Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC. The opinions expressed within are my own and unbiased.

Looking for queer dystopian Western? Look no further, Anna North has written a good one. I didn't know exactly what I was expecting from this novel, but I enjoyed everything it gave. North's worldbuilding is effortless. The tale is set in a failed United States where so many were killed by the flu pandemic of the 1840s that the entire government fell. The survivors cling desperately to religion and blame most of their problems on witchcraft. One of the easiest ways for a woman to be labeled a witch was to be barren.

This brings us to our main character, Ada a midwife in training. Unfortunately for Ada, she is barren, and this ends her studies, forcing her to run from the law to save her life. The novel follows Ada as she tries to find her way in the harsh world of the western territories, eventually ending up with a gang of outlaw women who had faced predicaments similar to her own. The Hole in the Wall gang is filled with interesting characters and North fleshes them out well. Sometimes I find that side characters all blend together, but each member of the gang had their own story and personality. There was some excellent queer representation within the gang, as well as nuanced discussion of race.

I don't want to post any spoilers, so I will leave off here and tell you that if you decide to read about Ada's adventures with the Hole in the Wall gang, you won't regret it.

Outlawed follows Ada, who in the 1890s is an apprentice to her mother (the midwife) and a new bride. She is not, however, pregnant, which is a problem in a world in which "barren" women are banished or hanged.

The first third of this book was off like a shot for me - I was so captivated by this story. But then it sort of petered out, and I never really found that steady pace again. There was a sense of urgency at the beginning of the book that I didn't feel later on. (Perhaps that makes sense, given where the plot goes, but I couldn't help but feel that the first third and the second two-thirds were two distinct books. And that the first one was a better fit for me personally.)

I love the idea of outcasts coming together to form their own, more inclusive community - and I also love the idea of them being outlaws, not timid souls who've been sent away with their tails between their legs. Those both led me to try out Outlawed, but I am admittedly not a big western or historical fiction reader, so if you are this one may very well work better for you.

This book was completely different from anything I've ever read. The diversity, inclusion, celebration of individuality, and sheer representation present in this book are so beyond refreshing. Ada was a great main character which made it all the more enjoyable. This is the book that 2021 needs. If you're looking for a read that covers sexuality, gender identity, mental health, racism, and feminism, this is it.

Full thoughts are shared on Episode 6 of Book Broads Podcast where we interview the author, Anna North!

First, I’m basically the perfect reader for this book. I love smart feminist adventures in Westerns. I love thrilling alt-history. And this book delivered on all my hopes and dreams: a childless woman on a mission, a band of robbers, a dangerous dream for a future! The story grabs you by the heart and drags you on a galloping breathless adventure. It’s hard to put it down once you get started. I hate the term “fun romp” but literally, that is this book. But also feminist and clever and hopeful. If you dream of self realization and autonomy, of collectively building a future that serves us all, there might be something here that tugs are your humanity. hang on for the ride!

An excellent, well written and interesting alternate history novel that kept me hooked and gave a lot of food for thought.
Great world building and character development, a tightly knitted plot.
A thought provoking novel that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Fantastic, innovative, genre bending! I was thrilled to see this novel as a Reese's Book Club pick and a Book of the Month selection. This gender defying "feminist western" was a breath of fresh air and unlike any recent reads. Relevant, thought provoking. and an immersive page turner. Definitely plan to read more from Anna North!

Many thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for my ARC of OUTLAWED by Anna North!

It’s the year of our Lord 1894 and it is every woman’s duty to bear children and replace those who were lost during the Great Flu. Our young protagonist Ada is a content newlywed and studying under her mother as an apprentice midwife. When Ada fails to become pregnant after a year of marriage, she is thrown out by her in-law’s and rumors of witchcraft begin to circulate. Before Ada is jailed or hung, her mother helps her escape town and she flees to a convent. Ada finds comfort in the library and educates herself on the reproductive system and barrenness. She hopes to spread awareness and save future victims from superstition, fear and hatred. Mother Superior convinces Ada that she will find the answers she seeks with the notorious Kid and The Hole in the Wall Gang. As it turns out, the gang is made up of fellow outcasts and nonconformists hoping to create a better place for people like them.

All I needed to hear was “feminist western” and I knew I had to read this book! The plot is fast-paced and keeps you on your toes while exploring sexuality, religion, racism, sexism, and homophobia. I adored Ada and enjoyed getting to know all of the side characters. OUTLAWED is a riveting Wild West story with strong LGBTQ+ representation and themes of community, friendship and found family. It was a fun read and I highly recommend! Out 1/5/21.

A dystopian novel about the fate of women unable to bear children in 1894. We meet Ada, a young midwife, who is forced to leave her home when. after less than a year of marriage, she doesn't become pregnant. She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. This is a gender bending story of the old west highlighting the women's ingenuity and strength. There were times the characters could be men or women and the gender identity didn't matter.

One of three essentially dystopian novels read this week, OUTLAWED crosses and combines genres, effecting both humor and action in a gender-bending Western which benefits from the author's time at the Iowa Writers Workshop. Very enjoyable and ultimately upbeat for post apocalyptic fiction. Thanks.

This book was confusing to me in that I wasn’t exactly sure what the author was trying to get across in the characters’ portrayals. One of the publicity blurbs called it “The Crucible meets True Grit” but I felt that the characterizations were just too uneven for that comparison. North’s character, Ada, is not sufficiently evolved or consistent enough to develop much affinity for and the odd historical setting seemed very incongruent. I did find moments of beautifully descriptive writing, especially dealing with the physical landscape, but just couldn’t get past the flat characters.

What a refreshing voice! The narrator caught my attention from the first page: “In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.” Seventeen-year-old Ada is a freshly married woman who does not present her handsome husband with an offspring in the acceptable amount of time, according to her mother-in-law. In a time when a flu has decimated the population, this is akin to heresy.
To quote Ana: “If a woman did her duty by her husband and baby Jesus and still did not become pregnant, then most likely she had been cursed by a witch - usually a woman who, barren herself, wanted to infect others with her malady.”
Banned women ended up either jailed and possibly hanged, sent to a convent, or in the case of this
alternate reality novel joining an all-female group of outcasts—The Hole in the Wall Gang. Led by the female Kid, this group of women struggle to build a self-sufficient community, while at the same time envisioning a future they could be accepted.
North discusses many relevant issues: religion, racism, banishment and homosexuality. Each was handled with a grace that tempered the hot topics. People of different persuasions will view this book through a variety of lenses, therefore it would make a good book for open-minded book club discussions.

The writing is just not my cup of tea. I'm not sure if it is the tone or simply the style but I find it off-putting.

I wanted to love this one. I was so excited when I read it was a Feminist Western. And I did think the plot was interesting - the group of people on the fringe of society banding together in hiding to stay safe and find purpose and family in their life. I liked the band of thieves Ada finds herself attached to, even if I didn't think they were nice or even fair. They were pretty realistic. I adored Lark.

But somehow the storytelling never pulled me in. I think the narrator would have worked better for me as journal entries. The ending also felt abrupt.

When Reese’s Book Club and Belletrist picked this for their January 2021 selection, it moved up on my TBR quickly. And it has one of the very best opening lines I’ve ever read:

"In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw."
-Anna North, “Outlawed”

And so this story begins with one of the most memorable characters I’ve read in a long time: Ada. At just seventeen years old, she takes the Wild West by storm when she is banished from her community after accusations of being a witch. When she finally finds the Hole in the Wall gang of misfits, she settles in and finds her true home. Among these nonbionary, barren women, Ada’s medical training as a midwife quickly becomes useful. While learning the ropes of the gang’s community, Ada is constantly driven to find the answer to why some women experience infertility and how she can help them.

This book has a fairly low rating on Goodreads, but I couldn’t put it down. I became invested in these characters and wanted to see how things turned out for them. There were some strange twists and unnecessary asides, but overall I really did enjoy this speculative historical fiction story. My biggest complaint is that there were quite a few loose ends that were never cleared up, and I really wanted more of Lark and Ada’s story…this book would have been better with more explanation and a better resolution overall. That being said, I do not regret picking this one up as I really liked the story and the writing!

Anna North paints a tale of a gang of women hell-bent on living their lives as they choose. The historical background is good but the tale falls a little flat.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The blurb promised a fun, queer, feminist Western and (mostly) delivered. I enjoyed the characters and the story, and it was a fast read. I wish it had either been a little longer (to really dig in to some of the stories) or a little shorter (ultimately this also could have been a novella). With Reese’s book club endorsement, this probably won’t need much recommending to get picked up, but it’s a good one to hand to people looking for some fun. 3.5 stars

Ada's life is perfect. She's newly married and an apprenticing midwife under the tutelage of her mother. But after a year and no child or pregnancy to speak of, Ada's in-laws kick her out. Afraid she will be hung as a witch for being barren, Ada escapes to a convent, eventually leaving the safety of its walls to join up with the notorious preacher-turned-robber Kid and the Hole in the Wall gang. Kid dreams of creating a safe haven for other outcast women. But will their plans go too far? And how much of her future is Ada willing to sacrifice?

Outlawed tries to do too much and too little all at the same time. Ada comes off as boring and inactive. I wished so much that she would start to come into her own and speak up to the other women but she just seemed passive and willing to take the brunt of their ire and blame, just accepting that she may or may not be forgiven. The book brings up mental illness, feminism, and racism but doesn't delve into how the characters confront these topics or want to change their situation for the better. It's almost like, hey, these things happen and not much to do about it because we're all barren women. There was a plethora of secondary characters that felt minimally fleshed out. You could ask about one of them and I would remember very little about how the character joined the Gang. Ada loses focus on her main goal and it feels like she gets stuck in the Gang, not moving forward or backward. The ending was rushed, almost as if the author went, "I've reached 300 pages, time to wrap it up." I felt like the ending could have explored a little bit more of where the main character ended up and how her life progressed over the years since being in the Gang.

Outlawed revamps the typical Western story trope but falls short of truly making a lasting impact.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an e-ARC copy in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a great novel. I learned a great deal and grew very fond of the Hole in the Wall gang. I will recommend it with great enthusiasm. Anna North writes beautifully!

Historical fiction with a twist about barren women who have started a gang to save themselves from the tyranny of hetero-normative relationships. Many of them are members of the LGBTQ+ community, many of them discovered their barrenness through being with their husbands. Centered around the wild west in 1894, these women were kicked out of their homes or declared witches when they were discovered to be barren. Ada, the protagonist, tried living in a convent for a while, but eventually made her way to join up with the gang, with the hopes that one day she can join up with the doctor/researcher discovering more about barrenness.

While I predicted this would be a top read of this month, it's been kind of a drag. I think this is for a couple reasons. 1) I recently read Sarah Gailey's Upright Women Wanted which has a very similar theme of fugitive women/NB folks in a gang in the wild west, and 2) There's a lot about religion that just gives the book a bit of a stuffy feeling. The religious element doesn't seem to add positive contributions, but rather is the bullseye behind the reason why these women are deemed witches, and it just felt really trope-y in a way that didn't sit with me quite right.

Besides these two key factors in my decision, this book was overall an interesting concept. The characters are fun and there are some good food for thought pieces, such as what makes a home, and what lengths will you go to sacrifice for your dreams.