Reviews

Outlawed by Anna North

ires3s's review

adventurous informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

neneswill's review against another edition

5.0

I found this at Reese Witherspoon's book club, and I'm happy I gave it a shot. It's relatable, and intriguing. Was fun to see young women take back their lives in an unconventional way and fight to survive in a society that rejected them. Loved it!

notdanidevito's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

spatterson12's review against another edition

3.0

I can’t remember the last time I read a cowboy-themed book, if I ever did. It’s not a collection of short stories, but with the chapters as long as they were, it felt like each one encompassed a specific story. A tale of a barren woman exiled from her town and having to figure out what kind of life she wanted outside of the life she had only known.

jenns_bookshelf's review against another edition

2.5

This was just not for me. It started out rocky - I wasn't really prepared for how religious and how focused entirely on women's bodies we were going to be right at the beginning; and then everything took a hard left turn when we got to the gunslinging outlaws. I quite liked that, but it devolved a little for me as we continued on. I didn't feel a connection to our narrator or any of the other characters; everything was surface level, despite the narrative delving into the fertility, queerness, gender, and mental illness of those around our MC. At one point, I believe our MC said there were 8 different people around her, which I found so surprising because I could name only 4 on the top of my head (Texas, News, Cassie, and The Kid). It felt... empty to me. The writing also really didn't work for me - it was so bland, "telly," and straightforward, and I found it so difficult to focus on this story for more than an hour at a time. it was a short narrative, but it took me so long to get through, which is really rare. 
I wanted to really like this - I LOVE the concept of queer gunslinging outlaws trying to make a place for themselves in the world. But this just didn't do it at all for me.

cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition

3.0

*ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this read. Queer feminist Western that is well written and engrossing. I recommended it.

molten's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

1.5

isammv's review

adventurous mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

At first this reminded me of the handmaids tale, but after finishing it I couldn’t make that comparison without feeling like I was leaving something out. So creative and captivating. I loved the gender bending and queer character dynamics. Cowboys and horses and nuns oh my so good!

hannahoude's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

zittleac's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0