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The Animators A Novel Kayla Rae Whitaker 9780812989281 Books

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“A wildly original novel that pulses with heart and truth . . . That this powerful exploration of friendship, desire, ambition, and secrets manages to be ebullient, gripping, heartbreaking, and deeply deeply funny is a testament to Kayla Rae Whitaker’s formidable gifts. I was so sorry to reach the final page. Sharon and Mel will stay with me for a very long time.”—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest

ONE OF THE BEST DEBUT NOVELS OF THE YEAR—Entertainment Weekly
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—NPR, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage

She was the first person to see me as I had always wanted to be seen. It was enough to indebt me to her forever.

In the male-dominated field of animation, Mel Vaught and Sharon Kisses are a dynamic duo, the friction of their differences driving them Sharon, quietly ambitious but self-doubting; Mel, brash and unapologetic, always the life of the party. Best friends and artistic partners since the first week of college, where they bonded over their working-class roots and obvious talent, they spent their twenties ensconced in a gritty Brooklyn studio. Working, drinking, laughing. Drawing Mel, to understand her tumultuous past, and Sharon, to lose herself altogether.

Now, after a decade of striving, the two are finally celebrating the release of their first full-length feature, which transforms Mel’s difficult childhood into a provocative and visually daring work of art. The toast of the indie film scene, they stand at the cusp of making it big. But with their success come doubt and destruction, cracks in their relationship threatening the delicate balance of their partnership. Sharon begins to feel expendable, suspecting that the ever-more raucous Mel is the real artist. During a trip to Sharon’s home state of Kentucky, the only other partner she has ever truly known—her troubled, charismatic childhood best friend, Teddy—reenters her life, and long-buried resentments rise to the surface, hastening a reckoning no one sees coming.

A funny, heartbreaking novel of friendship, art, and trauma, The Animators is about the secrets we keep and the burdens we shed on the road to adulthood.

“Suffused with humor, tragedy and deep insights about art and friendship.”—People

“[A] stunning debut.”—Variety

“A compulsively readable portrait of women as incandescent artists and intimate collaborators.”—Elle

The Animators A Novel Kayla Rae Whitaker 9780812989281 Books

This was a great book for me. I received my degree in Computer Animation so a lot of things happening between the characters and in their profession really resonated with me. I also loved that the story is about two female characters, their friendship and careers. I enjoyed that, although love interests were introduced, it was just a piece of their lives and not the center focus. The characters were complex and well-developed, and almost like you were meeting new friends that you're trying to get to know throughout the whole book. They weren't easy to figure out from the get-go. I really did not want to put the book down until I finished it, and I am normally a suspense/thriller fan so this pick was a little outside of the norm for me. I would look out for another book from this writer in the future and see what else she might have in store for us. Thanks for the great read!


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The Animators A Novel Kayla Rae Whitaker 9780812989281 Books Reviews

A daring deep dive into the into the morass of art-survival, friendship, hardship, and love. The Animators is loaded with appetite and honesty. Blooming and purging, expanding and contracting, our heroine won't stop looking, and I am grateful.
I loved this book. Loved it. Characters a great and true. Full of passion, twisted and not. Full of truth. Hope there’s another book to follow, with these or different characters. This book is about true art of any sort, creation, and the difficulty and victory in it all—as in life!
I hadn't actually intended this to be one of my Pride Month reads, but Mel, the main character's best friend and business partner, is lesbian, so it turns out that it counts! I read this book as part of Litsy's "Buddy Reads" program, where everyone participating reads the same section of the book and discusses it before moving on to the next section. So I've been slowly reading this one over the past month. I'm not sure I would have read this if not for the Buddy Read.

This book surprised me! I enjoyed it, and I wasn't sure I would. Mel and Sharon have been friends since college, spurring each other to greater artistry in their chosen field of adult cartooning. (Not porn, just not childish themes.) They work well together, with Mel coming up with most of the beginning ideas and Sharon hammering them into a shape that will work and keeping them on track through projects. But Mel has a drug and alcohol problem, and Sharon has a stroke, and working through all of those things are really what the book deals with.

The two go back to visit Sharon's hometown in Kentucky at one point, and the way Sharon describes the town, and how surreal it is and how she never felt like she belonged, even when she lived there - that was a really hard-hitting passage for me. I went back to my own hometown last Christmas, and I felt the same feelings Sharon has in the book. Seeing those feelings actually put into words was....strange.

I honestly didn't like either Mel or Sharon for the first few chapters, but as the story unfolds, they begin to open up. The book is about growing up in some ways; the two of them, though advancing in their careers, haven't had to do a lot of maturing emotionally until the events of the book. I thought they both become much more likable as that happened.

The writing was excellent in this book, the character development outstanding, and the plot heartbreaking in places. Even though it's not my typical reading fare, I really liked it.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters are complex and surprising. The relationship between the main characters is heartbreaking but also beautiful. The book is really well written. I highly recommend it.
This book was truly amazing. I spent an equal amount of time almost liking and nearly hating the main characters, but their pain, at turns sardonic then visceral, was arresting. The narrator, Sharon, and her best friend/partner, Mel, are some of the most deftly drawn characters I've read in a long, long time. Even when their motivations and actions were muddled or incomprehensible, they were consistent.

This story was also an examination of the plight of the artist--what it's like to have to express your interior vision, no matter the cost. The only thing that would have made this story more tragic would have been if their work was bad. Instead, Sharon and Mel are fortunate enough to have their genius appreciated, which, interestingly, affects them but never becomes the point of the story.

I look forward to reading more from this author.
I knew these people. I wondered if it was truly fiction, the charachters were drawn so well (no pun intended) so distinctly. I wanted to share yhis eith my own”Mel” friends, but they are long departed frim this earth. Anyone who has been im an illustration class straight out of high school will see echoes of their own hopes and fears, aspirations and public idiocy. Well, maybe not anyone, but I sure did. I read a lot, hello I spend thousands on my reading list- I can’t wait for the library. Some stories are great because of the plot, some dazzle with language.. few develop all the characters with such strong, individual voices.Kaeyla Rae, please keep writing. The world you created is going to stay with me for a long time.
When I finished this book, I turned to the beginning and started again, something I haven't done since I was a kid. In a world where every debut novel feels like rehashed memoir about how hard it is to live in New York or whatever, this story shines. There is a plot! Things happen! It's funny! It's dark! And it's brilliant. I'm still enamored of the two main characters and I've been telling everyone I know to read this novel just so they can meet them.
This was a great book for me. I received my degree in Computer Animation so a lot of things happening between the characters and in their profession really resonated with me. I also loved that the story is about two female characters, their friendship and careers. I enjoyed that, although love interests were introduced, it was just a piece of their lives and not the center focus. The characters were complex and well-developed, and almost like you were meeting new friends that you're trying to get to know throughout the whole book. They weren't easy to figure out from the get-go. I really did not want to put the book down until I finished it, and I am normally a suspense/thriller fan so this pick was a little outside of the norm for me. I would look out for another book from this writer in the future and see what else she might have in store for us. Thanks for the great read!