This was a deeply moving and personally relevant story. I enjoyed reading the multiple perspectives and the voices in each character differed so well that I was never unsure who was narrating each chapter. I really recommend this title!

This is a lovely and tender novel about Erica and Abigail--one a teacher and the other her student--who are both trans. They become unlikely friends after a series of events but both are misunderstood by both family and those who pretend to care. It's such a touching book that had me in tears often as I realize what a difficult life it is to be shunned, but also how rewarding it is to find people who really care about the person you are inside and can look beyond the exterior to see the beauty within the soul!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

"Woodworking" refers to disappearing from everything you know and vanishing into the woodwork in another place where you can actually be who you are. Abigail is not doing that. She just transferred to Mitchell High School in Mitchell, South Dakota where everyone knows she is trans. The easiest reaction is meanness, but there are other students who want to know her but aren't sure how to ask. Her teacher,Mr. Skyberg, likes her spunk but also has a lot of questions after realizing that Erica is who he really is. Erica has so many questions and turns to her student for answers. Abigail is suddenly mentoring her teacher, trying to survive high school, living with her supportive sister and trying to stay away from the parents she deeply misses who may want to send her to conversion therapy.

Erica's POV is entirely as Erica, but everyone around her, except for Abigail, responds to her as Mr. Skyberg. She's still deeply in love with her ex-wife and Mitchell is certainly nowhere to come out, especially as a high school teacher. She's walking on eggshells as are, it turns out, a lot of other people in town for various reasons.

This is a novel not just about self-discovery but about community, art, and fighting the uphill battle. The characters are appealing, especially when a few layers are peeled off by life or by others. There's already a lot of buzz about "Woodworking," and I recommend embracing it as the story of a small town where people find that they can peek inside themselves and their world, and see things differently maybe, sort of like the production of Our Town they're working on.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

“Woodworking” is an intense and very thought-provoking story. The author presents the reader with transgender characters who are at very different stages of the acceptance process and “living an authentic life” process in Abigail, Erica, and another character whose trans identity may come as a major surprise. They live in small town South Dakota where the most influential individual is a local pastor and politician who is openly hostile to the transgender community and would like nothing more than to erase transgender people from existence (much like certain real-life politicians). The story addresses many of the fears that transgender individuals have about “outing” themselves or being “outed” by others, including the potential loss of employment, family and friends. The story also addresses the prejudice and persecution experienced by openly transgender individuals.

A central aspect of the story is the importance of finding others who understand and accept you, especially other transgender individuals. However, there is also the danger of becoming too reliant on fellow transgender individuals, which is explored through the friendship between Abigail, openly transgender high school student, and Erica/Mr. Skyberg, English teacher who is just starting to accept that she is transgender but doesn’t know how to handle it and all the complications it will cause.

Some of the most profound content in the book is in the author's afterword, which I will quote in part: "At base level, what is so radically threatening about trans identities to those who would oppress just about anyone is that our very existence argues that no one's body is an obligation they are duty bound to suffer but, instead, a gift they can reinvent and remake as they see fit."

I can't really put into words how much I loved this book: the characters, setting and dialogue are just so well-rounded and naturalistic that it felt like listening to a few trusted friends chat about their lives.
At times heartwarming, tragic and life-affirming, it manages to be political and acerbic; painting human and universal themes with broad strokes, then at turns homely and ordinary; delving into the minutae of relationships and humdrum lives lived in small ways and gestures - this kind of writing is a rare gift indeed, and I will dive on anything published by this author in the future.

Read this because the title intrigues you, read this because you've not picked up a book in years, just make sure you read this. This is an important novel that all should read, not just those that are part of the lgbtqia+ community.

I love reading books about trans experiences and this was a particularly good one about two trans women in a conservative small town. The first is Abigail, a nearly 18-year old high school student in this small town who has a big heart and a big mouth and refuses to let herself be diminished by bigots around her. The other is Erica, her teacher who is recently divorced from her life and cannot stand being called by her old name anymore and just blurs it out mentally whenever everyone in her life does. She's spent her nearly forty years on earth trying to blend in as a boy and man and even lost her wife to the growing distance between them. When she hears about the school's only and loudest trans student getting detention, she swaps shifts with another teacher and thus behins their friendship as the only two trans women in town, one severely closeted and the other trying to get out of this town and do "woodworking" i.e. get lost and blend into the woodwork as just another girl without the stares and labels following her around.

This is a story of two flawed women fighting to be seen as themselves, whether it's Abigail struggling to not be used as someone's "trans friend" or a sexual experiment, but as herself and be left alone by her horrible parents who keep threatening to take her back home and make her live life as their "little boy" or Erica who takes the tiniest of baby steps by wearing pink nail polish to her teaching job and braces herself for people noticing and giving her a hard time as someone who appears male and wears girly nailpolish in a conversative town.

There are so many interesting struggles depicted here that it really helps someone see the variety of struggles a person would face as a trans woman, with or without social or other transition already done and a few surprises worked in as well.

All in all, I loved this story and I love both Erica for being incredibly scared but incredibly brave and for Abigail for refusing to tone herself down and fit into any boxes for others. I love these characters and I hope others may be inspired to read this book as well.

Woodworking is a truly funny and sometimes chaotic look at a number of different trans experiences in a small town in South Dakota. The story mostly focuses on the unlikely friendship between seventeen-year-old Abigail, the only openly trans girl at Mitchell High School, and her English teacher, Erica, who is slowly coming to accept their new identity. The book also includes a number of other wonderful and complicated characters, a community production of Our Town, a local election, and a whole lot of complicated family dynamics.

There is so much warmth and care shown for all of the different characters in this book that even when some of the plot twists felt a bit over the top, the narrative still felt emotionally grounded. As a reader who is not trans, I felt like I took a lot away from how different individual trans experiences could be due to so many different factors. The idea of "disappearing into the woodwork" or woodworking looms large in this novel. While the different stories within effectively demonstrate all that can be lost by pursuing this choice, it ultimately articulates why this can often be the safest path for many to take.

I can't recommend this one enough! I've followed Emily's work as a critic for so long, that it was fun to see her first foray into fiction. It's abundantly clear right now that many could benefit from reading more books by authors whose backgrounds and experiences differ from their own because I can't imagine reading a wonderful book like this and not feeling empathy and understanding.

Emily St. James has given us a moving coming-of-age story about trans identity—at any age. Abigail, a foul-mouthed teenager and her middle-aged (and still in the closet) teacher, bond over all the ways in which changing how people perceive you is a gift and a threat. I found the relationship between them tricky at first—at this point in my life, I read these multi-generational narratives from the perceptive of both the teenager and the middle-aged character, but the question of age is relative within the trans community. Erica, who is decades older than Abigail, might have more life experience under her belt, but she has no history of being herself in the world.

When I first started this book, I didn't realize that the name Emily St. James sounded familiar because of the author's work on YellowJackets, a television show that uses horror to explore how teenagers deal with trauma, anger, and develop their own agency. Once that clicked, I was able to connect more to how Abigail is written. St. James isn't interested in creating sympathetic teenagers or young people older people will look at with nostalgia. She's writing teenagers as they often are—messy, volatile, and often angry.

There's a lot to love in this book, though the central election plot line was less engaging for me than the overall relationships between all of the characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Erica, a teacher, strikes up a very unconventional friendship with proud trans woman Abigail, who is also a student. Erica, better known as Mr. Skyberg,wants to learn how to navigate her transition while also hiding it from their small South Dakota town. This story take place around the Trump/Pence 2016 elections. The characters are so well written and developed that you can feel their emotions and empathize with what they are feeling and going through.

Woodworking takes us through this hard but sometimes funny journey of self-love, self- discovery and what it truly means to be yourself.

Thank you Netgalley and Zando for this evocative and heartwarming novel.

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 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.