“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
One of Them’s 10 Most Anticipated Books of 2025
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
Reviews
One of Them’s 10 Most Anticipated Books of 2025 • One of Book Riot’s and The Mary Sue’s 15 Most Anticipated Queer Books of 2025 • One of The Millions’, Kirkus’s and The AV Club’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025
“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.”
“Pristinely characterized, this debut novel is by turns funny and heartrending.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Emily St. James
Emily St. James is a writer and cultural critic. This is her first novel. Her journalism and criticism have appeared in The New York Times, Vox, and The A.V. Club, and her writing for television has been featured on the Emmy-nominated series Yellowjackets. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.
