Woodworking

Emily St. James

“This story of a trans woman coming out in small town South Dakota in 2016 isn’t just earnest and moving, but surprisingly funny and joyful—all without pulling any punches about the struggle to be yourself in a world that may not want you to be.”

- Crooked Media Reads

An unforgettable and heartwarming debut following a trans high school teacher from a small town in South Dakota who befriends the only other trans woman she knows: one of her students.

ISBN

9781638931478

Language

English

Page count

368

Edition

Hardcover

Sale date

March 4, 2025

Dimensions

9 x 6

About the Book

Erica Skyberg is thirty-five years old, recently divorced-and trans. Not that she’s told anyone yet. Mitchell, South Dakota, isn’t exactly bursting with other trans women. Instead, she keeps to herself, teaching by day and directing community theater by night. That is, until Abigail Hawkes enters her orbit.

 

Abigail is seventeen, Mitchell High’s resident political dissident and Only Trans Girl. It’s a role she plays faultlessly, albeit a little reluctantly. She’s also annoyed by the idea of spending her senior year secretly guiding her English teacher through her transition. But Abigail remembers the uncertainty-and loneliness-that comes with it. Besides, Erica isn’t the only one struggling to shed the weight of others’ expectations.

 

As their unlikely friendship evolves under the increasing scrutiny of their community, both women-and those closest to them-will come to realize that sometimes there is nothing more radical than letting the world see who you really are.

 

Detransition Baby meets Fleishman is in Trouble in this remarkable debut novel from an incisive contemporary voice. A story about the awkwardness of growing up and the greatest love story of all, that between us and our friends, Woodworking is a tonic for the moment and a celebration of womanhood in all its multifaceted joy.

Reviews

“I flew through Woodworking, cheering for Abigail and Erica and their against-the-odds friendship all the way. Only Emily St. James could write a book so big-hearted and hilarious, an ode to authenticity and a must-read in our current times.”

- Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

“Pristinely characterized, this debut novel is by turns funny and heartrending.”

- Kirkus (starred review)

“One of the most heartfelt, funny, and moving portraits of transition I’ve ever come across. Illustrating the very simple truth that we never stop growing up, Erica and Abigail’s friendship is as real as it comes. We can all only hope for a sisterhood like theirs.”

- Imogen Binnie, author of Nevada

“The delightful story of an unlikely friendship . . . St. James enthralls with her depiction of what it’s like to be trans in a conservative and insular community, and the courage it takes for people to openly be themselves. This engrossing drama is a must-read.”

- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Woodworking is a wonder of unexpected characters in complex relationships in a more-than-meets-the-eye small town in an unusual coming-of-age story—several actually—all of which would be great enough, but it also manages to celebrate trans lives without pandering or overgeneralizing, to offer hope without minimizing or sugar-coating, and to tell a story whose pages you can’t stop turning. Emily St. James’s debut is complicated in the best ways and straightforward in the best ways too, empowering, important, and even heartwarming in its insistence on that which is true for all of us, in spite as well as because of our differences.”

- Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is

“Emily St. James is one of our most cherished writers whose work carries the kind of compassion, humanity, and braver world-building we need now more than ever.”

- Amber Tamblyn, author of Listening in the Dark: Women Reclaiming the Power of Intuition

Woodworking is a moving and big-hearted novel about people finding community as they find themselves—a reminder that coming of age can happen at any age. I loved these characters and the connections they formed. This is a tender, funny, page-turning story about trans women finding their way, in a world that needs all the softness and humor it can get.”

- Lydia Kiesling, bestselling author of Mobility

“A new milestone in trans letters, Woodworking proves Emily St. James can craft stories just as brilliant as the ones she has written so beautifully about for over a decade. Sparkling, intimate, and life-affirming, this debut novel lands with all the quiet force of a secret spoken in a parked car. Not to be missed.”

- Samantha Allen, author of Real Queer America and Patricia Wants to Cuddle

“This story of a trans woman coming out in small town South Dakota in 2016 isn’t just earnest and moving, but surprisingly funny and joyful—all without pulling any punches about the struggle to be yourself in a world that may not want you to be.”

- Crooked Media Reads