physical or emotional. this book is based on real people it is a story written through the reading of their correspondence and I think the author did a fabulous job. there’s an authenticity to the story especially in the early days in Ireland where you feel like a fly on the wall in really marks the proof of a great author. I did not like their stepmom Agatha at all she seemed narcissistic and reminded me of so many parents I know who blame their child’s faults on others but take all the praise for their greatness. This was a great book as I said in one I highly recommend to any historical fiction fan especially those who love fact based books. A truly superb story. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #LaceyFewer, #Yankeeland,

Thanks to NetGalley and Koehler Books for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the mental health aspects of the story and how people were treated years ago. I also enjoyed the immigrant story, leaving Ireland to come to America for a better life. I also appreciated the letters back and forth from Molly and Brigid and James to Brigid and Ben.

However, and maybe it was my state of mind while reading the beginning, I had a hard time feeling invested in the story until well past the 25% mark. I actually considered not finishing the book, but I did hold in there and was glad I did. It deals with the many pressures women were under at the turn of the last century. You were expected to get married and have kids, subservient to the husband. If you didn’t want that, you were a radical, or worse, considered crazy.

Because I was slow to warm up to this book, I recommend with reservations. The immigrant story, the women’s historical perspective, the mental health aspects are all important topics to tackle.