Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Outing, Dysphoria
Moderate: Animal death, Deadnaming, Blood, Pregnancy
Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Car accident, Sexual harassment
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really loved this so much!!! Beautiful book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Pregnancy, Outing, Abandonment
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting
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 meet 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.
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 meet 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Transphobia
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
closest i’ve been to crying reading a book in years. woodworking is extremely well written and emotionally charged without feeling like it’s forcing your hand.
the only thing that keeps this from being a true 5 is the nature of Erica and Abigail’s friendship (and some confusion with Erica and Constance). I really do wish Erica had been able to find more adults to connect with as the risk here is too big. despite that, the intergenerational storytelling was good and subverted my expectations.
one twist was a trope i’m not always a fan of but led to my favorite section of the book revealing the meaning of “woodworking.”
thank you NetGalley and Zando for this gem of an eArc!!
the only thing that keeps this from being a true 5 is the nature of Erica and Abigail’s friendship (and some confusion with Erica and Constance). I really do wish Erica had been able to find more adults to connect with as the risk here is too big. despite that, the intergenerational storytelling was good and subverted my expectations.
one twist was a trope i’m not always a fan of but led to my favorite section of the book revealing the meaning of “woodworking.”
thank you NetGalley and Zando for this gem of an eArc!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Suicide attempt