Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Outlawed

A gay western meets the dystopia of Handmaids Tale. North writes intricate characters that push the narrative of understanding what makes us different does not make us less than. A great feminist read.

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readinghavoc's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I had a really good time reading this. It felt like exactly the type of thing I needed to kickstart my end-of-year reading/get me out of a small reading slump. It was exciting to get to see so many diverse types of queerness and identity in a setting where those histories are often erased. This novel managed to get a lot done in a short space while not feeling overly rushed.

I'm really fucking upset about Lark, though. Who would have guessed I could simp so hard for a man? I'm still mourning his life with Ada in Pagosa Springs. I do wish there was more of a clear build-up to Ada being ready to take over Alice's surgery, but I also think given the pace of the book, it was still really well done.

Yay for queer cowboys!

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melissagrace's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I don't know, this was much more about infertility than anything else, and the number of times they said "baby Jesus" just about did me in. It seemed like it was going to be a much more fun romp in the wild west, but it is not fun. Don't come here looking for a good time. It seemed to try to address a lot of issues without actually addressing any of them that well?

Summary:

In a baby OBSESSED old west America adjacent, if you're a woman who can't have babies, you'd better run and join a convent or a gang before they literally hang you as a witch. That's what the main character does, only somewhat successfully. She meets forgettable characters along the way and gets several of them killed or injured. In the end she's going to try and run a practice as a midwife before she gets run out of a new town. Again.

And there, I've saved you the trouble of reading it. Sweet baby Jesus.

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feathers4bookmarks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A fun dystopian twist on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The focus is not on a retelling, but plays on the story of Cassidy and the Kid.
LGBTQIA+ themes and non-binary characters are a refreshing feature to this western adventure featuring a woman studying to be a midwife amidst the aftermath of a sort of flu that causes infertility and religions that twist the truth into a curse, punishing women as witches. The story shows her journey as circumstances change for her. I loved EVERYTHING about this- and sadly the theme felt so realistic as a historical fiction that I missed the whole dystopian trope at first.

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sullivc5's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

It's Billy the kid meets the handmaid's tale

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melissalivanos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

It was a good book, but hard to read sometimes. The dystopic “if a woman can’t have a baby, she’s a witch who needs to be hanged” tone is rough to stomach in the current political climate. But I liked the characters, the plot, the ending, and the prose. The novel successfully examined the themes it set out to examine, and left me with a lot of thoughts and feelings. It’s just not the kind of book I’m in a place to dolly enjoy right now.

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alexaryan's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

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