Outlawed by Anna North (America Pacifica; The Life and Death of Sophie Stark) is a wild, ripping western with a feminist bent, set in an alternative North America.
After the Great Flu decimated the population, the U.S. government collapsed and, in its place, the people established Independent Towns west of the Mississippi. Ada has grown up in Fairchild, where her mother is a skilled midwife. Ada excels in her own midwifery training and helps care for her beloved three younger sisters. She marries at 17 and tries to become pregnant. But when six months pass, Ada worries. To be barren in Fairchild is a crime punishable by death. At the end of a year, her husband's family rejects her, and Ada's mother sends her to the Sisters of the Holy Child. Ada's hunger for knowledge drives her west, where she joins up with the infamous Hole in the Wall Gang, led by the Kid. He is charismatic, beloved and possibly dangerous in entirely different ways than the rumors insist.
Outlawed--a Reese's Book Club Pick--is a delightful tale of adventure, rebellion, the importance of knowledge and the value of family, however it is made or defined. With the Hole in the Wall Gang, Ada finds unexpected freedoms and fluid gender roles, and is forced to consider what she has to offer her new friends and the world. North's narrative is often lighthearted, with style, humor and a sense of fun, but her protagonist never forgets the high stakes. Part of the genius of Outlawed is that its feminist themes juxtapose neatly with the traditionally male-dominated western genre. --Julia Kastner