Outlawed Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Women of the Wild West and our BookBrowse Review of Outlawed.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Throughout her travels Ada encounters spiritual leaders of all styles, from eugenicists like Dr. Lively to philosophers like the Kid. Both students of scripture, the two characters could not disagree more. Explore how the concepts of God and religion are portrayed in the novel. Is religion a vehicle for good or an excuse for punishment? Can it be both?
2. Ada struggles to apply her piety to her circumstances; she says, "It wasn't that I didn't believe in baby Jesus—I prayed like anyone, I always had, when I was afraid or grateful or in pain ... It was only that I found the lessons of baby Jesus insufficient to explain the world" (29). Later, an outlaw in hiding, she laments, "If God really cared about us, why wouldn't He let us have children so we could stay in our homes, with our families?" (87) Discuss how Ada's faith impacts her journey. How does she balance her commitments to both faith and science? How does Ada use faith to survive?
3. Rejected from their communities, the members of the Hole in the Wall Gang create a world where conventional gender roles are obsolete. In your opinion, what can their community teach us about the significance of gender? How does gender determine our place in the social order today?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Bloomsbury Publishing. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.