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A review by kylita
Outlawed by Anna North
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Adventurous and rustic, Outlawed tells the story of Ada, daughter of the revered town midwife. Ada immediately piques your interest, with her first sentence begging you to learn how she became an outlaw.
Let's just say, I would have been an outlaw years ago if I lived in Ada's society, so I became engrossed with finding out how Ada would live her life after being kicked out of her husband's home for being infertile.
Ada's quest to seek scientific answers eventually lands her in the middle of nowhere, Hole in the Wall, with a cast of other tough and (mostly) barren women.
While Outlawed and its alt-history was a quick read, it was overall underdeveloped. Most of the women at the feminine commune (that's essentially what their camp was) didn't get to tell their story until there were only twenty pages left and the "main event" lasted five pages after a long build-up.
Would I still recommend it? Yes. Just beware: even though Ada is from the Dakotas, I couldn't stop reading it in an accent in my head. Is it the drama housed in me or is it truly impossible to read a "western" without channeling what I think cowboys sound like?
Let's just say, I would have been an outlaw years ago if I lived in Ada's society, so I became engrossed with finding out how Ada would live her life after being kicked out of her husband's home for being infertile.
Ada's quest to seek scientific answers eventually lands her in the middle of nowhere, Hole in the Wall, with a cast of other tough and (mostly) barren women.
While Outlawed and its alt-history was a quick read, it was overall underdeveloped. Most of the women at the feminine commune (that's essentially what their camp was) didn't get to tell their story until there were only twenty pages left and the "main event" lasted five pages after a long build-up.
Would I still recommend it? Yes. Just beware: even though Ada is from the Dakotas, I couldn't stop reading it in an accent in my head. Is it the drama housed in me or is it truly impossible to read a "western" without channeling what I think cowboys sound like?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Racism