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hannahwinston 's review for:
Woodworking
by Emily St. James
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Picked up this book without knowing much about the plot/only know Emily St. James from the internet (lol) and Yellowjackets. I LOVED this. I devoured it in just a couple days (could have finished it in a day.)
I loved that all the characters were messy, that this whole story took place in South Dakota and not some big city where people might anticipate this to be, and that the character narrations were so distinct that I never felt like I was reading the same writer.
I think the most surprising/impressive thing was the way different narrators all had different narration styles and how they changed as they came into themselves. Erica was third person that ended with first person as she leaned into her true self. Abigail switched between first-person and then breaking the fourth wall when addressing the reader, sure of herself much sooner than Erica was.Brooke was talking to herself like an out of body experience because of the way she’s compartmentalized herself. It was really masterful and I don’t think I’ve ever read a story like that before…or at least a story that did it successfully like this.
Beyond a great coming-of-age/finding yourself story with the help of others story (and the twist!), there were some really great lines sprinkled throughout. Here are a few of my favorites:
“Just as soon as her all-consuming hatred had swept over her, it began to dissipate. Once you got used to never feeling things, it was hard to reboot your emotions. Erica merely catalogued them as they passed by on their way to wherever they went.”
“John gave Constance another kiss before the two parted ways, her to the stage and him to the back of the theater where he would watch and be supportive, the fucking asshole. ” (the way I cackled at this line haha)
I loved that all the characters were messy, that this whole story took place in South Dakota and not some big city where people might anticipate this to be, and that the character narrations were so distinct that I never felt like I was reading the same writer.
I think the most surprising/impressive thing was the way different narrators all had different narration styles and how they changed as they came into themselves. Erica was third person that ended with first person as she leaned into her true self. Abigail switched between first-person and then breaking the fourth wall when addressing the reader, sure of herself much sooner than Erica was.
Beyond a great coming-of-age/finding yourself story with the help of others story (and the twist!), there were some really great lines sprinkled throughout. Here are a few of my favorites:
“Just as soon as her all-consuming hatred had swept over her, it began to dissipate. Once you got used to never feeling things, it was hard to reboot your emotions. Erica merely catalogued them as they passed by on their way to wherever they went.”
“John gave Constance another kiss before the two parted ways, her to the stage and him to the back of the theater where he would watch and be supportive, the fucking asshole. ” (the way I cackled at this line haha)
“You’re so scared of losing your life you don’t even have one.”
“Even in this early stage, when Erica has come out to so few people, when her secret is still relatively, if poorly, contained, she has begun to feel the fuzzy darkness that lies on the other side of the words, “I’m a woman.” To say, “I’m a woman,” is simply to lump yourself in with another four billion or so people. It’s another thing all together to figure out who you are…”
“Every day, it gets a little easier to picture the life we were meant to lead together…But a person’s life is their own. Few sins are greater than trying to squeeze someone else into the shape you require them to be.”
“Even in this early stage, when Erica has come out to so few people, when her secret is still relatively, if poorly, contained, she has begun to feel the fuzzy darkness that lies on the other side of the words, “I’m a woman.” To say, “I’m a woman,” is simply to lump yourself in with another four billion or so people. It’s another thing all together to figure out who you are…”
“Every day, it gets a little easier to picture the life we were meant to lead together…But a person’s life is their own. Few sins are greater than trying to squeeze someone else into the shape you require them to be.”
“We are, none of us, a single set of destinies set by the accident of our birth. We can change and be changed. Our bodies know the language they must speak to make us the people we must become.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Transphobia, Violence