Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Outlawed by Anna North

36 reviews

lovejasmine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

The biggest problem with this book is that it could have been so much better than it was. It could have been so inclusive and intersectional and diverse, and could have been a beautiful, in depth story of marginalised people coming together in a world that hates them.

Instead, we got the barest hint of that, with a very self centred, very white narrator that was, honestly, kind of boring.

The worst thing about this book was it wasn't bad. It just could have been incredible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wizardingwisteria's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I initially rated this at 5 stars because of how much I loved the world building, but after taking some time to process I think this is closer to a 4.5.  The world building is immaculate.  This author nails the western vibe right on the head, but looking back I wish the characters were a bit better

The world in combination with the writing style and plot  made this such an enjoyable read for me.  At first the writing style seemed meandering and slow, but as the story began to pick up I started to appreciate Ada's perspective a lot more.  The plot kept me entertained from start to finish.  I loved seeing the gang execute their plans in such an organized fashion.  It reminded me so much of Red Dead Redemption with the leader of the gang, the Kid, giving me flash backs to Dutch van der Linde at some points

Loved all of the representation in this book, but it could have been improved.  The main character is cis and hetero but almost every member of the gang is gay and/or non-binary.  There is a moment where one gang member asks Ada if she likes men and Ada considers the fact that she never saw women as an option for her.  She basically shrugs and thinks to herself "maybe I like women, idk, haven't tried."  Beyond that thought Ada doesn't attempt to explore her own sexuality further.  I think that was a missed opportunity

A lot of the characters felt underdeveloped.  Even though this book is on the shorter side, I found myself wishing that the author took more time to make the characters, the gang members specifically, more complex instead of giving them a paragraph or two of backstory and then putting them on the shelf.  Ada's love interest ended up feeling flat as well which made their relationship more difficult to believe

Despite it's issues, I could see myself re-reading this in the future

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Pandemic/Epidemic

hope_gabrielle_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Infertility and Abortion

Minor: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion

jules44's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A gay western meets the dystopia of Handmaids Tale. North writes intricate characters that push the narrative of understanding what makes us different does not make us less than. A great feminist read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

readinghavoc's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I had a really good time reading this. It felt like exactly the type of thing I needed to kickstart my end-of-year reading/get me out of a small reading slump. It was exciting to get to see so many diverse types of queerness and identity in a setting where those histories are often erased. This novel managed to get a lot done in a short space while not feeling overly rushed. 

I'm really fucking upset about Lark, though. Who would have guessed I could simp so hard for a man? I'm still mourning his life with Ada in Pagosa Springs. I do wish there was more of a clear build-up to Ada being ready to take over Alice's surgery, but I also think given the pace of the book, it was still really well done. 

Yay for queer cowboys! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

Minor: Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Excrement

ejs2000's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

mfrisk's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I quite enjoyed the characters I got to know through this book, the settings, and the journey we go on as the characters develop and learn. This is a fun feminist western that brings a new perspective to the genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

hannaheiserman's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Violence, Police brutality, and Grief

denizens98's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Excrement, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail