Outlawed by Anna North
Rating: 3.5 Stars
‘You can’t just take something people believed in. You have to give them something in its place.’
‘Knowledge can be very valuable, but only if people want it. If they don’t, it can be worse than useless.’
Synopsis
It’s the year of 1849. Ada is a new teenage bride trying conceive her first child with her husband. Through her failed attempts and growing fears, Ada is forced to vacate her mother in law’s home, leave her family behind, and relocate to a convent before the townspeople accuse her of being a witch and hang her. (Yup, you read that right)
In search of more answers and understanding about why her body and other women’s bodies in her town were unable to produce children and to escape her town’s growing assumption that her barrenness was that of witchcraft, Ada is referred to and seeks refuge in the Hole in the Wall gang—a rag tag group of women outlaws harboring many skills and creating their own way of life.
what I Liked
It’s hard to believe our heroine was only 17 years old. The one word I would use to describe Ada would be ‘relentless.’ She wasn’t one just to take what people were saying about her and assume it to be true. If she wanted answers, she’d do whatever she had to do to get them.
What I Didn’t Like
The book was a bit slowed paced. I’m here for a slow burn every once in a while, but I expected this one to be more of page turner than it actually ended up being.
My father loves westerns. Many of my Saturdays growing up would consist of watching movie after movie of cowboys taking on the old west way of life. In fact, one of my favorite westerns to this day is ‘Once Upon A Time in the West.’ (FYI Peter Fonda is terrifying in it) Of all the westerns I’ve seen though, none of them had a female lead or female outlaw anchoring the film.
Overall
If you’re looking for a novel where the women are damsels in distressed looking for a cowboy to rescue them, ‘Outlawed’ is not for you. Saddle up (couldn’t resist) for an original women lead narrative that puts you in the heart of the west in the most unique way.
Have you read this yet? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
