Book Review: Outlawed

The year was 1894 when Ada, a young wife on the lamb, become an outlaw.

It wasn’t always her destiny, to outpace Johnny Law and take up a life of thievery. She’d had dreams of becoming a master midwife like her mama, who could not only help bring new lives into the world but also ail the sick with her vast knowledge of tonics and tinctures. But a year into her marriage at 17, Ada discovered, with great fear and disappointment, that she was barren. And in a small town like hers where barren women are routinely accused of witchcraft - a hangable offense - being barren is the last thing a young woman wants to be. So, Ada decided to run - away from the close-minded town where she had lived all her life, and through the doors of a convent. Once there, she made plans to take her vows and live out the rest of her days with the Sisters of the Holy Child, many of which, shared the same childless predicament as Ada. But as time passed, Ada found herself feeling restless in the safe but suffocating walls of the convent. Was it really her fate to escape one situation where too much was expected of her, only to be pushed into another? Or, was there more that life could offer?

Deep in the throes of a full-on existential crisis, Ada once again fled, armed with the name of another group that might take her in: the Hole in the Wall Gang, a collective of notorious robbers and highwaymen led by an infamous figure known only as The Kid. And though the Hole in the Wall Gang was every bit as tough and intimidating as the rumors suggested, one crucial thing set them apart from all the rest: this ragtag team of criminals was all-female, and had plans to upend the male-driven society that cast them out in the first place.

Ada’s acceptance into the group was slow-going at first, and, thanks to some major life-threatening mishaps, nearly nonexistent. But when The Kid, charismatic and fearless, hatched an outrageous plan to put the Gang on top for good, Ada and the other women resolved to band together to make it happen. That is, if it didn’t first get them all killed.

Outlawed by Anna North, widely described as a Western for people who don’t read Westerns, is the female-forward, often bittersweet tale of the power of chosen family, self-empowerment, and how bold choices - both good and bad - have lasting effects that shape the people we become, long after the dust has settled.

The Good: Right off the bat, I loved the concept for this novel. I fall firmly in the category as someone who’s never been a fan of Westerns, but the plot was so original and so outside of the box, I knew I had to read it. I also quite enjoyed North’s writing style. For as heavy as the book could’ve been, North managed to create prose that flowed quickly and felt all at once like a light read and something much meatier - and that’s no easy feat!

The Bad: While I adored this book from start to finish, what I would have loved to see much more of were scenes with the gang members both all together, and separately. When big decisions were being made, why were some of the women easy to predict, while others were wildcards? What really brought this gang together, and how had they managed to make it work for so long? By the end of the book, I felt like I really only understood a few of the many characters. Also, while I understand that romance isn’t supposed to be a major part of Ada’s overall journey to self-discovery and actualization, I would have loved to see more of it. But that’s just the natural rom-com lover in me talking.

Bottom Line: This was a fast read that pulled me into the story immediately, and had me wishing, as many books do, that it was at least 100 pages longer. There was just so much potential there to see other adventures play out before the grand finale. Outlawed is one of those books that may not stay with you forever, but it does force you to be in the moment when you’re reading it. It’s also perfect for people like me who tend to avoid content that’s too cringe-y or anxiety-inducing. The built-up suspense is too great - you’ll find yourself speeding ahead just to see what happens next. This was my first finished book of 2021, and I couldn’t have asked for a better book to start off the new year!

Buy Outlawed by Anna North HERE!

Book Review: The Vanishing Half

Running away is easy, but staying gone? That takes work.

The Vignes twins have lived in Mallard, a Black town in the deep South so small that you can’t even find it on a map, all their lives. Everyone knows everyone, and no one has a complexion darker than a blonde latte. Like many sets of identical twins, Stella and Desiree are seldom seen as individuals - most commonly referred to instead as “the twins”. But the two girls couldn’t be any more different. Desiree is loud, reactive, and in a perpetual state of motion. Stella is quiet, contemplative, and deeply intelligent. Each has dreams of a bigger life outside of Mallard, a place that seemed to them to be stuck in a postbellum time warp.

As the twins get older and a sudden family tragedy forces them to mature overnight, a plan is hatched to leave Mallard and all that it represents behind. But there’s a catch: in order to go, they must completely vanish without a trace, a decision not taken lightly. So under the cover of darkness, the Vignes twins leave Mallard for New Orleans with lofty dreams and a resolve to start anew. And for a while, life is good, or at least, better than it was before. But as the girls mature, Stella realizes that the light complexion the two share could open up doors for them they had never dared try. On several occasions, white people had assumed Stella’s identity before she could correct them. She had been able to enter establishments in the “main” entrance, had been treated with respect. What if she could live that life forever? What if she could “cross over”? What if one day she could just…turn white? And when an opportunity arises, Stella does just that, vanishing again, but this time, she leaves her sister Desiree behind.

Years pass and the Vignes twins are living separate lives as wives and mothers - Desiree as a Black woman in Mallard, and Stella as a white woman thousands of miles away. Neither sister fully grieves the loss of the other, but life moves on. It isn’t until decades later, after a chance encounter between the daughters of Stella and Desiree, that the twins are finally confronted by the decisions of their past. Little by little, the pieces to a puzzle long since abandoned start coming together…for better or for worse.

The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett is a powerful story of the detrimental effects of colorism on the Black self-esteem, the importance of acceptance, and the power of love in all of its forms.

The Good: From the very first chapter Bennett was able to pull me into a multi-decade story without missing a beat. I loved how she was able to develop the characters in a way that didn’t seem rushed, but also didn’t seem super drawn out. The dialogue was strong, and I felt that every character introduced not only had a strong, distinctive voice, but a well thought out backstory. Bennett’s superpower is her ability to create rich details.

The Bad: There’s not much about this book that I would change. If anything, it would have been nice to see some relationships in the book developed as well as others, but overall, I was really happy with what was presented.

Bottom Line: The Vanishing Half raises some uncomfortable questions for all readers, but especially readers of color. In times of desperation, what would you do to survive? Bennett’s well-written story is not just about a broken family, it is also the perfect example of how a snap decision made by one can have lasting effects on generations to come. A definite must-read.

Read it for yourself HERE.