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hmatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Storytelling
I feel like the author was trying to fit too many events into too short of a narrative. This might have been okay, but there were so many minor events that I think we should have spent less time on, and a number of climactic events that we spent barely any time on whatsoever. A lot of these major events "fade to black" as soon as the action starts, and then we are caught up on what happened in retrospect later on - I was REALLY not a fan of this technique, and I don't think it made sense for the "western" genre.
Character-building
We do get a lot of information on most of the characters but, again, it's almost too much for how short of a book it is. What we lose out on, in my opinion, is a more profound emotional connection with the main character. We don't really dwell on her losses or feel them with her, which is extra strange given the whole novel is told in first-person.
TL;DR
The idea behind the novel is fantastic, but it tries to fit too much in. The concepts it seeks to explore are really only half-fleshed-out and the characters are hard to relate to, simply because the plot moves on too fast to hold space for these introspections.
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Medical content, Infidelity, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Violence, Murder, Infertility, Sexual violence, Racism, Police brutality, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexism, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gore, Miscarriage, and Mental illness
Moderate: Rape, Confinement, Transphobia, Classism, Gore, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death and Drug abuse
CWs non-exhaustivedenizens98's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Racism, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gun violence, Grief, Child abuse, Abortion, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Body horror, Infertility, Hate crime, Incest, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Excrement, Death, Animal death, and Alcohol
cheye13's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
That being said, I don't think western stories are really for me? There's always such a deep pain and/or hopelessness within them that never seems to hit my catharsis button. This one came very close with each of the outlaw's backstories, but the ultimate plot just left me with, "Well. Okay."
This was definitely my favorite western I've ever read, though. Leagues above.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, and Infertility
Moderate: Pregnancy, Grief, Blood, Abortion, Confinement, Miscarriage, and Homophobia
Minor: Ableism, Rape, Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
ableism wrt: implied bipolar disorder (or perhaps other psychosis), implied post partum depression medical/injury content wrt: gunshot wounds, childbirth & miscarriage, castration, hypothermia, various illnesseskimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Biphobia, Blood, Confinement, Death, Outing, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Homophobia, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts
azalia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Death, Racism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Homophobia, Self harm, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Addiction, Gun violence, and Hate crime
seawarrior's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Ada is an interesting protagonist in many ways. She straddles the line between adolescence and adulthood, expertise and inexperience, wisdom and ignorance. Her mother's teachings have left her with adequate skills to practice medicine, but not much else. Once joining the Hole In the Wall Gang she shows poor judgement as a thief and as a peer, by making ignorant and insensitive remarks that strike a nerve with those whose life experience she's has yet to understand. Ada's shortcomings are not excused by the narrative or unrealistically healed by it, instead we're allowed to see both her perspective and those of the Gang members who are upset with her to form our own judgement that may differ from Ada's.
Throughout the book we are introduced to a number of characters who like Ada, have been discarded by society. Most of these characters are also infertile women, who found themselves in similar predicaments to Ada and had little other choice but to become outlaws afterward. I appreciated how even despicable acts such as killing were routinely told with empathy towards both the victim and the perpetrator. Within the world of Outlawed, violence is neither random nor justified, but understood as initiatives inflicted by the desperate or the powerful when one either has too much influence or not enough. The Hole in the Wall Gang reasons away their crimes because they have to in order to live with themselves, and because they feel that their victims are one face among many who would laugh as their lives were taken. Yet their violence is often more horrifying than it is grandiose, and always understood as a last resort effort for survival.
Though I read this book slowly I felt that North's writing style was effortlessly engaging and almost magical. Through Ada's eyes we see the beauty of human life and the environments that sustain it, both natural and man-made. Yet we are also made to feel the weight of the many tragedies she has witnessed, survived and inflicted. When Ada first ventures to find the Hole in the Wall Gang the tales she hears of their exploits are larger than life, and when she leaves them they are even more so. Within that time she learns that each of their members are only human and therefore flawed, with this possibly applying to the Kid most of all. The most powerful theme in this novel is how life goes on even after immense tragedy, and how we may find purpose in its midst.
Ada's purpose as a healer and her resolve that her knowledge is needed by the world at large is a striking motivation that propels her story forward and opens a well of emotion whenever her life is threatened. In these times North packs a punch by describing her grief towards her past and her possible future, with both realities linked by the medical and social wisdom her mother passed onto her. We come to accept as Ada does that on her survival hinges the lives of countless other infertile women who need an answer to their plight that will make the proponent theories of witchcraft and "race mixing" a thing of the past. Yet before she can achieve this dream Ada must learn through her failures while never giving up on herself, knowing she will one day find vengeance through the healing of others.
Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, Self harm, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Racism
Moderate: Incest, Sexual content, and Transphobia
abbeyhuffine94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Violence
tiredcath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I really, really wanted to love this book. The premise and cover are absolutely stunning and hooked me in right away. Especially with the opening line. Unfortunately, it was just okay.
I give North credit for writing a very diverse book, but what are diversity points worth if you don't connect? Because I didn’t connect or care for any character and I wasn’t invested in Ada at all.
Most of the characters felt very flat to me, which is so sad because I really wanted to fall in love with them. Some backstories I found unnecessary, but I can see the argument on why they were needed for the story. Showing how gruesome and cruel the world is. I liked the conversation I think North was trying to start, but again, it fell short.
There’s nothing I disliked about the book, perhaps the last few pages, but it didn’t deter my reading experience.
Wasn’t the worst, wasn’t the bad. So just okay.
Graphic: Homophobia and Hate crime
Moderate: Gun violence and Torture
nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition
2.25
This feminist take on a Western novel, filled with crime, adventure, and challenging authority, was certainly creative, but I was quite the right audience for it. Indeed, I was so distracted by the references to race, doctors, baby Jesus, the Flu and Fever, and the seeming dissolution of the United States that I was almost more focused on trying to figure out whether this was a dystopian alternative history (a Confederate win in the Civil War?) or a dystopian future (post COVID-19?), and I'm honestly still confused.
I also was pretty confused by the role of religion and by all of the characters. There were many, each with a painful background, but none was particularly well-developed, and the sub-plots detracted rather than added to the story. The one exception to this, in my opinion, was Lark's story, which surprised and intrigued me, but he, too, was an underdeveloped character who stuck around too briefly.
I appreciate the reviewer who acknowledged that this book offers a different take on the Hole in the Wall gang. I had no idea that this gang was a real concept and really disappointed that there was no Author's Note explaining that research and that choice (which guess means this is an alt-history novel?).
I picked this up because I needed a quick read to help propel me out of a slump (too many classics in a row/at a time can do that to you), and it was definitely successful in that respect. The story was engaging enough and kept me turning the pages for the few hours that this took to finish, but ultimately, I think Anna North bit off more than she could chew--infertility, religion, feminism, justice, gender fluidity, insomnia, mental health, medicine, mothering, Western adventure--and it really didn't work for me.
Graphic: Infertility, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Abortion
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
emsim's review against another edition
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Infertility, Homophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Abortion, and Ableism