Outlawed by Anna North

Jan 03, 2021 Angela M rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss-reviews

3.5 stars rounded up.

“In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.” That opening line pulled me in and the writing held me there the rest of the way. This is not your typical western, nor is it a factual account of the Hole in the Wall Gang . If you’re looking for truly realistic historical fiction, this isn’t it . It’s an imagined, alternate version of history, which while at times seemed a little out there, I found it to be thought provoking and interesting. Religion of the day is the bel 3.5 stars rounded up.

“In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.” That opening line pulled me in and the writing held me there the rest of the way. This is not your typical western, nor is it a factual account of the Hole in the Wall Gang . If you’re looking for truly realistic historical fiction, this isn’t it . It’s an imagined, alternate version of history, which while at times seemed a little out there, I found it to be thought provoking and interesting. Religion of the day is the belief in Baby Jesus and that a woman’s fate is tied to her ability to bear children, influenced by an enormous number of deaths from the flu 😳. A woman’s role was to bear children and even though seventeen year old Ada, married at seventeen, has a calling as a midwife and healer, she is not allowed to pursue that because she has not been able to get pregnant. Her choices are limited : face incarceration or worse yet hanging, enter the convent or join an outlaw gang of women, exiled because they could not get pregnant.

“If a woman did her duty by her husband and baby Jesus and still did not become pregnant, then most likely she had been cursed by a witch - usually a woman who, barren herself, wanted to infect others with her malady.” Of course , I had to see if I could find any historical references tying witchcraft with infertility and I found this article which mentions it as one of the reasons women in history were accused of witchcraft: https://historycollection.com/18-reas...

I loved Ada’s inquisitiveness about women’s medical issues, her intelligence and her clear sense of herself. There are a lot of characters here and what was missing was a more in depth characterization of them, except Ada and the Kid, the leader of the gang. I liked that even though an alternative history, it reflected the plight of these barren women. Hard to love outlaws and condone their criminal activities, but equally as hard to accept the injustice and harsh treatment of innocent women. It was heartbreaking to think that Ada wouldn’t ever see her family and might never be able to practice as a midwife, but I thought the ending was fitting. I will give it 3.5 stars and round up to 4. A lot of ground is covered here, maybe a little bit too much - religion, homophobia, racism. While some of those issues were only touched on, the focus on strong women came through loud and clear. This alternative history was different to say the least, but I’m glad I read it. I realized just before I started reading this that North also wrote The The Life and Death of Sophie Stark. I had mixed feelings about that novel, but I can say that enjoyed this one more.

I read this with Diane and Esil and it’s one we didn’t fully agree on, but we all liked and felt for Ada. A great discussion as always.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Bloomsbury Publishing through Edelweiss. ...more

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Nov 27, 2020 emma marked it as to-read

Shelves: arc, from-publisher-author, owned, historical, tbr-owned, non-ya, tbr-arc

queer feminist gang of outcast women in the Wild West = the book i never knew i needed

(thanks to the publisher for the ARC)

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Oct 08, 2020 Jessica Woodbury rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, speculative, arc-provided-by-publisher

3.5 stars. I think this is one of those books that suffered somewhat because I had a different vision for it than the author did. And that's okay, but I suspect some other readers will have a similar feeling.

It's a Speculative Western, set in an alternate America where a massive flu wiping out much of the population has led to a heavy lean into fertility patriarchy, making women with fertility issues cast out at best and victims of horrible vengeance and violence at worst. Our protagonist, Ada, 3.5 stars. I think this is one of those books that suffered somewhat because I had a different vision for it than the author did. And that's okay, but I suspect some other readers will have a similar feeling.

It's a Speculative Western, set in an alternate America where a massive flu wiping out much of the population has led to a heavy lean into fertility patriarchy, making women with fertility issues cast out at best and victims of horrible vengeance and violence at worst. Our protagonist, Ada, finds herself one of these cast out barren women, eventually ending up with a gang of outlaws.

At first blush, this gang looked to be a kind of nonbinary utopia, where no one was bound by the sex they were assigned at birth, where some dressed as men and others as women, where some saw themselves as neither or both. But with no cis men there, and plenty of kisses and romance exchanged, there was a kind of rebellious perfection. Buuuuuuuuut that isn't really how it ended up. It was just where my brain started going one way and the book started going another. If you give me something that could be a queer utopia I am gonna get a little stuck on that concept even if the book is not.

Queerness is secondary here to the issues of fertility. That one thing is of such importance that there is little consideration of how fertile women are trapped by this kind of system, too. It has a kind of starry-eyed romanticism to it that is not unexpected from a Western but is somewhat surprising in one that has this kind of setup. Many of the "barren women" we encounter were at one time married, and most of them describe it as a happy or at least potentially happy experience marred by their inability to have children. There is also one major cis man character who is somehow not like other men and the reveal on that... I get it but also I did not like it. There are so many opportunities here to consider the many ways this kind of society is bad, but it stays strangely limited.

I liked the gang, a riff on the Hole in the Wall Gang. (There is a Butch joke in here somewhere, I just know it...) With a sweet, solid Cassidy and a fiery preacher-type Kid and a News and a Texas, and that is quite fun, although I did get a little hazy on a few of the supporting characters and telling them apart. I liked the plotting and scheming and the attempts at robbery that don't feel romanticized at all. I liked a lot of the pieces of this book, I just wanted it to be more than the sum of its parts. ...more

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Jan 03, 2021 Esil rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley

I was excited when I realized that the author of Outlawed also wrote The Life and Death of Sophie Stark, which I loved. Outlawed did not wow me in the same way. It felt uneven. It is set in the late 19th century in what seems to be the southwestern United States in a community where women are labelled as witches if they don’t have children. At 19, Ada is banished from her family and community because she still has not had a baby after a year of marriage. She finds her way to a group of other wom ...more

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Nov 19, 2020 Carol added it

How does a young, contented bride, one with a penchant for midwifery, end up an outlaw?

Thanks to the generosity of Bloomsbury Publishing, Author Anna North and Edelweiss, I was able to find the answer. Due to be published January 5, 2021, get yourself on the list.

If the cover doesn't grab your attention just read the first few pages. Westerns featuring female protagonists are generally my cup of tea. Outlawed one was one heck of a good steep brewing to a satisfying end. ...more

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Nov 22, 2020 Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) rated it really liked it

In an alternate 1894, a flu outbreak has wiped out the majority of the U.S. population and leaves survivors praising baby Jesus who is certain to continue to spare them if they live righteously and procreate. Girls are raised to understand that their purpose is to marry and have as many children as possible. If for some reason a woman cannot get pregnant, she’s useless at best or a witch at worst. If she loses her pregnancy or has a baby with defects, it must certainly be the witchcraft of a bar In an alternate 1894, a flu outbreak has wiped out the majority of the U.S. population and leaves survivors praising baby Jesus who is certain to continue to spare them if they live righteously and procreate. Girls are raised to understand that their purpose is to marry and have as many children as possible. If for some reason a woman cannot get pregnant, she’s useless at best or a witch at worst. If she loses her pregnancy or has a baby with defects, it must certainly be the witchcraft of a barren woman at work.

Seventeen-year-old Ada has worked her whole life with her mother, the midwife in the town of Fairfield. She’s now happily married and ready to perform her duty of having children but is frustrated as months pass and she doesn’t become pregnant. Ada understands the reasons behind many issues surrounding pregnancy and childbirth but the mystery surrounding the inability to carry a child isn’t one of them. Worried she’ll be kicked out by her husband and his family, she tries everything to become pregnant to no avail. A town won’t let a woman unable to have a child become a midwife and they will eventually begin to blame her for any complications a pregnant woman has.
Her last hope is to leave Fairfield behind and live a quiet life in a convent.
Or… she could join up with the Hole in the Wall Gang: a rag tag group of outcasts choosing to live life on their own terms and known to do some thieving along the way.
Ada finds herself an outlaw in the gang led by the Kid, hatching a plan to make a future for them all …but may get them all killed in the process.

Outlawed is an amazing speculative Western full of heart and feminism, tackling gender roles/identity, race, religion, and fertility in a fascinating way. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy historical/speculative fiction and Westerns.

Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Outlawed is scheduled for release on January 5, 2021.

For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com ...more

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Dec 24, 2020 Lisa Wolf rated it really liked it

Shelves: western, feminist-lit, speculative-fiction

3.5 stars.

In Outlawed, we meet 17-year-old Ada at what should be the start of a happy future. Newly married, she loves her husband and is enjoying a robust married life with him. Except she’s not getting pregnant. As the months go by, the pressure mounts, until finally, after a year of marriage, she’s kicked out by her in-laws.

Being barren is considered the utmost failure for a woman, and failing to conceive is always considered the woman’s fault. Maybe it’s her family background? Maybe it’s pun 3.5 stars.

In Outlawed, we meet 17-year-old Ada at what should be the start of a happy future. Newly married, she loves her husband and is enjoying a robust married life with him. Except she’s not getting pregnant. As the months go by, the pressure mounts, until finally, after a year of marriage, she’s kicked out by her in-laws.

Being barren is considered the utmost failure for a woman, and failing to conceive is always considered the woman’s fault. Maybe it’s her family background? Maybe it’s punishment for sin? Or worst of all, she could be a witch, and most likely to blame for all the miscarriages and other tragedies in her town.

In the world of Outlawed, a terrible Flu years back wiped out 90% of the world’s population. In the pandemic’s aftermath, a new religion has blossomed, teaching the gospel of the Baby Jesus, who promises healthy futures to people — so long as they go forth and be fruitful, to repopulate the Earth. Barrenness, therefore, is not just a personal misfortune, but a sin against Baby Jesus. Barren women are outcasts, and once facing accusations of wrong-doing, are more likely than not to be hanged or imprisoned.

Ada, the daughter of the town’s only midwife, has been trained all her life by her mother to follow in her footsteps, and she understands that there must be scientific reasons for why some women get pregnant and some don’t. This conviction doesn’t save her when she’s accused of witchcraft, and she’s forced to flee for her life, eventually ending up with the Kid and the Hole in the Wall Gang, a group of outcast women who band together for survival. As Ada is given a place with the gang, she begins her days as an outlaw.

From this point, we follow Ada and the gang as they plot a daring heist that should enable them to provide a haven for other outcast women, but their plans are risky, the group faces divisions about their mission, and the Kid, their leader, suffers through bouts of depression that leave them unable to lead at a critical moment.

I mostly enjoyed Outlawed, but a few elements hold me back from giving this book a rave review. The pacing sags in the middle, once Ada arrives at the Hole in the Wall’s hideout, as she struggles for acceptance and to learn their ways. At this point, the plot slows down and becomes mainly focused on arguments and resentments within the group. Also, Ada’s transformation into a western outlaw seems a little too abrupt, and given her vocation as a healer, she appears to accept the more violent aspects of their lives without too many qualms.

My other complaint, which may just be a “me” thing rather than an issue with the book, is that the gang’s members are introduced all at once. We see them all as Ada first approaches, with physical descriptions of the people she sees around a campfire. Later, we learn their names as Ada does too. And for the life of me, I could not match the names and the people — while a few were distinct, for the most part, I could not really distinguish the characters as individuals or figure out who was who. It was annoying, and I gave up trying after a while.

Still, there’s a lot to love about Outlawed. The Western setting is familiar, but it’s turned upside down in this new version of the Old West, with fertility being the highest measure of a woman’s worth and a belief in witchcraft that seems like it should already be a thing of the distant past. I liked the sense of inclusion among the outcasts — any woman in trouble is welcome, and as we see later, there are plenty of reasons for people to end up ostracized, cast away, and forced to seek sanctuary among the outlaws.

I also loved Ada’s devotion to healing and to learning. The desire to learn what causes barrenness is what drives her, not only for her own sake but for the purpose of helping other women who suffer.

Once I’d picked up Outlawed and read the author bio, I realized that I have an earlier book by this author (America Pacifica) on my shelves. While I wouldn’t say that Outlawed was a complete hit for me, it intrigued me enough that I’ll definitely want to read more by this author.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies. ...more

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Dec 16, 2020 Sarah Jayyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: beautiful-covers, 2020, lgbtq, american-western, dystopian

🤠🤠🤠🤠 (Four stars as rated in emojis wearing cowboy hats)

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book through NetGalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Holy smokes. I feel both satisfied and completely heartbroken by this book. What an emotionally turbulent journey I just went on!
For this book, we venture into the alternate timeline of the North American West, in which women are accused of witchcraft for being barren and, sometimes even for the barrenness of others. When description

🤠🤠🤠🤠 (Four stars as rated in emojis wearing cowboy hats)

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book through NetGalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Holy smokes. I feel both satisfied and completely heartbroken by this book. What an emotionally turbulent journey I just went on!
For this book, we venture into the alternate timeline of the North American West, in which women are accused of witchcraft for being barren and, sometimes even for the barrenness of others. When Ada Magnussen is accused of such by her meddling in-laws and spineless neighbors after her own failure to conceive, she flees for fear of her life, ultimately joining up with a band of similar outcasts, led by an infamous, beguiling and gender neutral outlaw known merely as The Kid. This book has so much of what I’m looking for in a story, adventure or otherwise; The plot is engaging, the characters are well rounded and, what’s that? Did you say realistic representation of marginalized communities!?!?! And served on a bed of prose that is just beyond devour-able. Be still my beating heart. I am genuinely enamored with how much was pulled off (and pulled off well, no less) within this singular volume. That being said, my one complaint for the story is that the relative absence of Native Americans (save for one brief and otherwise forgettable encounter with an Indigenous trader) is a glaring and unfortunate oversight. Especially since veins of the plot are flagrant perpetuations of Manifest Destiny and of the idea that North America was virgin before colonization. Oof. I didn’t care for that. At all. Especially since the story is otherwise so genuinely inclusive without ever feeling tokenizing or compromised by the need to appeal to less “progressive” audiences. I would still give the thing a wholehearted four stars, though. And I will probably be replaying this book on a loop in my brain for the next six months. Yee-haw!!

Content warnings for this book: homophobia, racism, genital mutilation, death of a child, death of a friend, death of a partner, death of a spouse, general violence, starvation, mental illness, bombings, time in prison, wrongful accusations, disowning, drug use, eugenics, hate crimes, delusions, trauma, gun violence ...more

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Dec 21, 2020 R rated it it was amazing

This story was definitely not what I was expecting. But the unexpectedness was refreshingly good and very interesting.

The story took place in 1894. This was a time when superstitions were held as truth and innocent lives were taken because of it.This was also a time when young girls who reached a certain age were expected to marry and quickly have babies. Any females that couldn’t get pregnant were looked at with suspicion and scrutinized. Any deviation that occurred during this time such as st This story was definitely not what I was expecting. But the unexpectedness was refreshingly good and very interesting.

The story took place in 1894. This was a time when superstitions were held as truth and innocent lives were taken because of it.This was also a time when young girls who reached a certain age were expected to marry and quickly have babies. Any females that couldn’t get pregnant were looked at with suspicion and scrutinized. Any deviation that occurred during this time such as stillbirths or the German measles were thought to be the work of those barren females and held them accountable. Some were lucky to escape, others were put to death.

After being married for a year, Ada didn’t get pregnant. Her husband’s family threw her out and rumors of witchcraft quickly circulated. With her mother’s help, Ada was one of the lucky ones to escape, but she still had the sheriff searching for her. She, like others who were also barren, took refuge in a convent. Since Ada was taught midwifery by her mother, she was eager to educate herself about the causes of barrenness and dispel any of its relationship to witchcraft or other superstitious beliefs. In order to do that, and with the help of the Mother Superior, Ada left the safety of the convent. She took refuge with the Kid and the Hole in the Wall Gang. They did was they had to do in order to survive.This was where the story’s twist became apparent and a strong feminist presence took over.

I liked that the characters were very diverse including several LGBT. They each had a different and interesting reason for taking refuge with the Kid who gave them a purpose to live. It was a fast paced story and at times intense as the women tried to escape the sheriff whose sole interest was to capture and hang them.

This was a well written captivating story that dealt with a variety of topics including a misogynistic society, LGBT hatred, religious beliefs, racism, incest, women’s rights including abortion, and superstitions. If you are looking for a different type of Wild West adventure, this is the book to read.

An ARC was given for an honest review.

...more

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Dec 20, 2020 ♥ Sandi ❣ rated it liked it

Shelves: 1-have, 300-pages-or-less, historical-history, z-closed-2020-retired-bookworms, netgalley-digital, arc-giveaway, cultural, z-closed-2020-5000-books

3.5 stars Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsburg Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book. Publishes January 5, 2021

A twist on the Hole-in-the-Wall gang. This one is all women outlaws. Some undercover disguised as men, while some, dressed roughly, maintain a female composure. Most have found this calling due to being unable to bare a child. Some are forced to this situation, since barren women are considered witches and are hung, others went looking for a place to feel wanted.

In a di ...more

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Dec 27, 2020 BookNightOwl rated it did not like it

I want thank Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing a copy of Outlawed by Anna North in exchange for an honest review.

As 17 year old Ada gets married she becomes extremely happy to part of this group. But as her marriage goes further and further into the months she realizes she isn't getting pregnant. Which Barren women are usually at fault. They are accused of witchcraft and usually imprisoned or hung. Adas husbands family finally kicks her out and she runs away with the Kid and the Hole in the ...more

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Dec 11, 2020 Althea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021-releases, lgbt, adult, historical-fiction, arcs, disability-and-illness-rep, achillean, i-m-in-love-with-this-cover, lesbian, mental-health

3.5/5 Stars

This is a really tricky book to review - on the one hand I really enjoyed the story, the plot and the characters, but on the other I found it slightly underdeveloped.

Outlawed is set in an alternate-history America and follows Ada who, after getting kicked out by her mother in law for not being able to have children and subsequently being branded a witch, goes on the run to become a nun to avoid being prosecuted. After studying childbirth and complications therein, Ada decides to leave 3.5/5 Stars

This is a really tricky book to review - on the one hand I really enjoyed the story, the plot and the characters, but on the other I found it slightly underdeveloped.

Outlawed is set in an alternate-history America and follows Ada who, after getting kicked out by her mother in law for not being able to have children and subsequently being branded a witch, goes on the run to become a nun to avoid being prosecuted. After studying childbirth and complications therein, Ada decides to leave and join the notorious gang of women who cannot give birth, led by the nonbinary The Kid.

I really enjoyed Anna North's writing style - it's nothing overly-fancy or flowery but it is certainly effective. I also really enjoyed the take on America's history - the book has a Western style setting, which I loved, and generally follows what actually happened in America, but with some slight changes (including May having 31 days!).

The main theme of the book being women escaping from being persecuted for not being able to have children, and instead forming their own safe community was very interesting, but I don't think that it offered anything all that new to what literature currently discusses that topic. Furthermore, I felt that this book could have been more queer than it actually was (The Kid is nonbinary and is described as being neither male nor female, and there is a side sapphic couple and a male love interest who is achillean), considering how it is advertised. I also had a lot of trouble figuring out who the different side characters were and telling them apart as they all felt rather two-dimensional. The Kid also suffers from some sort of mental illness, and it is never specified exactly what illness that is, and I'm honestly not sure it was treated that sensitively.

Overall, however, this book was a lot of fun. I love books that take place in a 'Western' setting and Ada's story was one that I really enjoyed. However, I think that this book could go through/could have gone through a few more rounds of editing before being published.

TW: miscarriage, problems in childbirth, death, gore, medical procedures, guns, mutilation, self-harm, off-page hanging, racism, eugenics, pregnancy in general

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for an e-ARC copy in return for an honest review ...more

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Jan 03, 2021 Lori rated it it was amazing

Shelves: queer-fic, fiction, arc-reviewers-copy, downloads

A queer, femme, alternate Western set in the late 1800's where survivors of the flu are focused on procreation, where girls are raised to marry young and have babies or run the risk of being banished or worse, hanged for witchcraft.

Ada, a midwife in training, finds herself unable to get pregnant and is secretly shipped off to a convent to avoid the accusations being launched her way. Her desire to understand what is causing infertility in women causes her time with the nuns to be short - the Mo ...more

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Dec 21, 2020 OutlawPoet rated it really liked it

Shelves: diverse

Well, this was delightful.

I’ve heard it described as feminist lit and queer lit, and it is, but it’s also just an adventure! One that despite touching on so many social issues, is a story that’s pure fun.

It did take me a moment to understand our world. It’s sort of an alt-history western and it has all those wonderful elements against a backdrop of witchcraft and horrors against women, queer folks, and people of color. The style is down to earth and the adventure itself is riveting.

There’s only ...more

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Dec 11, 2020 Lexi rated it liked it

Thanks to Goodreads for providing me with an ARC of this book! I made it about halfway through Outlawed, but ultimately did DNF it, so certainly take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Outlawed is marketed as a feminist western, and certainly takes a strong western novel tone- major props for that. Ada lives in a village where not being able to have a child makes you vulnerable to being accused of witchcraft. Ada was happily married for a year, working as a midwife, when she (who has not ever conv Thanks to Goodreads for providing me with an ARC of this book! I made it about halfway through Outlawed, but ultimately did DNF it, so certainly take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Outlawed is marketed as a feminist western, and certainly takes a strong western novel tone- major props for that. Ada lives in a village where not being able to have a child makes you vulnerable to being accused of witchcraft. Ada was happily married for a year, working as a midwife, when she (who has not ever convinced) is accused of witchcraft by another woman. She flees her small town and ends up with a female-dominated gang of outlaws.

In its bright sports, I really enjoyed the prose a lot and the opening two chapters, in particular, read gracefully and were a lot of fun. The author has the character have some extremely frank conversations about sex and female sexuality which were super welcomed.

The farther I got into the book, the more I started to lose interest. This in part comes from the fact that I am pretty picky about westerns, so naturally, as Ada joins the gang, you are going to see a lot more typical "western" stuff. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. I did really enjoy the cast of characters and thought the relationships between them were well done if a little stiff.

My biggest issue is with the gang leader- The Kid. The Kid is, by any account, I am aware of, nonbinary. The author is refuse to use they/them or any neo pronouns with them, only using "The Kid" in place of any pronouns. from a reader's perspective, I can not state enough how absolutely jarring this is to read. The Kid being one of the main characters, this starts chipping away at you pretty early in the book. While I am sure there are nonbinary folks out there who don't use pronouns, I can not state how much this does not work in the book- and I also think that in terms of nonbinary visibility, using they/them pronouns would work much better.

Anyway, I still think Outlawed is for somebody. If you want a mostly female western story that discusses the patriarchy and (sort of) non binary rep, this could be for you! ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Diane S ☔ rated it liked it

Thoughts soon.

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Aug 09, 2020 Bandit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book had me at female outlaws. And if I didn’t read the plot summary, it would have had me at the cover. Great cover. Once you get past the inevitable comparisons to two other well known works and actually read the book, you’ll find out its very much its own thing and an excellent thing indeed. Set in a somewhat alternate reality of the Wild Wild West of the 1894 and 1895, the book follows Ada, a young midwife in training, a young wife, who finds herself unable to get pregnant. In the world This book had me at female outlaws. And if I didn’t read the plot summary, it would have had me at the cover. Great cover. Once you get past the inevitable comparisons to two other well known works and actually read the book, you’ll find out its very much its own thing and an excellent thing indeed. Set in a somewhat alternate reality of the Wild Wild West of the 1894 and 1895, the book follows Ada, a young midwife in training, a young wife, who finds herself unable to get pregnant. In the world she inhabits there’s no greater crime for a woman for it is a world obsessed with reproduction. Women get married young and ought to have as many babies as possible, failure to do so results in marriage annulments, banishments, prosecutions as witches, etc. A woman barren is as good as dead, unless she finds another way of life. And Ada does, first at a nunnery and soon after with a gang of outlaws, a much nicer fit for her.
It is there she meets all the fascinating variegated characters that populate this tale led by the enigmatic charismatic Kid, an aspiring preacher turned insomniac outlaw. Kid has a plan, a plan that can make their way of life into something more permanent, something that can help more people, but implementing this plan proves to be complicated, deadly even. Is there a greater way to (pun intended) dust up an old and staid Western genre than to infuse it with a bunch of gender bending bandits? I mean, seriously, how awesome is that. To take a group of barren women that refuses to be defined by societal expectations and turn them into gun wielding legends. F yeah. That’s women’s liberation way before there was such a thing in this country, a feminist take on the classic scenario. Excellent, excellent. Plus all the other makings of a great read, good writing, terrific characters, some romance even (actually considering the plot, the entire thing is surprisingly light on sapphistry), but yeah, there’s an entire gamut of emotions and themes here, though in the end it is a book about finding oneself, finding one’s purpose and place in the world. It’s just that Ada’s journey managed to involve some crazy twists and turns. This was my first experience reading the author and what an auspicious introduction it turned out to be. I really enjoyed this book from cover to finish. Even the page count worked well, nice to have a great story told in under 300 pages. What restraint. One I should really learn from. So let’s end this on a round of applause. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
...more

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Dec 30, 2020 Devann rated it really liked it

Shelves: c-arcs, g-historical-fiction, sg-lgbtia, sg-girls-helping-girls, z-20-netgalley, a-young-adult, 4-0-star

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

I was almost surprised how much I ended up enjoying this. I knew I would like the feminist Western aspect, but I was worried about the super patriarchal society that revolves so heavily around pregnancy because that kind of thing is often a trigger for me. I think the author did a good job using it for world building purposes and to set the stage but also never really getting explicit enough with any of it to put me off the book any point [althou ...more

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Dec 02, 2020 Taylor rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-arcs

If you're like me and obsessed with 19th century midwifery, this is the book for you. Even if you aren't like me (which I suspect you aren't), this novel will captivate you. It is simultaneous historical and speculative. There are so many small details that make the setting so convincing and intricate. Ada is a wonderful character. I felt her pain and her triumphs.

It would be easy to say this is a book about womanhood and fertility, but I would contend it's far more. Outlawed is the story of pa ...more

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Oct 29, 2020 Andrew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, books-that-should-be-movies

In the town of Fairchild, nothing is more sacred than the baby Jesus. Having children is the most noble thing you can do, and if a woman is unable to get pregnant, she's declared "barren", accused of witchcraft, and typically hanged. Unable to conceive after a year of marriage, Ada escapes a disastrous fate by joining a convent-- a common place for barren women to seek refuge. However, Ada isn't sure she's suited for this life, but no one will let a barren woman become a midwife as she'd been tr ...more

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Dec 17, 2020 Nostalgia Reader rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook-netgalley, on-the-blog, weird-n-wild-west, zz-00-2021

A wonderful, powerful slow-paced-quick-read, set in an alternate Wild West that would not seem too far-fetched in modern times.

For the first quarter or so of the book, I was getting strong vibes from the way the women's role in society is placed almost solely in their purpose to have babies. Women who had fertility issues and/or were unable to have children (the men of course were never blamed for any issues they had) were seen as witches and plagues on the small towns. Of course, this was no w A wonderful, powerful slow-paced-quick-read, set in an alternate Wild West that would not seem too far-fetched in modern times.

For the first quarter or so of the book, I was getting strong vibes from the way the women's role in society is placed almost solely in their purpose to have babies. Women who had fertility issues and/or were unable to have children (the men of course were never blamed for any issues they had) were seen as witches and plagues on the small towns. Of course, this was no where near as extreme as Handmaid's Tale, as the women still had many freedoms and were not simply objects, but the general extremism (based in religious fanaticism brought on by, oh hey look, a plague!) was on par with Atwood's masterpiece in my mind.

Ada is an assistant to her mother, who's the town midwife, and has seen a lot, certainly enough to know that fertility issues are definitely not the result of witchcraft. And enough to know that once she gets married and is unable to get pregnant, attending births becomes more and more risky. Indeed, she ends up being labelled as a witch and forced to escape from the town for it, after a a few women she knew or attended to had miscarriages or babies with birth defects.

What follows for the rest of the book is Ada going on a quest for knowledge, planning to travel to a clinic she heard about in her research into infertility. Her quest brings her West (to Wyoming, from what I gleaned from locations mentioned), where she ends up falling in with The Hole in the Wall gang, a legendary group of outcast women and nonbinary folks, who make their living conducting robberies and doing their own damn thing. Ada is reluctant to join, and the gang members are even more reluctant to accept her, but as time goes on she becomes an valuable member of the gang.

The majority of this book, once it got out West, was EXACTLY what I had hoped Upright Women Wanted would have been, but lacked. While Outlawed isn't a sprawling novel, it has much more characterization of everyone sprinkled throughout the story, has a clearer alternate history built and explained, and was much more engrossing to read. Ada was a great mixture of a strong-yet-doubting character, The Kid was amazing and needs a spin off novella, and while I still never got a clear idea of who else did exactly what, they were all still likable and enjoyable to read. While I would have loved more fleshed out backstories, I also didn't feel like I didn't have ANY backstory for them--a good balance in my book.

The final shootout sequence was very well done, just enough suspense to keep me binge reading the last quarter of the book over an afternoon--something I rarely ever do. I did feel the ending was a bit lackluster for a few reasons (I feel like it also could have been drawn out into another chapter almost, or an epilogue), but it was a happy one, for both Ada and for the gang.

HIGHLY recommend for anyone who loves feminist fiction, modern westerns, queer representation, alternate history, and adventure times in general.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!

(Cross posted on my blog.) ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Cat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

2021 Book Review 1: Outlawed
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Outlawed by Anna North is the story of Ada, a 17 year old newlywed and apprenticing midwife, forced to leave her life and start over as an outlaw in a fictionalized 1894. Thank you to @bloomsburypublishing for the early copy, which did not affect my review of the book.
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The story takes place in the shell of a former United States, decades after the population was ravaged by a Great Flu. Infertility is linked to witchcraft and barren women are not only cast out of hom ...more

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Dec 16, 2020 Brenda Feinen rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley

After a flu epidemic killed one out of three people, America disbanded. People were married at 16, 17 - with the intention of repolulating. A wife was given a year or two, sometimes less, sometimes more - to become pregnant and give birth. If not, they were kicked out of the marriage; mostly accused of witchcraft when women had miscarriages, still births. Either jail, convents or death by hanging awaited these women.
Ada is the daughter of Fairchild's well respected midwife. At 17, Ada marries. A ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Chris Haak rated it it was amazing

I loved everything about this book! It was thrilling, it dealt with important issues like women's rights, it had excellent and original characters and it was so much fun to read and well written! A Handmaid's Tale western style.
Thank you Bloomsbury and Edelweiss for the ARC. ...more

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Jan 01, 2021 Stacy - The Novel Life rated it liked it

Fascinating premise. A good book, quick read, one that will make most women thank their lucky stars to not have been living around 1895 in the United States.

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Nov 23, 2020 Alyson rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, arc, diverse-reads

Alternative history, western, LGBT+, dystopian, great characters, evocative setting...... Read it!

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Jul 24, 2020 Sage rated it really liked it

3.5 stars overall, maybe 4. Really enjoyed this book — Ada is a great protagonist, and was determined to use her medical skills however/whenever possible. I wasn’t sucked into this book until she went to the Hole in the Wall, though. Her time spent at the convent was just a stopgap, and I found myself wishing I would just “get to the good part.” I do think that the convent parts added another element to the story, and fleshed out Ada’s life more fully.

This was a unique feminist dystopian book, ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 Zuzu Burford rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: women-authors, netgalley

The tale takes place at the end of the 19th century where the wild west was still a dangerous place especially for women that didn't conform to the norms expected by society.
Anna North grasps the conditions of that period as our hero has to make her way through lessons in life while searching for sanctuary and security making for an original coming of age saga that all should enjoy.
Racism, intermarriage, gay and lesbian issues are touched on in a positive manner and a big shout out for that.
For ...more

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Apr 28, 2020 Karena rated it really liked it

Shelves: not-yet-published, queer, galley-digital, 2020-reads, western

Interesting concept. Plot moved along. Would love to read more.

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Jan 03, 2021 Rhiannon Johnson rated it really liked it

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw Outlawed pop up on my radar in April 2020 I had just recently read Upright Women Wanted and I loved the idea of another queer Western novel. Where Upright Women Wanted is a near-future dystopia, Outlawed takes place in an alternate, late 19th century United States where a quasi-Christian religion values reproduction above all else.

"We had read Burton's Lessons of the Infant Jesus Christ every yea I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw Outlawed pop up on my radar in April 2020 I had just recently read Upright Women Wanted and I loved the idea of another queer Western novel. Where Upright Women Wanted is a near-future dystopia, Outlawed takes place in an alternate, late 19th century United States where a quasi-Christian religion values reproduction above all else.

"We had read Burton's Lessons of the Infant Jesus Christ every year since third form, so we had heard about how God sent the Great Flu to cleanse the world of evil, just like he'd sent the flood so many centuries before. We knew that baby Jesus had appeared to Mary of Texarkana after the sickness had killed nine of every ten men, women, and children from Boston to California, and struck a covenant with her: if those who remained were fruitful and peopled the world in His image, He would spare them further sickness, and they and their descendants forever after would be precious to Him."

Just as in our real world, the world of Outlawed is peopled with those who are not cis, heterosexual, and/or fertile, but if a person doesn't fall into these expected categories they are run out of town, hanged, and/or violently assaulted. Main protagonist, eighteen-year-old Ada has been accused of witchcraft due to her failure to become pregnant and accusations from the community are leading to whispers of her hanging. Sent out of town to a convent Ada begins to research the true reason behind barrenness (medical not religious *gasp*) and then risks a journey beyond the convent to seek out rare medical texts. When she comes upon the camp of The Hole in the Wall Gang, she realizes there is something different about these outlaws.

I loved that this novel integrated themes of mental and physical health, intersectional feminism, and opposition to patriarchal expectations but I did have a few problems with not mixing up the characters. I think this is due to the author's intention of showing how each character initially confuses Ada with their sexuality and demeanor. I also think that too many characters are introduced at a single time (when Ada meets The Whole in the Wall Gang) but they are not given enough descriptors to firmly establish each character in readers' minds. My advice is to take a few notes about the characters as you read.

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