The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud

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Reviewed by: The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud Elizabeth Bush Stroud, Jonathan The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne. Knopf, 2021 [432p] (Scarlett and Browne) Library ed. IBSN 9780593430378 $20.99 Trade ed. ISBN 9780593430361 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780593430385 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 6-10 When Scarlett McCain robs a bank, she easily outruns the lawmen who hesitate to follow her into the wilds, where the Tainted indulge their craving for human flesh. This time, they’re after her in hotter than normal pursuit, and she’s encumbered by Albert Browne, a dreamy, clumsy naïf she reluctantly rescued from an overturned bus. It’s not Scarlett they’re after this time, though; it’s Albert, who has escaped from the Stonemoor, where evil Dr. Calloway conducts torturous experiments on youngsters with unusual powers ripe for exploiting. Thus begins a twelve-day odyssey, much of it spent on a raft piloted by an unamiable but nonetheless protective old man and his mute young granddaughter, as Scarlett and Albert head for [End Page 33] the safety of the Free Isles, where all outcasts are reputedly welcome. Thrills and wisecrackery run neck and neck as Stroud establishes a sturdy cast of characters and lays the foundation of a post-apocalyptic British world in preparation for what promises to be a rousing series. Scarlett has street smarts and physicality, Albert has poorly controlled explosive power, and what’s left of Britain is variously overgrown, sunken, lawless, beset by cannibals, or repressed by Faith Houses that enforce social order—just the kind of setting where adventure fantasy thrives. Add the razor-sharp banter that delights readers of the Bartimaeus series (The Amulet of Samarkand, BCCB 2/11, et al), and you can lay the smart money on another Stroud winner. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois