From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

The Animators

Kayla Rae Whitaker

Start date: December 29, 2017

Finish date: January 3, 2018

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What Members Thought

May 07, 2017 Rincey rated it really liked it

3.5 stars.

This book was not at ALL what I expected it to be, and some parts of it were a bit rough, but overall really solid debut.

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May 27, 2017 Jenny rated it really liked it

The Animators is Kayla Rae Whitaker’s debut novel and it’s hard not to feel jealous that someone so young could create such a darkly complex novel that often went places I didn’t expect. It’s the story of Mel Vaught and Sharon Kisses, who meet as scholarship kids their first week at a pricey liberal arts college in upstate New York and bond over their love of comics and animation as well as their working-class backgrounds.

Narrated by Sharon, the story jumps quickly from the women’s initial meet ...more

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Apr 27, 2017 Cari rated it liked it

Shelves: literary, tob, botm

3.5 for this very strong debut. This powerful novel shows the creative process, warts and all, in a way like no other book I've ever read has. The pacing needled me at times, but Whitaker is definitely someone to watch. ...more

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Aug 01, 2019 Lianne rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, kindle, 2019

I've had a copy of this book on my Kindle since shortly after it was in the 2018 Tournament of Books, but for some reason have avoided reading it. I'm not sure why exactly. Whatever I was expecting, though, this wasn't it. It was deeper and more serious than I anticipated (maybe the ToB short list should have been a clue about that) but with definite moments of levity and fun. I could feel all the joy and pain throughout Sharon and Mel's relationship -- it was really well done, though I don't kn ...more

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Mar 27, 2018 Denise Cormaney rated it it was amazing

Shelves: one-more-page-book-group

I loved this book. I picked it for our bookstore discussion group, not knowing much about it other than it showed up on a bunch of lists and it sounded somewhat interesting. It felt like a risky pick because I couldn't get a handle on what it was really about from the synopsis. But of course the very best novels defy summarization!

I don't even know where to begin here. This sounds like a reviewer/publisher's cliche, but the voice here truly felt original. The relationships felt real, the emotion ...more

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