review of OUTLAWED BY ANNA NORTH

 OUTLAWED BY ANNA NORTH 

"This cow was more woman than I would ever be." P78

Grab your pistol and saddle your horse and get ready for a wild ride. This novel was an unexpected delight. It's a wild Western with so much heart and female representation that we just love! We met Ada "in the year of our lord 1894" she is about to marry and hopefully follow in her mother's footsteps of being a midwife to the town of Fairchild. But what she didn't expect was that she would find herself barren. Being barren was equated to being a witch and so Ada was forced to leave her home and family. She would find herself joining the ruthless gang of the Hole in the Wall Gang and try to find her place there. The Hole in the Wall Gang and their leader the Kid are famous in American history but North places an amazing and fascinating twist on who is part of this gang and who their leader is. 

This story was so much more than a Western, though the action scenes are enough to make you want to consume this book. This book is about motherhood and womanhood, it's about grief and pain and loss. And it's about family and how we have our actual family and the family we create. Lastly, this book is at its core is a coming of age or better a coming of self novel that holds so much. I just know I'll be thinking of this one for months to come. 

Stand out quote: 

"So 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." P35 

Some questions to ponder: 

1. Why do you think the Kid allows Ada in the gang? 
2. Is the Kid hopeful or delusional? Why or why not? 
3. Do you think the gang blindly follows the Kid? 
4. Ada has to make a decision at the end, do you think she chose right? 

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! 

-MDB