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thebookbin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So it is 11:57 and I just finished Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. This is a short novel about lesbian cowgirl librarians (and if that sentence doesn't excite you, we can't be friends). I think the premise was awesome, but it didn't quite live up to its own standards. I was wary of this book: I'd read some Gailey before--I didn't really enjoy Magic for Liars but the premise of this book was too tempting for me to ignore.
Where I think Gailey excels is that she is capable of writing a compelling and interesting but unlikable MC. Esther is a lesbian whose girlfriend was just hanged and it is implied Esther will meet the same fate, and so she runs away to join the illustrious traveling Librarians who spread propaganda and Approved Reading Material to the masses. Esther has a lot--and I mean a lot--of internalized homophobia. This novel was very short and I think it would have benefited by being longer or part of a series. Esther almost immediately falls for Cye, a strong-willed road-hardened nonbinary Librarian Apprentice and that deep intense crush didn't fit in with both her internalized homophobia and her grief over recently executed Beatriz.
Esther, the main character, is by far the least interesting character in the book. She is naive and fully under the whims of propaganda. The story moves too fast, she goes from traumatized runaway to full bandit in less than 100 pages, but I feel like I didn't get to witness any of that growth. Cye, as previously mentioned is a young wry sharpshooter that Esther almost immediately falls for. Bet and Leda are the two head librarians, older, more weathered and used to desert life and the Old Gay content you crave. They are two halves of a whole, but each interesting in their own right. And my personal favorite, Amity. An assassin so hardened by desert life, she is immune to death. But by god is she funny, and she's not a villain character. She's incredibly interesting to read.
Overall, this is a solid 3/5 stars for me. I adored the premise and the groundwork is there for something great, but the execution prevented it from reaching its full potential.
Where I think Gailey excels is that she is capable of writing a compelling and interesting but unlikable MC. Esther is a lesbian whose girlfriend was just hanged and it is implied Esther will meet the same fate, and so she runs away to join the illustrious traveling Librarians who spread propaganda and Approved Reading Material to the masses. Esther has a lot--and I mean a lot--of internalized homophobia. This novel was very short and I think it would have benefited by being longer or part of a series. Esther almost immediately falls for Cye, a strong-willed road-hardened nonbinary Librarian Apprentice and that deep intense crush didn't fit in with both her internalized homophobia and her grief over recently executed Beatriz.
Esther, the main character, is by far the least interesting character in the book. She is naive and fully under the whims of propaganda. The story moves too fast, she goes from traumatized runaway to full bandit in less than 100 pages, but I feel like I didn't get to witness any of that growth. Cye, as previously mentioned is a young wry sharpshooter that Esther almost immediately falls for. Bet and Leda are the two head librarians, older, more weathered and used to desert life and the Old Gay content you crave. They are two halves of a whole, but each interesting in their own right. And my personal favorite, Amity. An assassin so hardened by desert life, she is immune to death. But by god is she funny, and she's not a villain character. She's incredibly interesting to read.
Overall, this is a solid 3/5 stars for me. I adored the premise and the groundwork is there for something great, but the execution prevented it from reaching its full potential.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Sexism
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