Outlawed

Anna North

A reimagining of the mid 1800's wild west where the highest value for both men and women is to have families and bear children. In this context, the barren and/or genderfluid (women only of course) are cursed as witches and driven away if they are lucky and killed if not. Our narrator is Ada, a young woman who grew up with a mid-wife mother and was learning the trade. When she doesn't get pregnant upon marriage, she is "endangering the fertility of the entire town", and is shunned. She ends up in a convent, and then ultimately as a member of the Hole in the Wall gang, and she pursues a dream of doing reproductive research to find out the truth about why some women are barren. The gang is larger than life, and Ada fills the role of Doc with her mid-wife training and experience with herbs and medicines. And while this sounds like a heavy story, North (and Ada) tells the story as a lighthearted western, mixing traditional gender roles in ways that are surprising, and completely logical and super fun. And lighthearted does not bury the seriousness of bias and oppression that the women are living with daily. A wonderful look at gender stereotypes and equity through a new lens.

4 stars (out of 4)

Gunslinger Girl

Lyndsay Ely

Set in post 2nd Civil War North America, Serendipity Jones is a 17 year old girl, living in a commune with her father and two brothers. Her mother was a renown sniper for the resistance during the war, but has since died as a disgraced drunk. Serendipity, seeking her freedom, runs away from the commune and into her future as a sharpshooter in her own right. She ends up in Cessation, the lawless Las Vegas of the west that is beyond the control of North American government. In many ways, this is the coming of age story of a young woman who is seeking to know her history and to be someone important. It is classic western, seeking out new opportunities and the raw battle between good and evil. But it isn't hard. Ely presents the human, 17 year old girl version, where Serendipity is alternately experiencing self-doubt and conquering obstacles beyond her means. The hard western ignores the entire self-doubt section. It is fascinating how this portrayal of emotion in a hero is so rare that it seems out of place, makes the book seem targeted to the 'teen audience'. Probably the only way to make character portrayal seem normal is to have lots more books written with emotion as an integral plot element. I liked this book and hope Serendipity Jones becomes a serial character I can follow.
4 stars (out of 4)

The Cowboy and the Cossack

Claire Huffaker

Originally published in 1973, this is a classic western novel set in eastern Russia. The story follows a band of Montana cowboys hired to drive a herd of cattle into the interior of Siberia. They discover from the beginning that in addition to all the traditional hardship associated with driving a few hundred head of longhorns, they also need to navigate the political situation in a new place, from the bribes needed to initially dock their boat to the nuances associated with each local bureaucracy. The bulk of the story follows this band of American Cowboys and their relationship with their Cossack (i.e. Russian cowboys) escort. This could easily have devolved into cross cultural hi-jinks, but instead Huffaker takes an approach which is able to authentically explore cross cultural differences and similarities between these two groups. Within the rugged, individualistic, zero-emotion world of cowboys we are exposed to a surprisingly vulnerable and introspective look at friendship, loyalty and duty. And like any well written western, the action and suspense lasts right up to the last few pages.

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