She had heard of those women.  Barren, outcasts, shunned as a best case; hanged as a witch the worst case. But these were not concerns for Ada.  Having assisted her midwife mother for many years, she knew babies coming or not coming had nothing to do with witchery.  She happily started her new marriage knowing her family would grow and she would hone her skills as a midwife, based on the science of her mother’s lessons.  But after a year of married life and no babies, her friends, her mother-in-law, and her community started to whisper.  She couldn’t believe it when her friends accused her of casting spells to harm babies or prevent others from having them.  Her “barren-ness” proof of these accusations.

Ada quickly realized she had to leave town if she wanted to live.  With a quick stay at a convent for refuge, she learned of the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang and set out to join their ranks.  Known only as The Kid, this once preacher-now robber was legendary; said to be seven feet tall and the most fierce in all the West.  With a personality that matched the legend, The Kid had created a band of outlaws who robbed to survive and stayed together as a family.  The Hole in the Wall Gang was a group of outcast women, defying societal norms and redefining how women find value in themselves.  The Gang is now faced with a critical decision…risk everything, even their lives, to follow The Kid’s perilous plan to create a society where they are safe and accepted.

I was surprised by this book.  I expected a traditional Western with women leading as the “cowboys”.  Though technically they were, this story was not at all just a gender reversal of the typical Western.  Instead it is an alternative version of a time in history with a girl gang at it’s center. The characters are interesting and I really wanted to get to know them.  North does a great job of guiding the reader through forming relationships with all of the characters, not just keeping them as a supporting line up for the heroine, Ada.

And if you’re not paying attention, this book is just a very entertaining story with the creative angle of girl power in the Wild West.  However, what sits at it’s center is women; their power and their value and how that is determined by society, by each other, and by themselves.  The dichotomy of worth and power being completely tied to child bearing and how you define that.  In their original communities, not bearing children (determined either by biology or choice) was a crime punishable by death.  In their new community, the one they chose to join, being childless gave them the power to define who else they were, they wanted to be, who they could become.  So rendered powerless and powerful in the same lifetime by the exact same circumstance…how does one reconcile that?

Ada’s journey is worth the read regardless of how much you want to think about the issues of women and their power.  It is non-stop action, with all of the regular elements of a really good Western…shootouts, sherifs, cowboys with swagger, plus outstanding and likable characters who make you feel great about rooting for the bad “guys”.