Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Outlawed by Anna North

27 reviews

madbrad's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Infertility, Hate crime, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Biphobia

Minor: Body horror

madeline29's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Enjoyable enough and a quick read, but something about it felt flat. I enjoyed reading about queer characters in this time period but it often felt like they had teleported from the 21st century. For me, the author didn’t try hard enough to contextualise/integrate the characters into the setting. The main character in particular felt very hollow and lacking in any real personality.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

rachealcroucher's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Sexism, Biphobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Abortion, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Transphobia, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Murder, Alcohol, Child death, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racism, Body shaming, Death, and Emotional abuse

lovejasmine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

The biggest problem with this book is that it could have been so much better than it was. It could have been so inclusive and intersectional and diverse, and could have been a beautiful, in depth story of marginalised people coming together in a world that hates them.

Instead, we got the barest hint of that, with a very self centred, very white narrator that was, honestly, kind of boring.

The worst thing about this book was it wasn't bad. It just could have been incredible.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Blood, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Animal death, and Chronic illness

bookishlittleme's review

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Sort of an Old West Crucible; as described on the back. I've been in quite the reading slump recently and this was the perfect book to get me out of it. It was well paced and action packed. It features a diverse cast of characters centring around queer people and women. Ada is also an incredibly endearing protagonist forced to swiftly grow up. The world is wonderfully built and lets the reader escape to the world of cowboys and outlaws. Definitely worth the read!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Medical content, Hate crime, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual content, Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Miscarriage, and Alcohol

spcandybars's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book puts me in a complicated feeling. It starts off promising. A well established setting and lore and quick progression between scenes and events. It’s just the last maybe fourth of the book that begins to lose the plot. It feels like a story the author wasn’t sure how to finish. It’s not about any one relationship so it can focus on the dynamic of the world but I believe not developing the dynamics of the core found family is actually a detriment in this case. It’s a fairly short story that honestly needs a bit of fleshing 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility

Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Gun violence

madhunp's review

adventurous emotional reflective fast-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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Sexual content, Hate crime, Rape, Abortion, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Death, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Racism, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Outing, Infidelity, Body horror, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, and Blood

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Incest, and Abortion

nikimorr's review

adventurous hopeful informative sad slow-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, and Infertility

bmaeus's review

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

One of my favorite reads of 2021. The ensemble cast does need more attention, but everything else is exactly what you're yearning for in a Western: loneliness, hardship, friendship, gunfights, law-breaking in the name of justice.

I've seen complaints that this is from the straight ("straight") cis white girl's perspective, but you know, I appreciate it—that's the author staying in her lane. It's an alternate history that features diversity without downplaying QTPOC hardship. North also at least understands how much of a role community plays in the lives of queer people.

The worldbuilding is rock-solid and so captivating. By exacerbating the roots of the patriarchy and gender binary, it pokes holes in these institutions with impressive deftness. In that vein, I've also seen multiple complaints that this book leans into homophobia and transphobia... Are we reading the same book?

The plot was much slower and less intense than I anticipated given the breadth of information and characters. But in the end, it turns out that our protagonist's internal journey was the chief focus all along, and I can't fault it for that. Her relationship with her own body and with others'—as a healer, a woman, and a friend—is deeply satisfying to watch. 

The Kid is one of the most compelling characters I've met in recent memory. I do think The Kid's disability could have been utilized more cleanly. It left me wanting at multiple points, particularly the end.

I love cowboys and I love this book. I generally stay away from such literally feminist novels, especially those written by white women, but Outlawed looks at its own world from many different angles and simply asks (with alternatingly gentle and demanding persistence) that you do the same with yours. It's heartbreaking and hopeful all the same. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Homophobia, Ableism, Medical trauma, Infertility, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Dysphoria, Violence, Abortion, Death, Hate crime, and Transphobia