The Animators

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.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

My first review, hooray!

I read this book for the first time when it came out in the beginning of 2017.

Let me tell you, I have NOT stopped thinking about it since.

I'm currently rereading it for the second time, because everytime I was disapointed in a book I thought of this one. It was written so well, and I have never read a story that deals with animators in fiction. As a freelance artist, it resonated with me.

This book is enormous. However, it is filled with emotion, friendship, heartbreak, stressful times, and family issues. I didn't want it to ever end. I loved the characters, and when it ended I was a wreck. It is worth a read if you enjoy friendship, drama, and character building. These characters go so far in this book it is almost ridiculous.


I recommend listening to this as an audiobook. The narrators are fitting and fantastic. I can't wait to see where Kayla Whitaker takes me next.

The Animators is a story of relationships - a messy, intense roller coaster of emotion that is ultimately rooted in love. Some of the relationships work and others fizzle out, but that's life. Join Sharon and Mel on their journey through life, art, love, heartbreak, success, failure, and success again. While not all of this book really grabbed my interest, the characters are well developed, and fans of realistic human relationship dramas will enjoy it.