During the middle of the binge I was having too much fun to worry about any flaws.

However these niggles only occurred to me after my binge-reading session on the weekend was over. I also would have liked more stuff about the flu and the change of politics and how they got to where they were.

It was accepted and tolerated for the sake of Baby Jesus and Mother Mary. The religious mania and ignorance that ruled this world also never seemed to be challenged by the characters or by North. If I wanted to be finicky, I could question the lack of racial inclusivity and the distinct lack of Native American characters, despite the era and location. I don’t always get on with books recommended by the Reese Witherspoon book club, but I am very happy to make an exception here. And now, some 60 years later, the people remaining in the Dakotas have built a patriarchal Christian society centered on fertility. A decimated nation was in no mood for Civil War the few Black survivors of the plague escaped slavery on their own. population, snuffing out the Industrial Revolution and the federal government.

In this version of our past, the Great Flu of the 1830s killed 90 percent of the U.S. The story opens in late 19th-century America, though not quite the Old West we know. Light and easy to read, with an interesting premise and an uncomplicated storyline. Outlawed by Anna North was the perfect summer holiday book.

Books by anna north