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
