I love when the first page of a story just grabs your attention, just like it does in Woodworking. Erica, discovering that she really is Erica, relies heavily on her fellow 17 year old student Angela, a trans woman herself when comes to revealing ever shyly who she truly is. I’m not a big fan of adults putting pressure on children in confidence, especially when one is a superior.

Angela is a great character; sarcastic where she needed to be with walls up, confident and defiant. Erica is really represented as a character with a new life; the author reflecting on the remnants of the former pieces that don’t quite fit anymore. Much like the failed marriage, the former spouse who now seems to want kids, who is a “Connie” instead of a “Constance” - generally, a lot of reflection. The respectful way the author blacks out Erica’s dead name, I enjoyed those little touches. It was hard to imagine some of these 30 something year olds in a small town, around, making these sexual innuendos around women they just met. 20 something, maybe-30 something, much less likely. I’m a little iffy on Erica’s personality- the way she continuously places her pain and confusion above others was off putting and also felt a little immature for a mid 30 something.

At its core, the story of Woodworking is two different POVs of two women and the different stage of their transitions. Most of the writing is inner dialogue and self reflection and for the most part, it works.

Woodworking by Emily St. James ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Zando Projects
Pub Date: 3-4-25

Thank you @netgalley, @zandoprojects, and @emilystjams for the opportunity to read this eARC.

"When you figure out who you are, you want to tell everyone, and you want to tell no one, so you settle for telling the first trans person you can think of, and then you assume they’re going to be your personal advisor in the mysteries of our ways. I mean Erica and I have nothing in common but this. But I guess this is a big fucking thing to have in common. You never know who’s going to want us dead, so we’ve gotta look out for each other. I’d rather Erica have me than some rando on the internet."

The community of trans women in South Dakota is somewhat limited, so when Erica (Teacher) meets Abigail (High School Student) there is an instant bond. Abigail is the first person Erica trusts with her true self, which is slightly problematic due to their teacher/student dynamic. Their circle soon expands to Erica's ex-wife, Constance, and a local politician, Helen.

This is a touching story with a surprise about 2/3 in! I enjoyed the friendship that develops between Erica and Helen. Woodworking offers a glimpse into the hopes and fears of becoming your true self later in life.

"When Erica came out to me, I hated it, but it was also the first time anybody had ever recognized me . I felt it before she said anything. She didn’t see the trans part of me or the girl part of me or even the trans girl part of me. She just saw me. She didn’t even have to try to see me. And I could see her, too, the second she said her name. Even with her dopey mustache and her slightly too-small coffee-stained shirt, I saw her. It’s a thing we transes can do. The second we learn who somebody is, we can make them snap into place. “There you are,” we say, because there you are."

I loved this book so so so much. Thank you as always to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publish date 😊

This story hooked me right from the beginning. The characters are written so well and you can’t help but love both Erica and Abigail. They both had very realistic love stories too that both felt cute and loving and also true to the self growth that these characters experienced. Trigger warnings for shit parenting, transphobia, and trump 🙄🙄🙄 but again, very tastefully and realistically handled. 5 stars, well earned. Heartwarming and beautiful story. Would absolutely recommend.

really well-written story about your identity and understanding who you are. 5 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

I found this book both thoughtful and enjoyable, as an account of both the temptations and the trials involved in going stealth (or woodworking, as the book refers to it). I enjoyed the premise of this novel; the bond between a trans teacher and student is not something I've ever read before, and I was happy to read about it here. This is very much a novel about trans women--not at all a bad thing--but there wasn't a single trans masc character in the book, which seemed a little odd (hardly a problem unique to this book, though, and to be fair, the problem almost certainly goes both ways with regards to trans masc authors). I just do wish there were more writers, particularly in the adult fiction sphere, who included both trans men and trans women in their books--the only author I can think of is Gretchen Felker-Martin, whose novels, while primarily about the experience of being a trans women, also tend to incorporate complex trans masc side characters. In any case, while I did feel that was a small lack, it's not a factor in my rating of the book. All that aside, Abigail's voice in particular was strongly rendered within this book and I enjoyed the experience of Brooke. I had more mixed feelings about Erica's story. I also found the pacing of this book somewhat sluggish, and struggled to get invested in some of the side characters. I think this novel is immensely important right now, and I wish I'd enjoyed it more. I do think it's worth a read, however.

I loved how you see the relationships developing between the characters and their transness entwines between it all. Beautiful read overall.

How in the world is this a debut novel??? I’ve loved her culture and media writing for years, but in this novel Emily has created such incredibly complex characters and rich relationship dynamics. The different perspectives are really distinct and give great perspective on how each of the characters is experiencing the world. The book is just such a nuanced and well-done reflection on female friendship, gender identity, and community care. Abigail and Erica will stick with me for a very long time. Thanks so much to the publisher for the ARC of this book and to Emily St. James for telling this important story.

Woodworking is SO good. And it gets better and better as you get through it. There’s a lot I want to say but can’t because I don’t want to spoil a thing. Go in blind to this one. I’m glad I did.

What I can say is that this book, more than any books/memoirs by trans authors I’ve read before, really gets into the heads of the main characters in a way that gave me deeper insight into their experiences. Of course not every trans woman has the same experience but through this book you get a clear sense of how some trans women view themselves and their surroundings. Emily St James is a master at getting you to understand who the characters are at their core and why/how they came to be this way.

I do wish we got more about Erica’s family. It’s mentioned that she came from a happy, stabile home so it felt strange that they weren’t included in her story at all.

There was twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and this kept me fully engaged. The teacher/student relationship felt cringe and that’s the point, and it’s acknowledged, but I still found myself wanting to scream at Erica sometimes. But self awareness abounds!

Loved the character growth of all the mains and the entire story came together really well. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Zando for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this story of trans rep in a town not quite ready for it. I also loved how the younger character was more secure in her identity and guiding the older character. Different than how one may think, but exemplified that everyone is at a different stage in their personal journey.

Have you ever disliked what you were reading yet couldn't put the book down. That's how Woodworking felt.
The book is about trans affirmation with several trans characters living in a small town in South Dakota.
The problem is not the trans topic, it's the relationships of the characters. Erica, a 35 year old teacher and Abigail, a 17 year old student develop a completely inappropriate relationship. Which made me super uncomfortable. The relationship between Erica and her ex wife, is also very unlikeable. Constance, the ex wife, is just a cringe human. I'm pretty pro choice, but I can see how the pro life crowd would detest Constance. The tormented emotions Erica and Abigail go through fill the entire book, but the abortion decision seemed so willy nilly.
The book, however, is well written, dives deep into the hardships of family, work, friendships in reference to coming out, and the characters are well developed. Although, some things were a bit far fetched in my opinion. 3.75 ---> 4
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC

a truly wonderful, heartwarming, hopeful book about solidarity, sisterhood, and being your true self. a little cliché at times but i really, really enjoyed this.

[i received a free copy in exchange for a truthful review. thank you to netgalley + zando!]

A heatwarming story with important and beautiful trans representation. This book is so important and this story is needed badly at this time in the world. I loved everything about it.

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

Once again, I'm crying over my kindle at 2am. What a sweet, dynamic cast of characters, and what a hopeful note the author left us with in an exceedingly dark time. Set in the year leading up to the 2016 election, and written in another election year, Emily St. James walked the perfect line between recognizing the world as it is and creating space for a world as it could be. The elder trans community especially was such a necessary component of this story—the value of seeing multiple generations and iterations of the trans experience is unmatched. I also think that centering the story on a teenage girl as the role model/nexus for multiple other coming out stories emphasizes the importance of trans youth and trans visibility in a really organic way.

In my recommendations here, I'm going to echo a lot of what the author herself mentioned—Torrey Peters, Imogen Binnie, Charlie Jane Anders, Alison Rumfitt, Nicola Dinan—all trans women working to share their identities and find themselves in writing.

Thank you to Zando Projects for the opportunity to read and review!

From the publisher:

Erica Skyberg is thirty-five years old, recently divorced—and trans. Not that she's told anyone yet. Mitchell, South Dakota, isn't exactly bursting with other trans women. Instead, she keeps to herself, teaching by day and directing community theater by night. That is, until Abigail Hawkes enters her orbit.

Abigail is seventeen, Mitchell High’s resident political dissident and Only Trans Girl. It’s a role she plays faultlessly, albeit a little reluctantly. She's also annoyed by the idea of spending her senior year secretly guiding her English teacher through her transition. But Abigail remembers the uncertainty—and loneliness—that comes with it. Besides, Erica isn’t the only one struggling to shed the weight of others’ expectations.

As their unlikely friendship evolves under the increasing scrutiny of their community, both women—and those closest to them—will come to realize that sometimes there is nothing more radical than letting the world see who you really are.

*****************************************

This is an emotional and beautiful story. The writing and the character development is excellent and thoughtful. Everything you’d want in order to relate to characters that aren't necessarily like you (which I fall into in this case). I think it’s important to read stories like this, especially in these times.

I look forward to reading more by this debut author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available March 4, 2025.

Delighted to include this title in the March edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is stunning. An incredible debut fiction novel from an acclaimed writer. I'm near speechless. This book held my heart and I will be carrying these characters with me for a really long time. (While pestering all my friends and family to READ THIS BOOK).

This book is set in small town South Dakota in a very white, Christian community. At first, I was quite nervous about the premise of a high school teacher confiding in her student and developing a friendship because of the obvious power imbalance between the two. St. James navigated that friendship/allyship/teammateship etc with so much care and nuance that I think was incredibly difficult to do. Many points in the book, we acknowledge the messiness of Erica and Abigail's situation and I appreciated this awareness as it allowed the characters (and readers, I'm sure) to learn in really interesting ways. As St. James states in her author's note, this book is about "unlikely friendship and the ways in which women build shadow communities amid oppressive power structures". And, wow, is that true!! I can't even list all the ways that we got to explore these themes from so many different perspectives. This book has a complexity to it that will leave you thinking about it long after you put it down.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I love Abigail. She is a self-proclaimed shithead and one of the realest characters I've ever met. Her voice was so clear and I loved hanging out with her. At times she was mean, stubborn, self-sabotaging, but so was I when I was a teen, lol. Her narration was self-aware, unreliable at times, and incredibly annoyed that she was even in this book, and I couldn't get enough. What a cool kid- teenage me wants to be friends with her desperately.

Read this book if you're part of a bookclub (especially a book club that is full of cishet folks) so that. you can pick up the community work St. James does in the novel and bring it IRL in actionable ways. Obviously, read this book if you're trans, queer, agender etc. It's a love letter in a world where so much hate permeates. Obviously, read this book if you're cisgender. This book is a gift, and St. James has offered so much vulnerability and complexity that reflects so many people in her life. If you are a cis person stumbling on how to best support your trans friends/family/neighbours, this book offers a lot of insight that you can learn from. Read this book if you love women! All the women written and incredibly complex, endearing, prickly, traumatized, complicated, and care for one another in their own ways. I am in awe of St. James' character work, and feel honoured to met so many amazing women within this book.

If you're a vibe/seasonal reader like me, this book takes place at the start of school (August) and ends around mid-December. There are mentions of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas but none of these holidays take any type of focus. More prominently, this book is set during 2015, meaning we are in the throes of the 2016 election. This setting offers an incredibly effective oppressive presence as we all know what happened in Nov 2015, but what I loved is that the focus was on local politicians instead of the horrific outcome on the federal level. I loved this framing because it reminded me about how much of political work needs to be centred on the local community municipal level if we want larger changes to occur. Reading this in February 2025 where it seems we are in 2016 all over again, except shockingly so, so much worse, was an overall vibe. To be transparent, I am Canadian, and our provincial election is coming up tomorrow where my province will probably re-elect a right-wing conservative. The rural town that I live in will probably re-elect the 'Isaiah Rose' candidate. Living in this world can at times feel really hopeless. HOWEVER, this book offered me a much needed reminder about how we need to focus on community- that existing is a form of resistance. So, in terms of vibes, if you're feeling really down about the state of the world, this book will acknowledge that energy but it will also give examples of how solidarity can be formed in really meaningful and unlikely ways.

In all, this book will probably be my top read for 2025. I will be shouting it's praises from the rooftop forever. READ IT! <3

PS. Emily St. James has written for "Yellowjackets"! The same depth, complexity, and overall badass women making messy choices also lives in "Woodworking" just in a different way. If you're a fan of the show, like me, because you love seeing flawed women navigate messed up circumstance, then you'll love this book. Different vibe, similar heart.

Really enjoyed this one. A moving portrait of several intertwined lives in South Dakota circa 2016. Setting the story during the 2016 election was a smart move but it did feel a little surreal. My only complaint was that some of the plot points were a bit predictable but the book was written really well.

What kind of a relationship can a 35 year old English teacher and a 17 year old student have? While it may appear to be inappropriate to outsiders and have its own ways of being inappropriate, this is the central relationship between Abigail and Erica. Abigail is living with her sister after leaving home when her parents discovered her transition. Erica is just now admitting to herself that she is trans while dealing with the aftermath of her divorce and co-directing a play with the campaign manager of the town preacher/bigot. But not everything is as it seems.

Small town South Dakota was accurately depicted throughout the book as the characters dealt with the issues that small towns bring.

It is amazing how much I learned from this novel. It allows the reader to empathize the experiences of the characters. Abigail is written like a teenager which can be obnoxious but it is fairly accurate. The setting of the book leading up to the 2016 election was brilliant and the release early on into this current administration is brilliant. I truly believe that every person should have to read this book. And some of them should read it again. And again, until the humanity of our trans population sinks in.

Thank you to Net Galley, Zando, and Crooked Media Reads for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

Wow, this is a debut?! Emily St. James has some great things to say, and I can't wait to read more.

First of all- as a trans person (FTM), I am so glad this book exists. I am always thrilled at the existence of trans literature, and this I would put near the top from all I've read so far.

The book centers around Erica Skyberg, a high school teacher at the beginning stages of "coming out" as a transgender woman and exploring her gender identity. She forms an unlikely friendship with the only other trans woman she knows: her student, Abigail.

At first, I was a little skeptical of Abigail's attitude generally, and towards Erica. I found her to be unrealistic- but maybe, it's because I wasn't like her at all as a teenager. It makes sense that she has had to develop so much cynicism and emotional protection at such a young age. And, as the story progressed, I truly felt that all the characters were well-rounded and REAL. Emily St. James does an amazing job at brining so many different experiences to life.

Along those lines, I am grateful for St. James' portrayal of so many different experiences of trans women: generationally, at different stages of transition, different philosophies about transness, etc. She does an amazing job. will say, though, that most of the trans characters (if not all in this book) have a heavily "stealth"-centered perspective, which has not at all been my experience. Being trans is a large part of my identity and it is something I am proud of. And I think if I could magically get a masculine "cis" body... I'm not sure I would take it.

I have never heard the term "woodworking" before reading this book; the idea of 'disappearing into the woodwork' and fully living as the gender they want to be perceived as. I've just known this as being "stealth" (which is a term that does come up once in the book). Though, a large theme of the novel is the idea that "woodworking" can just be another form of hiding or being closeted. I enjoyed the exploration of the many ways this can look, and the encouragement to truly acknowledge and appreciate our true selves- all parts of ourselves.

I do have one small critique. I wish the beginning was a bit smoother and clearer. I spent 60% of the book wondering why Constance was starring in a high school play. (It was community theatre). Maybe this was mentioned and I just didn't catch it. Also, the characters are introduced by name without any context to who they are: students, other teachers, etc. I couldn't tell at first if Constance was Erica's child, or partner or something else. Then same with Brooke. But after a while things become clear, and the rest of Emily St. James' writing was brilliant.

Emily St. James writes in the author's note that she didn't want this to be a political book. It is unfortunate that trans lives are inherently political. She also intentionally places the story during the 2016 presidential election, incorporating political climate at the time in both the national and community level. There is a wonderful balance of showcasing what (trans) life was like at that time, without making it a "political story." Reading this after the 2024 election, it is unfortunate how relevant this was to our current time.

What a wonderful, beautiful, brilliant book.