Full disclosure: I mistakenly thought this book was written by Emily St. John Mandel and was super eager to read since I love her writing, but I’m glad to report that Emily St. James also made a huge fan out of me with this remarkable debut!

The characters were so amazing and vivid. I love that backstories were explored thoroughly, in some cases driving more character development and in other cases explaining limited character development.

I was recommending this before I even finished reading. One of the best debuts I’ve read in years!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a stunning book. What a fantastic debut. I think this is a book everyone should read. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and hopeful and enraging all at once. I loved all these characters and they will stay with me a long time.

"Woodworking" is one of those books that will leave a deep mark on the reader, and I can't be happier. The story follows Erica Skyberg, an newly divorced English teacher who is coming to terms with her transness. The coming out is also spurred by a 17 year old trans girl who bravely came out in their small town through an ad in the paper.
St James weaves different perspectives completely naturally, using different mediums to refer to the women's past and how it truly feels to let go of that.
This debut is ferocious, it's about heritage, it's about pride and ultimately, love for oneself and your community.

This review is based on an ARC of Woodworking which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Zando/Crooked Media Reads).

One of the great strengths of literature (and my main justification for the amount of pleasure reading I do) is its ability to give readers an in-depth analysis of a lifestyle or station of life that they may be unfamiliar with. Despite considering myself a shaky ally, living by the notion "just be a kind human," Woodworking took my understanding of transgender and gender dysphoria one step further. I admit that there is a lot I was missing, and judgements that I was making.

While not outstanding in terms of literary merit, Woodworking is yet an important novel for its content and humanity. It is gripping, twisting, touching, and hopeful. It is hard, and truthful.

Woodworking is not a novel of gender or sex, but of humans as unique as you, me, and Joe down the road.

WOODWORKING by Emily St. James is outstanding; it's one of my favorite 2025 reads so far. This novel does not read as a debut: the writing is sharp, the characters distinct. The main POVs of Erica, the transgender teacher who's accepting her gender later in life, and Abigail, the high school student who has been out as trans from a young age, are well developed with their different journeys contrasting and complimenting each other at different times. There's something especially poignant about Erica's envy of Abigail, already living her truth as a teen, and Erica's repeated ignoring of what this has cost Abigail (her parents; she lives with her sister Jennifer). Abigail's voice is perfection--she sounds like many of my students. I felt like I knew her.

From a writing standpoint, I want to point out something Emily St. James does that may go unnoticed but makes a significant impact. In the chapters written from Erica's POV, the author uses third person. This ensures we, the readers, are accustomed to the character being referred to as / named Erica with she/her pronouns. When Erica's deadname or the wrong pronouns are used, it feels jarring. (I also love how St. James uses the grayed out boxes when Erica's deadname is used.) This close third person POV of Erica allows us to be closer to who she really is versus how she is perceived by (some) others. In Abigail's POV chapters, we get first person, which highlights her voice and how she feels versus how she acts or what she says. It's appropriately immersive for this teen character.

In addition to strong writing and great storytelling, I'll be using WOODWORKING to help my writing students deepen their understanding of POV and authorial choices. I love this novel and highly recommend it!

3 ⭐️. each of these characters annoyed the hell out of me, but also warmed my heart. they are complex, complicated, messy AF and ultimately you wouldn't help but want to root for them.

thank you to Crooked Media Reads, Zando & NetGalley for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

this was a good story & set a very lovely group of characters, but i'm afraid it was a tad bit too long - it could definitely do with some editing, as there is little to no plot and it does feel a little meandering at times.

When I heard the guys on Pod Save America talk about this book as part of their CrookedMediaReads imprint, I knew I had to read it. I have long been a fan of the author’s writing on pop culture across various websites. This was a truly lovely story about a high school teacher, Erica, in her mid-30s and recently divorced who has realized she is trangender. In her small town in South Dakota, she knows exactly one transgender person, a teenage girl in one of her classes, Abigail. Erica tells Abigail she is trans, and Abigail reluctantly agrees to help Erica navigate her baby steps into this new-to-her world, but living in their conservative small town makes life extremely difficult for both of them. I absolutely loved how the book shows the difference between Erica slowly and gingerly accepting her identity later in life vs Abigail who has always known and accepted her identity and began transitioning as early as she could. As the book progresses, we meet other transgender characters, including a trans woman who is completely closeted - “passing” as a cisgender woman - a phenomenon that gives the book its title - when trans people fade into the woodwork, allowing them to exist in society without any prejudice but without the benefit of a shared trans community. This book was frequently funny, often touching, and felt very honest and real. I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5 just because the teacher-student friendship/relationship feels a little squishy in terms of appropriateness (that is acknowledged in the book), but I really do recommend it and hope it is widely read.

I absolutely loved this one! I thought it was funny and witty in the best ways. The nuance regarding gender was enlightening. I loved the main characters too. I gave this 4.5/5 stars

I picked this up because the book is set in South Dakota and, here and there, I need to read something that takes me home. And this did, right to my home town, right to the streets I used to walk with my friends. For good and bad. The author noted they didn’t set out to write a political book, but one of sisterhood in places where you may not think, and I think it was accomplished, even set against the backdrop of a state election. From Helen to Constance to Abigail to Brooke to Bernadette to Danielle to Erica to Megan, a complicated story of womanhood is weaved and it is painful and hopeful, maybe especially for those girls that feel different in a state that feels so isolating.

a moving, insightful, and funny novel that explores trans identity set against the backdrop of the 2016 election.

woodworking follows erica, a teacher who has just discovered her trans identity, and abigail, a trans teenager who wants nothing more than to leave mitchell, their tiny town. their unlikely friendship, sparked up because of their shared identity, drives this book as we see them grapple with their identity and their relationships. this book focuses on both on big and bold; trans identity and politics, while also being able to delve into minute relationships and introspection. one late-book plot tiwst

i loved the writing, especially for abigail. very snappy, direct, and funny, and she has such a clear, identifiable voice. i love how abigail was unafraid to be violent, messy, loud. erica's pov was to me less enjoyable, but i still found it moving. i think that discovering who you are after years of living a lie is always deeply scary, but watching erica journey to becoming who she truly is, whether it's shopping in the women's section or wearing nail polish out in public, is inspiring. erica and abigail's relationship was well-executed, truly the heart of this novel. their transness may have brought them together, but they were able to develop a real, meaningful connection.

a heartwarming, touching, and great debut novel by st. james, and a book we need in this time more than ever. a great read to kick off my women's history month reading.

thanks to netgalley and zando for the arc

I wanted to like, nay, love Woodworking. I was excited at the prospect of reading this novel, especially during these increasingly difficult time for minorities and heavy governmental censorship. It felt like the right story at the right time. Spoiler: I didn't love Woodworking. I finished reading it a couple of weeks ago and still haven't come around to writing a review.

Woodworking uses fiction to explore trans identity, love, family and parenting (the good and the very bad), political and religious views, and the freedom to choose. The title refers to the act of disappearing into the woodwork to shed one's birth gender and the identity those around a trans person have come to expect from (and impose on) them to live the second chapter of one's life as their true identity elsewhere, far away from the place and people of origin. In doing so, it gives not only gives a voice to the transgender community through three distinct characters living very different lives but also opens up the discussion of the difficulties of stitching an existence together from two seemingly opposite identities. This is a novel that questions and lays out how life can happen for a trans person, never forcing a particular path, never erasing the different ways and means that lead to how one's life turns out.

The novel's main focus is the very unlikely and inadvisable friendship between trans teenager Abigail and their teacher, Erika (still living as a man). I shan't pretend otherwise: I couldn't get on board with this friendship. Beyond the very unwise and dangerous crossing of boundaries between teacher and student, I was perplexed by how rapid and intense the relationship was. Late-night texting; mutual best friend declarations and jealousy reminded me of fifteen-year olds, not of the way an adult in their mid-thirties would behave. While I had empathy for Erika as a grownup searching for herself, I had to come to terms that she was not at all in a headspace to be a teacher or even a spouse when she fell right back in with her now pregnant ex-wife for a steamy and lasting affair. I also struggled with the abortion despite being pro-choice. It felt like too much of a push to fit the puzzle piece in there. I see how the author wanted to underline the importance of choice for women, no matter the gender they were born, and appreciated the message but it was clumsily written into the narrative.

Besides Brooke's, the character's voices didn't particularly appeal to me, either - I even grew annoyed with Abigail's marked cliché teen speak (in first person, nonetheless). But I must admit I was glad to see Emily St. James take on a more realistic and cautious approach for the end of the book, undoing what needed to be undone and putting the main characters back on the right track to figure out how to and with whom to move forward in the present-day world, one that is tragically becoming less kind and less accepting of the trans community. I appreciate the trans narratives and the lenses they were looked through in Woodworking, I just didn't click with the novel itself as it was presented to me. Sometimes, these things just happen in literature.

"The cruelest thing about what you did is that you robbed yourself of definition. You only behaved rationally in the face of everything you had to face. But to disappear into the woodwork in the name of safety is still to disappear."

I've been a fan of Emily St. James' cultural criticism since her AV Club days, and it's such a delight to see how her perspective comes across as a fiction writer as well. This has a really snappy quality to it, and although the plot arc feels a little overly mapped at times, it's hard to get mad about seeing the dominoes falling when the plot's this fun to follow along. I basically devoured this over the course of a few commutes, and there's some really lovely use of different perspectives (1st vs. 2nd vs. 3rd) across the characters that makes some of the themes come across well.

This debut novel about trans women navigating their identity, relationships and society in South Dakota in 2016 is sorely needed; it is timely, topical, insighful, heartfelt, funny and full of empathy.

It is a very good book, if not a perfect one. I had some issues with the pacing, some of the relationships and a late-in-the-game reveal, but that doesn’t take away from the impact this novel had on me. I will be thinking about it for a long time.

I highly recommend reading it. I only wish the people who would most benefit from reading it actually would, but I fear it might not happen.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

This story of an unlikely friendship, developing ina school, was a very interesting read, especially as someone who works in a school with teenagers. As the two women’s relationship comes under the increasing scrutiny of their community, many questions arise for those closest to them. I will be keeping an eye out for St. James’ next novel for sure.

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, and it does a wonderful job evoking the challenges of that. I did find it slightly odd that there wasn't a single trans masc character (even as a cameo or side character). With that said, I understand that the book being set in a rural area (something I really, really liked about it--there need to be more books about queer communities in rural areas) influenced that. While I wish there had been at least one trans guy, that's not a factor in my rating of the book.
Of the characters, Abigail's voice in particular was strongly rendered within this book; she came across as sarcastic, sharp-eyed, and with a good heart overall. I enjoyed the experience of Brooke, and found the late-in-novel revelation about her identity surprising, yet interesting. I had more mixed feelings about Erica's story. I don't know if I ever totally liked the idea of her friendship with Abigail; I think the book managed to make this more endearing than imbalanced, and did do a good job of addressing the issues with the relationship, however. I also found the pacing of this book somewhat sluggish, and struggled to get invested in some of the side characters. With all that said, I do think the novel is important, particularly right now, and that people should read it. It was especially nice to read a novel about trans life which involved characters in rural communities.

A closeted trans woman teacher, isolated after her divorce, finds herself coming out to the only other trans person she knows, a student in her school, who came out to the entire town through a newspaper ad. While Erica, the teacher, slowly moves towards new relationships as her true self, Abigail, the teen, wants nothing more than to finish school, manage not to be dragged back into her abusive parents’ home and finally go to college and disappear into the woodwork (aka go stealth). Despite their differences and especially their age difference, Abigail and Erica form a connection through their shared identity.
The story is told in multiple POVs and I especially adored Abigail’s POV, her sarcastic teen behavior was written incredibly well (sarcastic, angry and yet caring, often making me laugh out loud) and yet so clearly hiding the massive isolation she faces, rejected by her parents and forced to live with her sister, feeling guilty for causing her pain and also feeling devasted that nobody seems to understand her own struggles. It was really fascinating to read about her development, because she starts the story as someone desperate to grow up and leave everybody who knows her past behind, which is a major reason she is so lonely. Erica’s POV was also really intriguing, her fears and self-absorption often feeling so much more immature than Abigail’s, and yet I found her actions coherent. She is a baby trans after all, caught between excitement and terror. Seeing her develop (and fuck up along the way) was incredibly heartbreaking and yet, kinda beautiful as well. She is so desperate to show the world who she really is and yet, understandably, terrified of what will happen to her if she does. There is also a secret third POV, which I won’t spoil here, but suffice to say I cried my way through that one.
The narrative is incredibly skilled at portraying the small and big joys and fears of being trans and I found myself moving from feeling so joyously happy for the characters to deeply terrified for them to wanting to shake them and tell them there’s another way and to stop being so stupid (“Erica, wait, you stupid bi-“ comes to mind for me, because I was screaming that along with Abigail). I was laughing, crying, sometimes screaming at the pages, but I enjoyed every minute of this book. You can’t help but feel for the characters, their good, bad and ugly sides, their fears and dreams and hopes are so vivid, after reading this book I felt like they were real people I had gotten to know in my actual life.
What I most enjoyed was that so many different trans women’s voices were present here. There’s women who came out young, transitioned and went stealth, older trans women who are only just starting their journey, trans women, who are out, but wish they were stealth to escape discrimination and trans women, who are stealth, but suffer from the isolation as well. There is friendship and romance, open and hidden transphobia, but also support and love and care, allies fucking up, trans people fucking up, but also trans love and joy.
I also really enjoyed the way the book made use of dead names, blurring it out behind grey boxes, comparing it to static and leaving it unsaid, except for one scene that broke my heart. It really underlined the horrible pain that caused.
Finally, I enjoyed that this book took on an often overlooked (if not outright portrayed as inherently bad) aspect of queer experience, relationships (not sexual or romantic!) between people of different ages, in this case an adult teacher and a teenage student, which in real life for obvious reasons would (& should tbh) raise an eyebrow when viewed from the outside. And yet, for our two main characters, their connection is an important aspect of their lives and one that I found incredibly interestingly portrayed. It is not endorsed as good and right imo (and I struggle with some of the reviews claiming that as a reason they rate this book lower? It is spoiled in the book’s description?), but instead showcases to me how trans people are harmed by societal transphobia and isolation, forcing us to find connection with people who we wouldn’t find connection with otherwise and engage in relationships with pretty big power imbalances and the potential dangers that could come from that.
All in all, this book reminded me that joy has to be fought for, that the pain and struggles are worth it and that there is connection and love out there regardless of how bleak it looks.

TW: accusation of grooming and csa, deadnaming, domestic abuse, eating disorder, misgendering, q-word (reclaimed), transmisogyny, transphobia, t-slur (reclaimed), suicide (mentioned), swearing (a lot of it)

Sometimes you stumble on a book on NetGalley that you suspect you would have never heard of otherwise - at least not for some time - and you discover a text that will stay with you for a very, very, very long time. Woodworking is precisely one of these books. To be honest, for the first half of the book, it was Abigail who made it so vibrant and dynamic. She is the voice of a generation and hilarious and richly-layered, but then the second half of the book took a twist that just made me sit up to read every single page. But I won't say anymore because... spoilers.

I've made a conscious effort to read more books by trans authors about trans characters and this is one of the very few I've read that follows a trans character through their transition from the earliest moments. I really felt Erica's internal struggles and the fear and dread were palpable, which wasn't always a comfortable reading experience, as it shouldn't be.

It broke my heart a little that the book is set just before the Cheeto is voted into power for the first time and so it made it incredibly hard to realise how little distance we've covered since then, but actually, the fact that this book exists and will hopefully land on many peoples' radars is a sign that we have come further than I realise, and indeed we continue to move.

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy. I loved it.

I absolutely adored this book. I could not believe it was a debut novel! Incredible writing, developed and complex characters that you couldn’t help but root for, and a unique plot all the way through. A gorgeous story of transition, the road to self-acceptance, and solidarity in women’s friendships. I cannot recommend this book enough and look forward to more from this author!!

I struggled to really fall in love with the characters in Woodworking, but their stories provided a valuable inside look into transitioning and the trans struggles. It was a very worthwhile read - especially now at a time where the trans community is being stripped of so many of their rights and access to meds etc.