Publishers Weekly
★ 11/18/2019
Gailey (Magic for Liars) pits librarian spies against the oppressive government of a future Southwestern America in this dazzling neo-western adventure. After Esther Augustus’s best friend and crush Beatriz is executed for possessing unapproved reading materials, Esther’s father, the superintendent of the Lower Southwest Territory, arranges for a political marriage between Esther and Beatriz’s fiancé. Esther flees by stowing away in the caravan of the Librarians, state employees who distribute approved literature to isolated towns. Once discovered, Esther is shocked to learn that the Librarians are actually a hotbed of queer subversion: stern Bet and motherly Leda are a long-term lesbian couple, and their cranky apprentice, Cye, is nonbinary. The Librarians agree to take Esther to Utah, an insurrectionist camp, after picking up a “package” of other refugees. Along the way, Esther grows disillusioned with the homophobic government propaganda she’s read all her life and develops feelings for Cye. During a brazen attempt to prove herself useful to the Librarians, Esther stumbles upon frightening information about one of the refugees they’re escorting, plunging them all into danger. Gailey’s gorgeous writing and authentic characters make this slim volume a pure delight. Readers will relish this showcase of Gailey’s striking talents. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
A 2021 Hugo Award Finalist!
A 2021 Locus Award Finalist!
A 2020 ALA Booklist Top 10 SF/F Pick!
A Booklist Editor's Choice Pick!
Book Riot's Best Books of 2020 So Far!
Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | NYPL | Booklist | Bustle | Den of Geek
"A dazzling neo-western adventure. . . . Gailey’s gorgeous writing and authentic characters make this slim volume a pure delight."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A breezy, rousing and unrelentingly fun gallop.” –NPR, Best Books of 2020
Praise for American Hippo: River of Teeth, Taste of Marrow, and New Stories
"Fun and charming with killer hippos and even better characters." —Kirkus Reviews
"Fans of seedy westerns will greatly enjoy this tale of gold-tusked hippos and the miscreants who ride them." —Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
01/01/2020
Esther Augustus has fled town after her lover was hanged for possessing "unlawful materials"—also known as resistance propaganda. Stealing off in the librarians' wagon, Esther believed that becoming one of the "morally upright" and chaste women who brought approved reading to towns across the country would save her from herself. Except that librarians Leda and Bet are a couple and in charge of bringing parcels—women escaping dire situations—across state lines to the resistance areas in Utah. When one of their "parcels" turns out to be even more trouble than first expected, Esther and the librarians load up their pistols, ready for a fight. Esther jumps from the frying pan into the fire, just where she needed to be to discover how to be her own woman. VERDICT Gailey sets this adventurous novella that twists a historical trope into a singular story in an alternate future Southwest populated with bandits, shoot-outs, and fierce queer people. Readers will root for these rowdy librarians.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
FEBRUARY 2020 - AudioFile
Romy Nordlinger narrates Gailey’s compelling story, set in a future American Southwest. A naïve woman stows away in the wagon of a group of traveling librarians and discovers a secret anti-fascist rebellion. Nordlinger often shifts her pitch unexpectedly, which can distract listeners from the narrative. But, overall, she effectively creates distinct, twangy voices for each of the librarians, all gunslinging women or nonbinary people, and the troublesome characters they meet on the trail. Listeners discover that queer people are officially targeted by the oppressive government. Esther struggles with fear of being discovered as queer and with guilt about her past. But her views change as she travels through the desert with others in loving queer relationships and as she develops feelings for Cye, the group’s snarky nonbinary apprentice. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
