3.5 stars Outlawed is an alternate history story, centering on how “barren” women were treated in a post-deadly-flu-pandemic Wild West. In this world, if a woman can’t conceive, she is generally tossed out by her husband and/or his family, with no consequences to them. She often is accused of witchcraft, blamed for anything bad that happened in town or to other women. And this is what happened to our our main character, Ada, who winds up first in a convent and then as an outlaw. Her mother was a midwife and taught her all kinds of useful knowledge but no one knew why some women couldn’t have children. Ada desperately wanted to learn this and sought out any source of scientific (or not so scientific!) knowledge. She eventually winds up as a member of the Hole In The Wall Gang under the leadership of The Kid, but this gang is nothing like what you think. As I said, this is alternate history. I enjoyed the story but it didn’t grab me as much as I hoped it would. Perhaps it was all the heavy-handed twisted Christian commentary and beliefs; perhaps it was just the story, which got bogged down in the middle. The Hole In The Wall Gang seemed at first to be a non-binary paradise but that’s not really what it was. Color me a little disappointed. For an alternate history I really liked, check out the Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for a chance to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ada works as an apprentice midwife, but her knowledge doesn't help her get pregnant. When she is declared barren and exiled from her town, she leaves everything she knew behind to join the Hole in the Wall gang, a gang of female outlaws. Led by the mysterious Kid, the Gang seeks to build a new community for outcast women like themselves - but at what cost?

This book was not quite was expected - I thought it would be an action-packed Western. Instead, it's much more philosophical, ruminating over the roles of women in society. A lot of attention is paid to Ada's midwifery and general medical knowledge, and this theme was a highlight of the story to me. I also liked the Kid as a mentor figure for Ada.

I wish there had been more characterization of the other members of the Hole in the Wall gang - they all kind of blended together, and I had trouble telling them apart. I think the book would have benefited from exploring these other stories and showcasing the variety of female characters. Plot-wise, the book was a little slow, but I did enjoy the big plan at the end of the novel. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an incredible book!
I feel like I fell into the Wild Wild West and was horseback riding with the Outlaws.
There were moments which made me remember when I first read The Handmaid's Tale and I had the same chill up my spine.
I look forward to watching this on the big screen.
Lisa

Ada's journey from young wife, to nun in training, to outlaw, doctor, thief, and teacher was nothing short of inspiring.

Set in an imagined, post-flu pandemic late 1800's, Outlawed takes the "wild, wild West" to a whole different level. Good Christians are very devout in their devotion to Baby Jesus and babies are considered the highest blessings from Him. A woman who cannot conceive has no place in their community---they are sentenced as witches and either put in jail or hung, depending on the severity of their "crimes."

Our main character, Ada, is a barren young woman who decides jail is not the path for her. After escaping to a convent and finding that her true passion lies with finding out the science behind why some women cannot conceive, she turns to her final resort: becoming an "outlaw." She joins the Hole in the Wall Gang, a group of childless women who steal for a living and support each other in the hopes that females like them will be accepted in society one day. The women in the gang are all quirky, lovable, and independent, but I felt more effort could have been put into their character development. Ada (Doc, as she comes to be known by the gang's charismatic leader, The Kid), on the other hand, is very complex & dynamic. She sometimes reminisces on her old life; assisting her mother in her midwife duties, being married to a boy she grew up with, and caring for her sisters, but she realizes that she cannot ever return to that reality after being outcasted. She picks up very quickly on pertinent survival skills, thrives in her new role of gang doctor, and has a never-give-up spirit that inspires her comrades, as well as readers.

Life was anything but simple for Ada and her fellow outlaws, but they made the best of it! Anna North did an incredible job of transporting her readers to the Old West and making them feel like they were fighting for survival along with the Hole in the Wall Gang. I loved how we journeyed along with the characters as they transcended gender stereotypes, learned to trust one another, and used their combined strengths & knowledge to strive toward a better future for all. Outlawed is a fantastic tale that I will revisit in years to come!

This book is a strange amalgamation of a historical Western and a post-apocalyptic story, at least in my mind. And as unconventional as that sounds, it plays out beautifully.
Ada's story is entrancingly told by North, both in language and in development. Words flow across the page and pull you into a world that seems familiar enough to be unnerving. It's a story about being female in a world that isn't kind to females, about taking charge of your life, and about the bonds that can form when people face hardship together.
Not exactly the Western gang of outlaws adventure I was expecting, but it's so well done that I can't even be mad.

The writing is clear and easy to read. The women are strong and brave. They fight for a future that they decide. To hell with the patriarchy! The beginning of the novel is interesting and describes the bleak outlook for barren women. However, the progression of the story slows and becomes repetitive. The book’s troupes are ones that have been used countless times. There are numerous stories that examine how unkind past societies were to women. Superstitions. Unfounded accusations. Witch hunts. Blame and hate for the “inferior” sex. This book does not offer anything new, but it is an okay read for those interested in a serious western with gun toting women.

This was an excellent book... full of adventure, I’ve honestly never read anything like this before. It’s totally out of my normal reads and I’m so glad I read it. I definitely think people are going to love it, I know I did! Thank you for letting me read this wonderful book!

4.5 Stars

At the age of seventeen, Ada has learned the art of midwifery from her mother, the midwife in the Town of Fairchild, and has been taught the female rules of ’lying with our husbands, how we should wash beforehand, and put perfume behind our ears, how we should breathe slowly to relax our muscles, and try to look our husbands in the eyes.’ Soon after her school days are over, she is married to a young man and the waiting begins, as everyone expects her to soon be bearing their first child. When half a year has passed, Ada’s mother-in-law begins offering her advice on what she should do, and not do, in order to provide them with a grandchild, but she continues to fail to conceive. Barren women were subject to the same fate as witches, hanging, and Ada is faced with a choice between hanging and joining a convent.

’I began my criminal career there in the house of God, with a leaky pen instead of a pistol and books instead of silver for my reward.’

At the convent Ada learns of the Hole in the Wall Gang from the Mother Superior, deeming Ada as not fitting in among the nuns, and with some help finds her way to their holdout in the mysterious “territories.” Although she is not overly welcomed at the start, her background in medicine proves to be her ticket to being slowly accepted by Kid, the leader, and the rest of the gang. A genre-bending mix of dystopian and western, LGBTQ+, women’s rights and set in the days when “men were men, and women were women” all the while men beating their chests to declare their superiority, this gang managed to slowly pull me in and pull the wool over a few eyes, at the same time.

The author brings this harsh and exacting landscape to life vividly, the ’small rise overlooking a wide salt flat where we sometimes spotted a badger or coyote, and once, a family of grouse, moving fussily with their heads held high like fancy, overdressed ladies’ and the wall, that will come to haunt her dreams, " of bright red rock many stories high, stretching from one edge of the valley to the other.’The wall that kept its own time, its own matins, lauds and vespers...with each quarter hour a new section of rock blazed flame red, and another plunged into ochre darkness. In the evening, the setting sun made the stone glow a living pink as through blood coursed through it, even as the warmth and light drained away from the valley floor.’

I rooted for Ada, a young woman with grit and determination that was reminiscent, for me, of True Grit’s young Mattie, and for the rest of their gang. Ada’s story is really their story as they have all been rejected by society. Unwanted, dismissed for being “other,” unnecessary. Those who don’t belong, those who live outside of society’s standards that only apply to, and benefit, a select few - these are still people who deserve to pursue happiness.


Published: 05 Jan 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Bloomsbury Publishing / Bloomsbury USA

"True Grit" meets "The Handmaid's Tale" in this alt-history Western that focuses on women and non-binary characters rather than the usual Man With No Name. It's 1894 and our heroine, Ada, has yet to give her husband a child. In this America, that's a HUGE no-no -- women are only on Earth to have children, after all, so barren women are seen as dangerous witches. A now radicalized Ada flees her town and joins the Hole in the Wall Gang (a real life gang that here is reimagined as an all-women/non-binary group of outlaws), intended to use the loot she earns in heists and stick-ups to study women's bodies with a midwife and thus figure out how to save other women from her fate.

North does a fantastic job upending the usual gender dynamics in the Western, yet also proves she loves the medium with thrilling shootouts and dusty action sequences. "Outlawed" is sure to delight readers who enjoy the pastiche of the Western and yet are sick and tired of the misogyny, homophobia, and racism that runs rampant in the genre.

A highly enjoyable, fast-paced alternative history. When I heard about this book I expected it to be very similar to Sarah Gailey's Upright Women Wanted. While the books have a lot in common, I found Outlawed to be a more fully fleshed-out and satisfying exploration of an alternative Old West. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters and learning about the author's real-life inspirations. My one complaint is that I would have liked a bit more character development for some of the gang members just to better understand their actions and personalities -- Elzy, Cassie, Lo, and Cassie didn't feel very distinct from one another and I wanted to know more about everyone's backstories.

Outcasts look for freedom and the right to exist in Outlawed, the latest from Anna North.

North turns the wild west into a dystopian revisionist history. Set in an America that was ravaged by the Spanish flu, pregnancy is next to godliness. So it is that barren women, or women who cannot successfully reproduce (i.e., many miscarriages), are seen as harbingers of witchcraft and doom. Hanged for the uncontrollable, biological fact that they cannot conceive, North brings home the long history of injustices and misunderstandings surrounding women, sexuality, and midwifery.

Bank robberies, gunslinging, train accosting badassery fills the pages of this reimagined western. While characters are allowed space to flourish, and wordplay brings the world to life, it seems an oversight that North does not touch on the native peoples or their cultures. Given the commentary woven into the prose on both slavery and sexual prejudice, the lack of narrative on the Native peoples is grim in retrospect. Not only for the fact that white colonialism took the lands our protagonists traverse from the indigenous tribes but also for the often-overlooked cultural values of gender acceptance in Native communities.

As glaring as this omission is, it still does not derail from the overall enjoyment of Anna North's spectacular writing and courageous storytelling. Outlawed is not weighed down by the subject matter: Ideas about feminism, American racism, and gender identity are purposefully written without preaching or trauma. It gives the heavily masculine genre an inventive and adventurous makeover fit for the silver screen.

Outlawed is a funny, poignant read. The characters have real depth and the plot moves at a quick pace. I can only hope that there is a follow up to this novel.

I went into Outlawed totally blind – what a wild ride! I have very limited experience with Westerns in general, but I found reading a speculative, feminist, LGBTQIA+ inclusive Western to be a rewarding experience.
It’s the late 1800’s in the American West, and a flu pandemic has claimed the lives of much of the population, resulting in a fixation on reproduction and fertility. As such, society condemns women who are not mothers as witches, often hanging them as a result. Ana, a young midwife and our protagonist, has been married for a year but has not gotten pregnant. She flees her home and joins an outlaw gang headed up by The Kid, a preacher-turned-criminal with a heart of gold and an undisclosed mental health condition. Ada plans to eventually link up with a well-known doctor and learn more about her own condition and help others who are struggling to start a family.

This imagining of The Kid and The Kid’s band of outlaws is unlike anything I have read before! The group is comprised of barren women alongside biracial and many LGBTQIA+ folks, all of whom have been shunned by society; the Kid looks to protect them all through a grandiose and dangerous heist plan that gives off traditional Western vibes.

I would say this book is mostly about female infertility, but I love that is so inclusive of queerness. It balances commentary on the struggle LGBTQIA+ people experience with their joy, strength and power. I think the book was well-written and thoughtfully researched, but I do have some questions about the author’s decision to intertwine so many marginalized voices into one storyline. I’m not sure if there is meant to be a bigger takeaway besides inclusivity (which is an awesome end in itself!) that I may be missing.

In terms of criticism: no spoilers, but I kind of wish the ending had taken a different turn. Some other reviewers have commented on the lack of indigenous characters in the book, which I think is worth repeating. Even still I think this was a fun, exciting book that will make you rethink what you thought you knew about the Western genre.

I enjoyed this LGBTQ western book that touches on social issues. I read it in one evening as I had to see what would happen.

I really enjoyed this!
I liked the concept of outcasts banding together... even if it was to do illegal activity.
I love how it tackled feminism, infertility, gender identity, gender roles, religion, inclusivity.
The setting was also very fun. The good ol’ Wild West.
It was a well written, fast paced story that hooked me from the beginning.

In this alternate history western, a plague hit the United States in the 1830s, wiping out a large portion of the population, dissolving the US government, and rendering many people infertile. This allows fundamentalist religion to run rampant and guide every day life. This story takes place in 1894 when many people still struggle to have children, and the blame for this is always laid upon the mother. If a woman does not get pregnant within the first year of marriage she is declared barren and they are routinely hanged as witches. Ada, the daughter of the town’s midwife, is finding out firsthand how unfair this life is after failing to become pregnant after her marriage. When she is thrown out of her husband’s home, she escapes to a convent known to Harbor bar and women. But she wants more out of life, and so she leaves the convent to join the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by the Kid. The gang harbors women and teaches them how to survive in this world (how to ride a horse, shoot a gun, dress and act like a man, and how to fight).

So overall I thought this book was fine. I definitely had issues with some of the themes, but for a reader without my views this could certainly be a four star read. I didn’t realize going into this book how pervasive religion was in the story; religion and Jesus are constantly being brought up and discussed, and that’s just not something I enjoy reading. I also never understood why no one ever seems to question that the infertility in a marriage could be because of a husband, not the wife. And why is it that after so many women are kicked out of their homes that they still believe in this oppressive religion? Why don’t they question this? I understand that it’s what they’ve known for their whole life, but it still really doesn’t make sense to me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bloomsbury Publishing for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was excited when I realized that the author of Outlawed also wrote The Life and Death of Sophie Stark, which I loved. Outlawed did not wow me in the same way. It felt uneven. It is set in the late 19th century in what seems to be the southwestern United States in a community where women are labelled as witches if they don’t have children. At 19, Ada is banished from her family and community because she still has not had a baby after a year of marriage. She finds her way to a group of other women who have been banished and live on the proceeds of crime. I liked the first third in which we see Ada with her family and the community that turns on her. But I found that the rest of the book tried to do too much. There was a lot of action and adventure. The story cycled — too quickly and superficially in my opinion — through a lot of issues — like racism, mental illness, homophobia, etc... And, other than Aida, we never really get to know the characters other than quite superficially. I read this as a buddy read with Angela and Diane. As always, it’s great to share the reading experience even if we don’t necessarily agree. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Thank you Bloomsbury and Shelf Awareness for the gifted e-copy.

Outlawed is a book with a great premise and not so great execution. Taking place in a different America, where a flu has wiped out a bunch of the population, emphasis is placed on child bearing, Women are married off rather young, and are expected to pop out the babies right away. If they don't have a baby within a year or so, they are considered barren, and probably kicked out of their husband's home, and accused of being a witch.

This very thing happens to Ada, and she escapes to a convent, which really isn't for her. She wants to learn the reason behind some women not being able to have children, as she was training to be a midwife, and is fascinated by the science. She leaves the convent to join a gang of outlaws at the Hole in the Wall - and turns out that these outlaws are in fact a bunch of (barren?) women that dealt with the same thing as Ada. Led by the Kid, a seemingly nonbinary character with no pronouns at all, the group of gender bending outlaws lives on their own and robs passers by to make a living. Ada finds it hard to fit in and find her place amongst the group - and to earn their trust.

The Kid is dealing with some mental issues (bipolar? schizophrenic?) and wants to rob a bank, then use that money to buy the bank back. It's a grandiose plan, and puts all of the outlaws at risk.

I enjoyed the premise of the story, but thought it was just a bit slow. It was an entertaining read though, and a great take on a Western. I did like the LGBTQ+ aspect to it.

📖A young woman is forced out of her home and her town after she is unable to become pregnant because her town believes her to be a witch who is cursing the other women in town. She joins up with a band of other barren women of color, queer women, and gender nonconforming outlaws and struggles to find her place among them.
👍The cast of characters are all easy to love and become invested in. You definitely get attached to Ava, the main character, and the rest of the Outlaws. There are a lot of interesting dynamics in terms of gender and sexuality that I never get tired of reading about. And it’s a western! We love a queer feminist western.
👎 The downside to getting invested in all of the side characters is that you never really get enough time with them. I want to know more about The Kid and News and everyone else in the cast. There were also some pacing issues towards the middle but the ending was more than exciting enough to make up for it.
⚠️mild content warnings for pregnancy, miscarriage, and other medical trauma, queerphobia, racism, violence, disfiguration, and death.
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THE VERDICT
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚Recommended for anyone who has ever wanted to see what would happen if Sarah Gailey wrote The Handmaid’s Tale.
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Thank you to @netgalley and @bloomsburypublishing for providing me with a digital #reviewcopy

Thank you netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

I have very mixed feelings about this one - I really struggled through the first half of this book. To be honest, I found it kind of boring, and felt like the pacing was really off. I think too much time was spent on Ada’s life before becoming an outlaw, and her voice was very flat. Things definitely picked up a bit when we met the rest of the gang, but I didn’t feel like enough time was spent developing them as people. It was a very diverse group, with so many different experiences - gender, sexual identity, and race were a huge part of this group, and I wish we had gotten more development in that area. These characters deserved more time than they got.

I did love the ending, which is why I ended up giving this book 3 stars. The second half was a lot faster, and I loved the relationship between Ada and Lark. The way everything comes together in the last little bit of the book really touched me and even made me a little bit emotional. There was some really good pay off, even if it got off to a rocky start.