Are you a coward? Or are you a Librarian?
Upright Women Wanted is a 2020 Western Queer Romance novella by Sarah Gailey. It's the author's third published novella and was nominated for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novella and 2021 Locus Award for Best Novella.
In a far-off future where America has devolved to The Wild West, leading to a rise of white and male supremacy, young Esther escapes from her arranged marriage after her lover Beatriz is hanged for possession of Unapproved Material. She joins the Librarians, a group of hardened women who deliver the states' Approved Materials to rural settlements. But Esther soon learns that there is more to the Librarians than meets the eye..
Tropes in this work:
- Battle Couple: Leda and Bet, who have been through several skirmishes together.
- Bury Your Gays: Discussed. Esther mentions several times that all the books she and Beatriz read about "people like them" ended in tragedy, with the main characters either dying or being driven to madness. This left Esther with the mindset that she was a Doom Magnet because of her feelings towards other women and that Beatriz's death was a natural outcome of their relationship. Which, as Amity later points out to her, is probably exactly what the government who approves of these stories wants Esther and people like Esther to think.
- Cast Full of Gay: All of the characters in the main group are lesbians or bisexual. Downplayed with Amity, whose sexuality is at first assumed to be lesbian and polyamorous until it's revealed she faked her relationship to Genevieve and Trace.
- Deadpan Snarker: Cye is very sarcastic and snarky towards Esther. It lets up a bit when they start to warm up to her.
- Double-Meaning Title: The title could both mean that the Librarians are literally wanted for their distributing of Unapproved material and transporting of fugitives, despite being fundamentally good people, or that the Librarians are seeking "upright women" to fill in their ranks and continue the fight.
- Easily Forgiven: Downplayed. Almost no one in the group is willing to forgive Amity after she reveals herself as a wanted assassin and holds Esther at gunpoint to force the Librarians to let her stay anyway. Esther herself is torn on her feelings, but eventually admits that she can't bring herself to be mad at Amity.
- The Ghost: Galahad, an important figure in the Librarians' organization, is very often mentioned by the characters, but we never get to meet them in person.
- Fiery Redhead: Cye has curly red hair and a very short fuse.
- Fish out of Water: Esther is a town girl who has been prepared to be a demure housewife her entire life and now has to learn how to live on the road.
- Insistent Terminology: Cye makes it very clear to Esther that on the road they go by they/them but in towns they are to be addressed as she/her, as being non-binary in the current climate is practically a death sentence.
- La Résistance: The Librarians are (or are part of) an organized resistance fighting back against the fascist government and their deliberate misinformation, both by spreading Unapproved Materials and by helping fugitives from the state reach safe zones.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Lipstick Bisexual to be precise. Esther enjoys feminine things like stitching and cooking, wears a skirt for the entirety of her travels and has long hair. She was in a relationship with her best friend Beatriz before the latter's death and falls in love with Cye, a non-binary Librarian.
- The Lost Lenore: Beatriz to Esther. Beatriz was hanged by Esther's father for possession of Unapproved Material while Esther was Forced to Watch. It's heavily implied the real reason for the execution was that Esther's father (and maybe Beatriz' fiancé) had found out about her and Esther's relationship.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Cye, Leda and Bet are only referred to by their nicknames. Subverted with Bet, whose full name Lisbeth is often used by her lover Leda.
- Second Love: Esther falls in love with Cye during their travels on the road and was previously in a secret relationship with her best friend Beatriz.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Beatriz and Esther were this, as Beatriz was engaged and the society they grew up in disapproved of gay relationships to begin with. The two would either meet in secret or take advantage of the fact that people thought of them as just good friends to spend their nights together.
- Take Up My Sword: At the end of the novella Leda and Bet are forced to retire, due to Bet's identity having been compromised. They give their positions of Head Librarian and Assistant Librarian to Cye and Esther respectively.
- The Wild West: Due to an unspecified war, the United States of America have devolved into this, with old-fashioned cowboys, Sherriffs, wanted posters and shootouts.
