A review by nelliecubed
Woodworking by Emily St. James

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

WOODWORKING by Emily St. James is a novel centering on transgender women characters in Mitchell, South Dakota. From the moment I started reading it, I was learning, laughing, and crying. 

Erica Skyberg teaches high school English, and Abigail Hawkes is a transgender girl in her class. Abigail is loud, unapologetic, and seems like a typical teenager. She, however, has moved in with her older sister in Mitchell because her parents cannot accept her transition. 

Erica presents as a man, is recently divorced, and understands she has never felt right in her body. As Erica watches Abigail, she opens up to her about her truth, and Abigail becomes her secret-keeper. They attend support groups together, but Erica refuses to go public with her personal discovery. 

As their lives unfold over the course of just a few months, Abigail and Erica find friendships, love, and mentors, but they also grapple with rejection, bigotry, and physical abuse. They also uncover decades-long secrets in their community. 

But this book is about more than transgender identity. It's about the fronts we all choose to wear, the principles we are willing to abandon for security, the fights we are willing to have, and the lives we are willing to release. It's about the reasons for oppression (Spoiler Alert: It's always about power!) and how powerful people don't ever have to hide their reasons for bullying and cruelty. (Spoiler Alert: They do it simply because they can.)

This is a debut novel by a transgender woman, and it is told from multiple points of view. The honesty, insights, and vulnerability are spot on, and the different perspectives lead to humor, pain, and rawness. No character is perfect, and no life is without fault. This is an incredible book.