Sarah Gailey is an American speculative fiction writer whose work spans science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, young adult fiction, novellas, short fiction, and comics.
Most of Gailey’s prose books are standalone. There are two important exceptions. The American Hippo stories form a connected alternate history sequence, and Upright Women Wanted now belongs to the Sand in the Gears series, with a second volume confirmed for 2027.
Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This article may contain affiliate links. If you click one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
That makes the reading order easier than the size of Gailey’s bibliography might suggest. Keep the connected books together, then choose the standalone novels according to interest.
What Actually Needs to Be Read in Order?
Only a small part of Gailey’s prose bibliography has a required sequence.
American Hippo
- River of Teeth
- Taste of Marrow
The omnibus American Hippo collects these stories with additional related fiction.
Sand in the Gears
- Upright Women Wanted
- Downright Scoundrels Needed
The second book is scheduled for March 16, 2027.
Everything from Magic for Liars to Make Me Better can otherwise be approached independently.
American Hippo Books in Order
Gailey’s first major connected sequence is an alternate history built around an actual historical proposal to introduce hippopotamuses into the United States as livestock.
The published novella order is:
- River of Teeth (2017)
- Taste of Marrow (2017)
Read them in that order.
River of Teeth introduces Winslow Houndstooth, the crew, the altered American setting, and the central operation. Taste of Marrow deals with what follows.
The second novella assumes familiarity with the characters and consequences of the first.
Where Does American Hippo Fit?
American Hippo (2018) is a collected edition rather than a third main installment.
It combines:
- River of Teeth
- Taste of Marrow
- Additional related material
Readers who own American Hippo do not need to buy the first two novellas separately unless they want the individual editions.
Status: Omnibus and expanded collection.
For someone starting the series today, the omnibus is the simplest single volume option.
Worth Her Weight in Gold
Worth Her Weight in Gold is a short story set in the American Hippo world.
It was published after the two core novellas and is included with the wider American Hippo material.
The safest placement is:
- River of Teeth
- Taste of Marrow
- Worth Her Weight in Gold
Status: Optional related short fiction.
It adds to the setting but is not required to understand the two novella sequence.
Sand in the Gears Books in Order
A notable bibliography change has occurred around Upright Women Wanted.
The book was long treated as a standalone novella, but its publisher now identifies it as Volume 1 of the Sand in the Gears series.
The order is:
- Upright Women Wanted (2020)
- Downright Scoundrels Needed (2027)
Upright Women Wanted
Upright Women Wanted follows Esther in a future American Southwest controlled by an authoritarian government, where Librarians travel across the territory carrying officially approved material while working around the regime.
For years this could safely be listed as a complete standalone novella.
The announcement of Downright Scoundrels Needed changes that classification.
It remains readable on its own, but it is now the first published book in a continuing setting.
Downright Scoundrels Needed
Downright Scoundrels Needed is scheduled for March 16, 2027.
It returns to the world of Upright Women Wanted and follows gunslinger Fletch and a crew of outlaws undertaking a dangerous heist while resistance against the Administration grows.
Because the book shares the setting and is officially listed as Sand in the Gears Volume 2, new readers should read Upright Women Wanted first.
Status: Confirmed upcoming sequel.
Sarah Gailey Standalone Novels
Gailey’s full length novels do not form a shared universe.
They can be read in any order.
Magic for Liars
Magic for Liars (2019) is Gailey’s adult novel debut.
It combines a murder investigation with a magical school setting, but it has no connection to When We Were Magic despite both books involving magic.
Status: Standalone.
When We Were Magic
When We Were Magic (2020) is a young adult novel about a group of friends dealing with the consequences of magic going seriously wrong.
It is not a sequel to Magic for Liars.
The similar titles, publication dates, and magical subject matter can suggest a connection that does not exist.
Status: Standalone.
The Echo Wife
The Echo Wife (2021) is a science fiction novel centered on cloning, identity, marriage, and scientific ambition.
It does not belong to the American Hippo setting or any later Gailey series.
Status: Standalone.
Just Like Home
Just Like Home (2022) is a gothic horror novel involving Vera, her childhood home, her dying mother, and the legacy of her father.
No earlier Gailey novel is required.
Status: Standalone.
Make Me Better
Make Me Better (2026) is a horror and thriller novel centered on Kindred Cove, an isolated community promising healing, belonging, and transformation.
It was published on May 12, 2026.
It is not connected to Spread Me despite the two books appearing close together in Gailey’s recent horror bibliography.
Status: Standalone.
Sarah Gailey Novels in Publication Order
Readers interested in following the progression of Gailey’s full length novels can use:
- Magic for Liars (2019)
- When We Were Magic (2020)
- The Echo Wife (2021)
- Just Like Home (2022)
- Make Me Better (2026)
This order is optional.
There are no continuing characters or plot threads requiring one novel before another.
Sarah Gailey Novellas in Order
Gailey’s novella length fiction spans several unrelated settings.
For a publication based guide:
- River of Teeth (2017)
- Taste of Marrow (2017)
- The Fisher of Bones (2017)
- Upright Women Wanted (2020)
- Have You Eaten? (2024)
- Spread Me (2025)
- Downright Scoundrels Needed (2027, upcoming)
This is not one fictional chronology.
Only River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow form the American Hippo sequence, while Upright Women Wanted and Downright Scoundrels Needed form Sand in the Gears.
The Fisher of Bones
The Fisher of Bones was originally published as serialized fiction in 2017.
It follows a religious community traveling through a harsh landscape under the leadership of a new Fisher.
It is unrelated to American Hippo.
Status: Standalone shorter fiction.
It can be read whenever you encounter it.
Have You Eaten?
Have You Eaten? was released as serialized fiction and later made available as a complete digital edition in 2024.
The story follows a fractured community trying to survive and care for one another in a hostile world.
It is not connected to Upright Women Wanted or Gailey’s other post-apocalyptic and near future fiction.
Status: Standalone serialized novella.
Spread Me
Spread Me was published on September 23, 2025.
The novella follows a research team at a remote desert station after a strange specimen enters their supposedly isolated environment.
It is body horror and science fiction, but it has no continuity connection to The Echo Wife or Make Me Better.
Status: Standalone.
Is There a Sarah Gailey Chronological Order?
No complete chronological order exists.
Gailey repeatedly writes about altered histories, speculative futures, magic, horror, and unusual social structures, but those similarities do not mean the stories occupy a common timeline.
A chronological list would incorrectly connect unrelated books.
The only useful internal sequence rules are:
American Hippo
- River of Teeth
- Taste of Marrow
- Related short fiction
Sand in the Gears
- Upright Women Wanted
- Downright Scoundrels Needed
Everything else can remain separate.
Which Sarah Gailey Book Should You Start With?
There is no single mandatory entry point.
A reader looking for alternate history should begin with River of Teeth.
A reader interested in mystery and magic can choose Magic for Liars.
For science fiction centered on cloning and identity, choose The Echo Wife.
For gothic horror, Just Like Home requires no preparation.
For recent horror, Spread Me and Make Me Better are both standalone choices.
For a short near future Western setting that now has a sequel, begin with Upright Women Wanted.
Recommended Order for a Complete Prose Read
For readers who want an organized route without pretending every book shares a universe, a useful sequence is:
Begin With American Hippo
- River of Teeth
- Taste of Marrow
- Worth Her Weight in Gold (optional)
Or read the American Hippo omnibus.
Move Into the Standalones
- Magic for Liars
- When We Were Magic
- The Echo Wife
- Just Like Home
Read the Shorter Independent Works
- The Fisher of Bones
- Have You Eaten?
Read Sand in the Gears
- Upright Women Wanted
- Downright Scoundrels Needed when published
Finish With the Recent Horror
- Spread Me
- Make Me Better
This sequence is a convenient organizational route, not a fictional chronology.
Sarah Gailey Comics
Gailey has also written extensively in comics.
These works should be separated from the prose bibliography because several belong to licensed universes or are collaborations with comics artists.
Eat the Rich
Eat the Rich is an original five issue comic miniseries written by Gailey, with art by Pius Bak.
It was later released as a collected edition.
There is no prose novel that needs to be read first.
Status: Complete original comic series.
Know Your Station
Know Your Station is another original five issue limited series, created with artist Liana Kangas.
It follows a mystery involving the wealthy inhabitants of an off-world sanctuary.
The complete collected edition can be read as one self-contained story.
Status: Complete original comic series.
Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood Watch is another original comics project by Gailey, with artist Haining.
The series was announced for 2026 and centers on a community mystery after a prominent resident is found seriously wounded.
It is separate from Know Your Station and Eat the Rich.
Status: Separate comic continuity.
The Vampire Slayer
Gailey wrote The Vampire Slayer for BOOM! Studios.
This series belongs to the publisher’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe and is not an original Sarah Gailey continuity.
For collected edition readers, the principal Gailey volumes are:
- The Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1
- The Vampire Slayer, Vol. 2
- The Vampire Slayer, Vol. 3
Read them in volume order.
Because this is franchise fiction, readers exploring the complete BOOM! Studios Buffy continuity may encounter relevant material written by other creators outside these collections.
Status: Licensed Buffy continuity.
Steven Universe Comics
Gailey wrote issues 29 through 32 of BOOM! Studios’ Steven Universe comic.
These are franchise comics based on the animated series rather than part of Gailey’s original fiction.
Status: Separate licensed continuity.
Marvel Comics
Gailey has also written work for Marvel, including stories and runs involving characters such as White Widow and other established Marvel properties.
These should not be mixed into the prose reading order.
A reader collecting Gailey’s Marvel work should follow the issue or collected edition numbering of the relevant Marvel series.
Status: Licensed Marvel continuity.
White Widow
Gailey wrote the White Widow comic series collected as White Widow: Welcome to Idylhaven.
It belongs to Marvel continuity.
No Sarah Gailey prose novel is required beforehand.
Status: Separate licensed continuity.
Do the Comics Connect to the Novels?
No confirmed shared continuity connects Gailey’s original comics such as Eat the Rich and Know Your Station to novels such as The Echo Wife or Just Like Home.
Similar themes around class, power, identity, technology, or horror are thematic connections rather than evidence of a shared universe.
Treat the comics separately.
Sarah Gailey’s Latest Book
As of August 8, 2026, Gailey’s newest published prose book is Make Me Better.
It was published on May 12, 2026.
The immediately preceding major prose release was Spread Me, published September 23, 2025.
Sarah Gailey’s Next Book
The next confirmed prose book is:
Downright Scoundrels Needed
Publication date: March 16, 2027.
It is officially listed as Volume 2 of the Sand in the Gears series and returns to the future neo-Western setting introduced in Upright Women Wanted.
That makes the recommended order:
- Upright Women Wanted
- Downright Scoundrels Needed
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sarah Gailey’s first book?
River of Teeth was Gailey’s first major book length fiction release in 2017.
It begins the American Hippo sequence.
What order do the River of Teeth books go in?
Read:
- River of Teeth
- Taste of Marrow
The American Hippo omnibus contains both.
Is American Hippo a third book?
No.
American Hippo is a collected edition containing the two core novellas plus additional material.
Should I read Taste of Marrow before River of Teeth?
No.
Taste of Marrow follows directly from River of Teeth and assumes knowledge of its characters and events.
Is Worth Her Weight in Gold part of American Hippo?
Yes.
It is related short fiction set in the same alternate America.
It is optional for the core two novella story.
Is Upright Women Wanted a standalone?
It was originally readable and commonly listed as a standalone, but that description is now incomplete.
Macmillan currently places it in the Sand in the Gears series as Volume 1, with Downright Scoundrels Needed identified as Volume 2.
What comes after Upright Women Wanted?
Downright Scoundrels Needed.
It is scheduled for March 16, 2027.
Are Magic for Liars and When We Were Magic connected?
No.
Both involve magic, but they have different characters, settings, and continuities.
Does The Echo Wife have a sequel?
No confirmed sequel is required.
It remains a standalone novel.
Is Just Like Home part of a series?
No.
It is a standalone horror novel.
Are Spread Me and Make Me Better connected?
No confirmed continuity connects them.
They are separate horror stories.
What is Sarah Gailey’s newest novel?
Make Me Better, published May 12, 2026, is Gailey’s newest published full length novel as of this update.
What is Sarah Gailey’s next book?
Downright Scoundrels Needed is the next confirmed prose release, scheduled for March 16, 2027.
It continues the Sand in the Gears setting.
The Safest Sarah Gailey Reading Order
Sarah Gailey’s bibliography does not need one master chronology.
For American Hippo, read River of Teeth before Taste of Marrow. The American Hippo omnibus is an easy alternative because it gathers the principal material together.
For Sand in the Gears, begin with Upright Women Wanted and continue with Downright Scoundrels Needed when it is published.
The remaining major prose books can be chosen independently. Magic for Liars, When We Were Magic, The Echo Wife, Just Like Home, Spread Me, and Make Me Better are separate stories rather than pieces of one continuing universe.
For new readers who want a connected series, River of Teeth remains the most natural first stop. For readers who prefer a standalone novel, there is no continuity penalty for beginning almost anywhere else.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.