I am doing the Book Riot 2018 Read Harder Challenge this year and one of the requirements was to read a western. I am not a big western reader (I am incredibly squeamish and don’t handle blood and violence very well) so I was daunted by this one. That was, until our Penguin rep, Brian, came into the store and said, “I have a book I need you to read. It’s a Western.” I jumped on the opportunity.
What I got was Whiskey When We’re Dry, a western that focuses on Jessilyn, a 17 year-old girl who finds herself alone in the world following the death of her father. What I really enjoyed about this book is that nothing came easily to Jessilyn. She doesn’t just happen to magically be the best sharpshooter. She doesn’t just happen to survive shootouts. She doesn’t succeed because of happenstance, which is the feeling I’ve gotten from other genre fiction like westerns (including westerns). This book felt very realistic while still telling the story of an awesome kickass girl who involves herself in a world that is actively against her. I am so glad there is a character like Jessilyn out there. We need more of her.
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