Do you like Westerns? John Larison’s Whiskey When We’re Dry is a riveting read that had me turning the pages, but I would have enjoyed it more if my waking life wasn’t so stressful!
As a result, the story made me feel anxious about what would happen next to Jessilynn Harney. I’d look at my Kindle with trepidation, and then before I knew it, it was past my bedtime.
The writing is amazing. John Larison captures the cowboy voice effortlessly. My friend Michi recommended it, saying it was about a young woman who dresses up as a boy and heads west in order to find her brother.
I read a similar storyline when I was 13 or 14. It was a Sunfire romance called Carolyn published by Scholastic. I adored this series, and made damn sure to collect them all when I was well into adulthood. But let’s just say, that’s where the similarity ends.
It’s an adult book dealing with hard truths, but it’s a fine novel that deserves all of the praise it has received. In 2019, Whiskey was named best book by seemingly everyone from O Magazine to Fodor’s Travel. Really not sure how I miss these things.
Like any good child of the 80s, I grew up on Clint Eastwood’s Spaghetti Westerns like Hang ‘Em High, The Outlaw of Josey Wales, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I was enthralled, and despite the violence (which seems downright wholesome compared to today], and the dirty-looking characters, we’d gather around the television in reverence.
So, I suppose when I saw Louis L’Amour’s paperbacks in the bookstore, as a teen discovering and devouring books, it wasn’t that much of a stretch. I read my fair share, too!
Have you read any Westerns?
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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