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Vengeance Road

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman



Synopsis (from Goodreads)
When her father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal.

Review
This was my last book of 2017, and it was good enough to make it to my top books list for the year!

A friend gave me a copy of the companion novel, Retribution Rails, so naturally I had to read Vengeance Road first! Luckily it was available at the library and I devoured it in only a couple days.

Vengeance Road is everything you love about the Wild West. It's got outlaws, bandits, saloons, shootouts, guns, horses, riding through the desert, and a search for gold. I loved the western cowboy language style that the author writes in. It really draws you into the story and the world. The plot is well-paced with lots of action, but also some slower, heart-felt scenes that really bring the characters to life. It moves along quickly and is tightly written.

The story is told from the point of view of Kate, and begins when she discovers her father has been murdered by the notorious gang, the Rose Riders. She sets off, determined to hunt them down and kill them in revenge. Along the way she teams up with Jesse and William Colton, as well as a young Apache girl named Liluye.

Kate is one of my favorite characters... Ever. She has spunk and grit and she gets things done. She's no-nonsense and headstrong, which also gets her into trouble when she doesn't think things through. But she also has a soft, compassionate side that comes through when it's really needed. Jesse makes a good balance with Kate. He's troubled by his past and fights to overcome his fears and prejudices. Both characters make mistakes and learn and grow and go through some complicated emotions. The secondary characters, like William and Liluye, as well as the villain Wylan Rose, and others that their group meets along the way, are interesting and well-rounded and bring out different aspects of the main characters.

One of the strong themes of the book was, of course, revenge. And with that also came the theme of letting the past go. Both Kate and Jesse have this theme woven into their storyline. The story weaves in themes of love, hope, sorrow, and accepting those broken parts of you. The author also discusses the treatment of Native Americans by white settlers and the interactions and conflicts between the two groups.

Overall, I loved it. I thought it was a fun, thrilling Wild West adventure and made me wish we had more YA western books! I would highly recommend!


Rating
4.5 stars!


Details
Genre: Historical Fiction, YA.
Language: Mild
Sex: None.
Violence: Lots of shooting and gun violence and some gruesome murders, but not graphically described.
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