This was a really touching novel. I was reading it on a plane, making a fool of myself because I’m crying. Crying for happiness, and sadness too. Gender and how we define it were central themes in this book, from unique perspectives and characters. Emily St. James is a fantastic writer, I was drawn right in and immediately invested. I liked the variety of perspectives, viewpoints, and backstories of the main characters. Each person’s sections truly read as each persons unique personality

The plot was juicy and fast moving. There were a lot of characters but for once, I wasn’t confused about who was who. Each person was so distinctly themselves so it was easy to follow. This is a well written book, with vivid descriptions allowing the novels world to truly exist. There were elements of this novel that would appeal to anyone , including different genres like romance, literary fiction, and a coming of age angle too.

This book is like what I imagine an alternate world Hallmark movie would be like. It should be in this world too, but political situations continue to confound me. And I mean it in the best way, as a compliment. I’ve never actually seen a hallmark movie but they look like they’re emotionally satisfying and cozy for the heart. I had heard good things about this novel, but to read it - I was blown away!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with this novel. Centered around a trans teacher and her student, who came out as trans in a politically fraught way for the small South Dakotan town. The story is told in a series of alternating POVs, and I found each character's voice to be very unique. I think Emily St. James did what many authors fail to do which is write a pretty convincing teenager first-person voice. I loved it!

The thing that didn't totally work for me (but definitely wasn't a dealbreaker) was that there were two moments that, for the purposes of the plot, two different characters suddenly realize something by just a look at another character. I think it would have been more interesting to communicate the plot points in a different way.

That said, I'd recommend this book to pretty much everyone. I think the story itself is important, the prose is well-written, and the characters are sooo lovable (and frustrating sometimes), I wanted to spend more time with them!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Woodworking
By @emilystjams
Released 3/4/2025

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Blurb:
“An unforgettable and heartwarming debut following a trans high school teacher from a small town in South Dakota who befriends the only other trans woman she knows: one of her students.
As their unlikely friendship evolves, it comes under the increasing scrutiny of their community. And soon, both women—and those closest to them—are forced to ask: Who are we if we choose to hide ourselves? What happens once we disappear into the woodwork?”

My thoughts 🧠🧐:
This book is spectacular and will stay with me for my entire life. I finished it last night at midnight and have already recommended it to 5 people.
This book takes such heavy and vast topics and winds them into an addictive story. I know this is a fictional story but how much of it really is? How many of us can relate to a character in this book, feelings expressed, oppression revealed. It goes so far beyond a coming out story or a commentary on politics or trans identity. This piece of art (calling it a story or book doesn’t seem enough) will become paramount in the queer community.

Go read it.

#netgalley #zando #arc #bookreview #bookworm #queerbooks #transbooks #marchrelease #bookrelease #woodworking #queerbookstagram #queerinstagram #read #chronic #newjersey #emilystjames

I'm leaving the novel at page 139. I recognize that even reading a novel featuring two trans main characters can itself be an act of resistance in the contemporary U.S. (and pretty much elsewhere). However, having recently finished Grace E. Lavery's Pleasure and Efficacy: Of Pen Names, Cover Versions, and Other Trans Techniques, I can’t help but question the function of literary form in this novel.

As we know, realism in literature is always aspirational rather than strictly representational. Thus, the novel operates on two levels. On the one hand, by being set outside of an urban center and depicting a transgenerational trans dynamic, it aspires to give visibility to trans lives that exist beyond metropolitan queer enclaves and outside the confines of a single (typically younger) generation. On the other hand, I wonder what realism as a literary form erases when it attempts to render trans lives legible.

Like any literary mode, realism relies on certain tropes. One could even speak of a kind of trans realism, in the sense that the narrativization of trans lives demands particular discursive devices to become coherent—materialized, meaningful, and narratable. The constraints that trans realism places on itself may also be its strengths. The novel calls trans lives into existence, but simultaneously limits them to a particular vision of what trans life can be. It was this narrowing—this delimiting gesture—that ultimately made me stop reading.

Woodworking is the story of a trans teacher who discovers who she is in her mid-30s. In reality, Erica has always known she's a woman but has hidden her true identity for her entire life. When she encounters a trans student named Abigail, Erica begins the process of coming out and coming in to her true self. This is a lovely story of identity but it is also hard to read, especially in our current political climate that demonizes trans people. It is a necessary book. Highly recommended.

This book is a powerhouse! A vulnerable and beautiful story about the quiet power of connection, identity, and self-discovery. It follows Erica Skyberg, a high school teacher navigating the complexities of transition, and Abigail, a transgender student. Their friendship blossoms and the story unfolds with humor, heartbreak, and ultimately, hope. I was rooting for the characters from the first page and genuinely did not want it to end!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, Zando, & Crooked Media Reads for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think this will be one of *the* LGBTQ books of 2025... a fantastic story of trans womanhood and the joy and pain that can be experienced from that identity. A really beautiful story, incredibly moving!

Impressive debut novel about a HS teacher who is just realizing that she's trans and coming to terms with that and finding a role model in a trans student. Overall, really good. There are a couple of storylines that distract and I was nervous about the teacher/student power dynamic, but overall an empathetic and real novel about finding yourself and being supportive of humans living their lives authentically.

I mostly enjoyed this story about a small town high school teacher, who has just acknowledged to herself that she is trans, and the unlikely friendship she develops with a student, the only openly trans person in their very conservative community.
The struggle between staying safe and hidden, or living authentically while facing the wrath of others was portrayed with sensitivity and honesty. No part of that seems easy.
There were a couple of plot points, though, that I thought were a little weak, kind of overkill.
Thanks to #netgalley and #zandocrookedmediareads for this #arc of #woodworking in exchange for an honest review.

In many ways, "Woodworking" is not only a timely novel, but an essential novel. Unfortunately, with Trump threatening libraries and schools for anything DEI, this novel may have a hard time making it into public school libraries, which is where it would be most appreciated, since one of the main characters is a high school trans girl. The other main character is her trans teacher, who is still going by "Mr." at school.. Both characters are trying to come to terms with discrimination, families, friendships, and adjusting to their new world as being trans in a relatively closed small town in South Dakota. Much of the novel takes place at the high school, which will interest YA readers a great deal. The family dynamics of the newly divorced teacher, whose ex-wife is pregnant, may interest readers also, but probably not as much as the teen character.

I absolutely LOVED this book. No notes. The two protagonists were both fabulously well-formed and so achingly authentic. This book was deep, it was funny, it was surprising, it was so well-written (debut, how?!). Easy 5 stars.

Abigail is a 17-year-old high school senior. Erica is a 35-year-old English teacher and theater director. Both women are transgender. But Erica is only now being honest with herself. She turns to Abigail for advice, and the pair form an unlikely friendship.
Their small town of Mitchell, South Dakota, isn't exactly trans-friendly, though. So when Abigail begins to date the son of a prominent Christian woman, she faces some tough decisions. Erica must also navigate her relationship with her ex-wife and possible loss of all that's familiar. In the end, will love for self and others be enough to help the women survive and thrive?
I greatly appreciated this book. It offers a small look at what it's really like to be trans.
The book can also offer an education to curious folks. For example, I liked the tips to Google questions rather than ask trans folks for education.
And the author mentions the characters' dead names only once, which is respectful.
Two things I didn't like - all the profanity, so many fs! And the relationship between teacher/student did cross ethical boundaries, which is never okay.
Everyone can hide in the woodwork and disappear. This book can encourage readers to own their true identities and be exactly who they are created to be.

One of my favorites of the year, Woodworking is heart-breaking and heart-warming with characters that I loved spending time with. Abigail is especially endearing as a teenager who really felt like a teenager to me, precocious sometimes cruel, still a kid who needs protection and care and who inspires others. I will be recommending this book to everyone, but especially as a book club selection!

This book is SO good - like SO SO SO good.

Erica is recovering from a divorce while also learning and trying to understand that she is trans. She's helped along in this process by the incredible Abigail - a 17year old trans girl that actually decided to come out by running a newspaper ad! Even though these two are both at entirely different stages I love how they just allow each other to be. No pressure, no reasons to hide - they both are seen for exactly who they are.

When we finally get to THE twist - and well, I was incredibly blown away and just the way that the community ended up coming together was absolutely incredible and inspiring.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Crooked Media Reads for this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was utterly phenomenal! I loved this book so much and felt like the characters were in my day to day world. It was written so evocatively that every line just snuggled up inside my brain and it will stay there forever. It seriously touched my heart and wont let go!
This was a masterful debut novel. The author clearly knows her way around a a story and it was magnificent and emotional, heartbreaking and healing. I cannot wait for more from her! Definitely an author to watch closely!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC of this title. I have long enjoyed Emily St. James' pop culture coverage and critical work so I was excited to hear that she'd be publishing a work of fiction. This is a wonderful debut about yes, two trans women but also small midwestern towns, the sisterhood between women and figuring out who you are.

Abigail is 17, outspoken, DGAF and the only trans girl at her small town South Dakota high school, living with her sister after running away from her less than accepting parents. She's dating a popular guy in school, Caleb, who is from a conservative family and somehow has made friends with Megan, a young Democrat who has a lawyer father and is trying to help a Democrat get elected to office, Helen Swee. Abigail thinks no one really likes her, but she's magnetic and everyone actually loves her even if she does do teenager things that blow up her life at times. It all makes sense and being in her perspective is so funny and real. She also is somehow Erica's "trans mom."

Erica is the school's English teacher who comes out to Abigail first, and for a while is the only one she's out to. Eventually through going to support group, having an unconventional friendship with Abigail, reconnecting with her ex-wife via community theatre, she comes into her own self and comes out to more folks.

I can't say much more to not spoil things but I loved this somewhat contemporary novel (it takes place in the fall before the election of 2016) even with the Cubs slander. This book is about understanding yourself, finding sisterhood and the political nature of all of it. The way deadnaming is handled is genius and actually there is only one instance of deadnaming on page and it has a powerful impact (again can't say too much more without spoiling). Anyways, trans people have been here, if you think you don't know someone trans, you probably do, you just might not be making it safe for them to be themselves.

Amazing debut novel filled with love and hope. I am so happy I got to read this early. It comes at such a difficult time in the world. A message of how important people are as human beings and how we all deserve to be the best versions of ourselves! The story is charming, sad, but ultimately happy. I loved getting to know the characters and their stories.

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

Woodworking is a rare debut. Telling the story of a trans teen and her trans English teacher in a small town grappling with the uncertainties in an election cycle, Woodworking is real, but hopeful. Informative, but emotional. It is a story we all need in order to reflect on what makes us uncomfortable and why and what it means to truly be yourself in an increasingly politicized world.

What happens when a trans kid comes school? Woodworking examines the ramifications in a small Midwestern town. A teacher comes to terms with their identity and looks for help, a relationship breaks and is mended, a previously hidden person is outed... While everyone is at a different part of the journey, Woodworking reminds us that trans people are among us and always have been, even if we never noticed.