Reviews

Needlework by Julia Watts

Only show reviews with written explanations

bex_j's review

Go to review page

funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

korrinstar's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.75

Content Warnings

Kody isn't like most boys in his hometown in rural Kentucky. He likes to watch Golden Girls with his grandmother, quilt, and sing along to Dolly Parton. He lives with his Nanny and all things considered he has a pretty good life. His younger brother lives across town with his aunt and his uncle and his mommy lives just down the holler in a broken down little trailer. Their dad is in prison. Their mom has problems. She's an addict and she can hardly take care of herself let alone her two sons. Kody and Nanny do the best they can to keep her alive, but it's a thankless job. Thank goodness he has Dolly Parton to keep him sane. Besides his mommy, the most stressful thing in his life is keeping his grandmother from finding out he's gay and likes to dress up in makeup. But then he gets a Facebook and gets a message that will change his life and his family's forever. Touching and heartfelt. A Very genuine and fun young adult story.

cimorene1558's review

Go to review page

5.0

Funny and sweet while also being tough and sad. I love Kody, and while I would have liked a more complete ending, that settled him somewhere good, it seems pretty sure he'll be okay as it is, or at least as much okay as a gay boy who wants to be a drag queen but is attached to his family in rural Kentucky can be.

undervmountain's review

Go to review page

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Growing up in the US being gay, closeted and loving Dolly Parton is hard, but living in the Bible Belt of rural Kentucky is even harder. Kody struggles with his responsibilities to his family, looking after his sick mother while being raised by his grandmother, and over the course of the story starts to realise that if he wants a a future where he's happy, he's going to have to leave town to find his place in the world.

I've not experienced it myself, but I felt that this was a really accurate depiction of drug addiction, from when we first meet Kody's Mommy, begging at Walmart for drug money, to when she tells him, over and over, that tomorrow she'll do better. I loved that this story humanised her, and I could understand her struggles and see that she was ill, and the author really wrote a complex, interesting character that really felt like she could be a real person.

I could tell while I was reading that the author seemed to have personal experience with these types of towns, and the people that lived in them. Every person truly felt like a real person, and the story didn't shy away from discussions of prejudice and racism, but also showed the complexities of living there that made these people become who they were.

meredithserpa's review

Go to review page

3.0

This is a great story for any LGBT youth or anyone with a family member with addiction.

It's a short but sweet story. It's heroic and feel-good.

Maybe I'm harsh but I hated that he called her "Mommy" throughout the entire book. Wouldn't "Mama" have been more accurate for the south? I ended up having to change every single mommy in my head to mama (and there were a lot of them). Just kind of cringe I guess.

I love the title of the book.... however it almost doesn't really work. His mom mostly pops pills, and his own needle work with quilts is BARELY talked about.

wdianasheppard's review

Go to review page

5.0

I have a heart of stone. Little makes me cry, or even really upsets me in the realm of fiction - I am typically able to keep characters beloved but separate from the chambers of my heart that perceive them as "real". This was EMPHATICALLY NOT THE CASE with "Needlework" by Julia Watts, in which the characters stormed the gates of my heart after a three chapter siege and took up residence, victorious. I felt like I knew this people. I loved these people in all their complexities, failings, and triumphs. I was upset when the book ended because my time with them was over.

"Needlework" tells the story of Kody, a responsible, church-going kid in rural Kentucky, who lives with his grandmother and hides his queerness. His mother is an opioid addict, lost to demons of her own, and Kody frequently takes care of her throughout her substance abuse. The only things bringing Kody much joy are Dolly Parton records and secretly doing his own makeup, hiding his true self from a conservative world that would not understand his interests. And then one day he receives a message online from a Black girl claiming to be a half-sister he's never known of...

"Needlework" is entirely Kody's story; his unorthodox relationship with his mother and his repressed upbringing have all but killed his ambition and dreams, and "Needlework" follows him as he rediscovers his own interests and passions. One thing that surprised (and delighted) me is that despite the fact that Kody is very gay, there is not a love story for him in these pages. No, Kody strengthens his relationships with his family (and new family!) without the prodding of a convenient love interest, which makes me SO HAPPY because so often love interests in YA act as perfect psychotherapists who inspire great behavior just by being present. Kody does the hard work of navigating his difficult relationships with his family, addressing concepts of addiction, racism, homophobia, and religion. One thing I really enjoyed was the depiction of the South - it's clear that the author is FROM the South, and understands that people can be kind and thoughtful to some and still be close-minded, homophobic, and hurtful to others. Kody's realization that a lot of love comes his way to the fact he presents as a straight white cis male hurts the reader as much as it hurts him. Attitude in the South is never anything that isn't complex - these conservatives aren't villains, not entirely, so much as stuck in a mindset. Watts handles this with such a beautiful nuance. I know Kody's family because I'm from Northern Alabama. I've loved them, and I've wanted them to be better, just as Kody does.

Anyway, this book was amazing. It touched me, it broke my heart. I suspect some might want a larger resolution to Kody's mother's story, but I thought keeping it open was perfect: that's life. Things don't get perfectly tied up in a bow.

HIGHLY recommended to YA readers and adults alike.

pchb's review

Go to review page

5.0

Julia Watts is the most underappreciated queer YA writer working today. She was a trailblazer with "Finding H.F." (2001!) and remained relevant with "Quiver." "Needlework" might be my favorite of hers to date. Her writing about being queer in Appalachia and the rural South is so beautiful and nuanced. I loved Kody and his love of quilting and Dolly Parton. The exploration of his mother's opioid addiction wasn't glossed over but not demonized, either. Despite the somewhat-dreary subject matter, I walked away from "Needlework" hopeful, just like with Watts's other books and that is her special talent.