Reviews

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

adventuresinfictionland's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

caitiep92's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

heidi_checkedout's review against another edition

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3.5

.Remembering that this is YA, it was pretty good. Fast paced, interesting characters. If you enjoyed playing Oregon Trail and like YA, this is a great pick!

emilye3's review against another edition

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5.0

I love westerns so when I found out this was a western I was so excited. I read this for my local book club and it was so good! Getting to see and read things from characters that are very different from me is a nice break from everything going on. So happy to have read this book.

gmamartha's review

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3.0

Adventure and danger around every bend, we follow these girls across the west while trying to pass as boys and get to family, while making a family as they travel.
I recommend for at least 9th grade.

addisonrutherford09's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was amazing. Incredibl  plot, characters and everything I love in a book!

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mary00's review

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3.0

2 1/2 stars. This book was just OK for me. I found myself rooting for the main characters, but the entire plot was pretty implausible.

sarahatfrogcreek's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

steph01924's review

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5.0

Great book! I loved all the characters, I loved the sisterhood that Andy and Sammy created for themselves (along with the rest of the remuda!), I loved the sweet romances with a side of angst. I'm a sucker for survival stories and for this time period, so those factors were just the icing on the cake.

It's a book about badass, cross-dressing chicks and the Oregon Trail - if you can read that statement and immediately not want to read this book, well, then, I feel a bit sorry for you, because you are missing out on a great adventure.

earthgirl207's review

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3.0

This is a story about two girls (one Chinese American, one African American) disguised as boys, on the run from the law on the Oregon Trail, who fall in with a friendly band of cowboys. So, basically my jam. But though the story kept me engrossed and I finished it in three days, there were a few elements that keep me from loving it.

1) a large part of the conflict could have been resolved by Just Talking To Each Other, a pet peeve of mine.

2) the romance ended up being the kind where there is a lot of staring and longing and not a lot of actually getting together until late in the story. Which I remember being very much a YA thing, and maybe if I was still in that demographic I wouldn't mind. But I've gotten used to adult romances where a large element of the story is the couple learning how to function together and getting to know each other, so I kept yelling at the knuckleheads to just TALK TO EACH OTHER so that they could start facing their problems together and be a team (see item 1).

3) many elements of the plot seemed contrived, like characters reacted a certain way or received helpful items because that would drive the plot forward, not because it made organic sense.

Overall, a fun, engaging read, though, and it was refreshing to read a story that reflected the diversity of the Old West.