This was such a fun read! I've loved Stroud's writing since I read the Lockwood & Co. series, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed this one as well. Stroud does dystopia really well, and I'm excited for the rest of this series!

I didn’t expect to absolutely love this but I really did! It’s funny and interesting and while it gives minimal explanation for anything that causes the book to be dystopian it also doesn’t leave enough unknown to be confusing. The characters are likeable and the plot is fast paced without losing character development. I also have to add that I loved the narration by Sophie Aldred. I’m not sure about the American narration though!
Either way I loved this and I hope to read the sequel and get to hear Sophie aldred read book 2!

I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Stroud's books, and this is one of my favourites. The dystopian, Western-style world is richly realised and I fell in love with the characters. It's a tense, imaginative adventure and I hope there will be more books set in this world!

Jonathan Stroud is as brilliant as ever, crafting world building and complex characters effortlessly. A delight to read, and a fantastic addition to the world of children's literature.

This is a brilliantly written and imaginative story set in a future England with plenty to scare the faint hearted citizens. Scarlett is not one of those: she is a smart talking and brave outlaw who finds herself unwittingly bound up with the mysterious Albert Browne. I loved the mix of Wild West and dystopian England and am hoping there will be more books to follow.

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne started off okay, then it got weird and then pretty good..

Scarlett is your classic outlaw, robbing banks and causing mayhem wherever she goes. Along her journey, she runs in to Albert Browne and doesn’t manage to get away from him. The development of their relationship is nice to see, and their adventures keep those pages turning.

Given a couple of my friends had mentioned not being sold on this, I started it pretty tentatively. But I quickly found myself caught up in the story and wondering how it was going to play out.

I do really like a quest or journeying book, as well as heist books, so I was immediately taken with our heroes trip, as well as with the thievery! I quite liked what we got to see of the world as well. There definitely could have been more world building and character development, however. We don’t get to know Scarlett’s secrets or get to know much about who Albert is underneath his nerves. And we don’t know why Britain has turned into what it has.

That said, what we did see of the world was quite interesting, and it was well enough done that I can imagine some of the traipsing through countryside in the Cotswolds, or sailing down the Thames. It felt very grounded in a world we knew, with enough twists to stop it being recognisable.

I also really liked Joe and Ettie, and I hope that we get to see more of them in future! I am definitely assuming this is heading into a series and I look forward to finding out more.

3.5 stars.

An easy 5 stars from me for this fab first book in a new series from Jonathan Stroud. Scarlett is strong, flawed, impetuous but caring and spiritual too, she is a character I’m looking forward to reading more about in future books. Albert is vulnerable, volatile and possesses an incredible power that he must learn to control. A fast moving, exciting adventure, with many tidbits of information that encourage you keep reading to try and fit all the puzzle pieces together.

I received an advanced free e copy of this book in return for an honest review – thank you NetBalley and Walker books.
As a family we have enjoyed really Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood series and this new set of characters in Scarlett and Brownewere equally compelling. The post apocalyptic zombie setting, a heroine who can look after herself while being humane and caring, is great and I’m already a fan of this new adventure series, looking forward to the next one. Stroud writes clearly, with dry humour, but in a way that can be enjoyed by adults also. And the chills are very real!
Well done Jonathan Stroud, we look forward to your future books.

I really wanted to love this, as I'm a fan of the Lockwood series. Bits of it were very enjoyable - Albert's attempts to understand how the world works, Scarlett's determination and deviousness. The world-building was interesting, although took a little too long to be clear and too much was left unexplained. I found the plot a little slow moving, despite it being very episodic - the trail of why Albert was on the run just took a bit too long to be resolved for me.

It doesn't have quite as much charm as Lockwood or Bartimaeus, but I'm hoping a second instalment will hit its stride.

A nicely written story in decent characters, this story was funny and scary and full of action. I'll definitely continue to read the rest of the series as it comes out as so many unanswered questions remain! Addictive reading

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Scarlett Browne is an outlaw. She is used to fending for herself and also used to being alone but then she meets a boy, Albert Browne. Against her better judgement Scarlett agrees to journey with Albert. Before long, they have new and dangerous enemies on their tail and Scarlett realizes that there may be more to Albert than it first seemed.

This is one of those books that ended leaving me satisfied. It was funny, full of action and surprisingly uplifting! I love books with solid friendships and Scarlett's and Albert's was a perfect fit right from the start. I loved how the two of them interacted with each other. The way Albert talked was so funny and it balanced really well with Scarlett's more snarky dialogue. I wasn't expecting Albert to have powers (even though after I'd finished the book I checked and on the back cover it does mention it) but I think it was a good addition to the story. I always like books that have a mind reading element because it really gets me thinking about what people would be seeing in my head if they were to have that kind of power.

One thing that I didn't like was how we never learn anything about Scarlett's past. We do hear a lot about Albert and, though the book doesn't tell us everything, I was able to get a pretty good idea. However, with Scarlett, we get nothing and to me it made her character shallower than I would have liked. That said, I think the author is planning on writing more books in this series so I am hoping we learn more about her in the future! Overall, this was a fun book that left me really glad I read it. Happy Reading :)

An exciting introduction to Scarlett McCain and Albert Browne, set in a post-apocalyptic Britain and particularly along the Thames. People are doing what they can to survive in an inhospitable world where both animals and humans are evolving into different forms. As is often the case, the old guard have set themselves against the new by trying to destroy them or at the very least keep them out in the wild.
Both Scarlett and Albert find themselves on the outside. While Scarlett's history is only alluded to, hopefully to be revealed in subsequent sequels, the reason for Albert's exclusion from society becomes obvious quite quickly.
Scarlett is much more experienced practically at surviving than Albert when they first meet. Fearing that Albert will be a millstone, Scarlett is determined that they will go their separate ways after a brief encounter.
However, events force them together, with the powers of the new order determined to hunt the pair down and catch them alive or dead, and a bond neither of them expected starts to form!
This is essentially a chase story from beginning to end, with brief lulls in the tension. You will keep the pages turning wanting to know what happens next, willing Scarlett, a lovable rogue, Albert, a charming but clumsy youth and their companions to make it to the end and 'sail off into the sunset' - that is, before the next adventure which I will certainly be looking out for.

This is the first book in a new YA series by Jonathan Stroud. It's set in a dystopian future England.

Scarlett has been fending for herself for ages. She robs banks, can survive in the wild outside of fortified towns, and can outsmart a group of armed pursuers any day. When she meets Alfred Browne she knows she has to help this boy who seems to have led a privileged life, but she would also like to get rid of him as soon as possible. Why? Browne is wanted, basically for running from this seemingly privileged life. But there is more to it.

I enjoyed this book very much, although I had the feeling that some pieces were still missing - but this is a review copy and the first book in a new series, so some questions might be answered in the full book, or the sequels.

The two characters fit well, what Browne lacks in experience, Scarlett has in abundance; and Browne has skills that complement Scarlett's nicely.

Do I need to point out that Stroud's writing is excellent? Well, there I said it. It is excellent and I am looking forward to the finished book and the next books in the series.

I enjoyed this book, it was fun, exciting and compelling but there were things I liked about it and things that didn't sit well with me.

It is very obviously YA in tone and I felt very much 'not the target audience.' I think the very best of this genre transcends the description and is able to engage all age groups while still focusing on the target audience. This didn't quite manage that and at times it was an effort to maintain my suspension of disbelief for all the eye rolling I was doing. That said, I'm pretty sure I'd have loved this at age 13!

The character of Scarlett is a little Mary Sue-ish, even for YA. She never misses a shot, is impervious to pain and fear and can physically beat wolves in a fight. I really didn't warm to her at all. Then, when she first meets Albert her behaviour is bullying and she's physically abusive to him. I didn't think that was particularly cool.

Also, there's a lot of killing for what is essentially a chase/evasion type story. It's a little too casual and at this point there's not enough of Scarlett's backstory relieved to justify her propensity for violence.

Albert is a much better character. I found him more intriguing and he had more depth than Scarlett. This might be because he was given more backstory.

The plot, especially the section in the raft, reminded me of The Belle Sauvage, but I found this a lot less cerebral and more of an action adventure romp than the intellectual sophistication of Pullman.

What I did really enjoy was the stonking pace, the tension, the excitement and the outrageousness of Scarlett and Albert's adventures. The growing camaraderie between the two main characters is very satisfying and the basic premise of good overcoming evil and the underdog prevailing is served well here.

Also really well done is the world building and the amount of information revealed and yet to be disclosed. There is just enough to intrigue and leave you wondering but also enough that the world is believable. The descriptions of the post apocalyptic country are engaging but not too heavy.

This is a great start to what I'm sure will develop into a fabulous series. It has all the right ingredients - exciting action, an intriguing relationship between its two MCs, wit and sass, and a plot with enough complexity to make readers want the next installment as soon as possible.

This is an anti-hero adventure story set in a post-apocalyptic South of England. A diamond-in-the-rough girl and a boy with powers beyond his control are pursued by powers who seek to capture or destroy them both for different reasons.

Characterization is well done with little time devoted to backstory, what is know of the world they live in as well as the central characters themselves are revealed as the story progresses. Both have sufficient likable characteristics to overcome the incidents of death and mayhem that accompany their travels. The juxtaposition of worldly-wise cynicism and naivete allows for revelations of their characters with a bond that develops over time. They are a very unlikely pairing and the thread that holds them together is a little too tenuous to be credible. The baddies are archetypically wicked with no redeeming features.

The environment and society are quite typically post-apocalyptic with blatant hostility to outsiders. Monsters abound and these are faced or avoided as the story progresses. Although they provide moments of action the focus remains strongly on the central characters.

The story has a balanced pace of periods of relative quiet disturbed by pursuit or risk-taking. The quieter periods allow for the introduction of secondary characters who are sufficiently well fleshed out.

There is no romance to the story beyond the development of the bond between the two and even there it is not possible to infer any romantic entanglement.

Interventions of the baddies are somewhat predictable and whilst they provide a modicum of risk, the reader is largely confident that all the important characters will survive until the denouement.

The story resolves itself quite neatly with some important reveals provided to fill in missing gaps. Sadly these feel contrived, down to the monologue of the baddie.

In all, it was a good read and recommended particularly for teens who maybe haven't read as widely.

I just love everything @JonathanAStroud writes, & this us no exception: really exciting edge-of-your-seat adventure with fantastic characters! Thanks @WalkerBooksYA @WalkerBooksUK for a proof (it was published this month, I was just slow to get to it 😬 Saving it to savour!) https://t.co/QO3j1ITo71

This is a brilliant fast paced escapade as our two heroes battle the strange dystopian world of a reimagined United Kingdom. The Outlaws has the feel almost of a western with shoot outs, bank heists and the blurred lines between good and evil. Filled with both the realistic and the supernatural, Stroud has created a novel that will appeal to almost any reader. With characteristic wit and overflowing with energy and exuberance, Scarlett is the ideal heroine, a kick-ass with a heart of gold. Coupled with the quieter, reflective Albert, the two form a bond that is compelling and surprisingly endearing. I can't wait for a sequel.

What a fantastic start to a new series. Stroud has a vivid imagination and creates a vibrant wonderful world that brings the Wild West to the post apocalyptic Britain. Whether you're an adult or a child you'll find a lot to keep you entertained by this diverse cast of believable characters.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Walker Books in exchange for an honest review.

I have long been a fan of Jonathan Stroud. His Bartimeaus series is one of my favourites of all time and the ending of those books...I'm not sure I'll ever fully get over it! So it's fair to say, I went into this book with very high expectations. I pleased to say that once again he delivered a wonderful reading experience. This book has it all: excellent world building; characters who can make you laugh out loud with their wit and stop your heart with their moments of vulnerability; villains that only have to be mentioned by name for your heart to start racing and an ingenious plot that makes you question everything.

We begin the story following Scarlett McCain (outlaw, bankrobber extrodinaire, sometimes holy woman and also teenager). She journeys throughout the shattered landscape of a dystopian future England moving between the safety, but scrutiny, of the well-guarded towns and the dangers of the wilds outside them. While on a deserted road, she discovers the wreckage of a coach with only one survivor, Albert Browne. As Scarlett and Albert begin travelling together, they are pursued by many unsavoury characters. We learn more about the secrets both of them are keeping about their pasts and the dangers they are both running from.

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this book, so rather than picking out the things that worked well as opposed to those that didn't, I am selecting may favourite aspects from eveything that I loved!

First, I have to mention the characters. The were all so full of life and personality both in the actions we saw from them and the backstories we learned. Each one felt authentic and made you want to know more about them. I hated, feared, loved, laughed (both with and at) and cried with them throughout the story. The way the relationship between the two main characters developed was brilliant. I absolutely adore Scarlett for her fierce determination, quick thinking and even her grumpiness. However, nothing can top my love for Albert, his optimism and straight forward way of view the world are so precious and if anything happens to him...

Second the dry wit that runs throughout this book is hilarious. The scenes when Scarlett is being awesome and outwitting everyone around her are a delight to read. In addition, while there is a lot of tension and peril in this story and the author is so skilled at cutting through this with a hilarious one-liner, providing a moment of comic relief yet still maintaining the glorious sinister atmosphere he has built.

Finally, the villain. Pure evil - and I love it! It's easy for villains to be too over the top that they become ridiculous, or conversely have a villain that sounds scary, but when you actually meet them just isn't. This is not the case here. The level of threat and malice exuding from the villain is masterful. They worm their way into your brain and you love them, because they're such a fantastic character creation, but you also hate them because they're so cruel and manipulative!

This book sits in the older MG/younger YA range. There is some swearing, a lot of violence and a heavy level of threat throughout the book. Readers who enjoy dystopian/adventure/mystery stories will love this. I would particularly recommend it to people who have enjoyed books like the Mortal Engines series, Orphans of the Tide and Evernight.