State of Tennessee “Great Reads from Great Places” youth novel selection for the 2022 National Book Festival of the Library of Congress.
Honorable Mention, Foreword INDIES award for Best YA Novel of the Year, 2022
Lambda Literary recommended: “Eight Queer Young Adult Books Coming this Fall”
“[Needlework] is a redemptive story, and while it steers clear of a sugar-coated happy ending, the story’s emotional resonance, deeply-drawn characters, and vivid depiction of place make it simultaneously uplifting and sad.” —Fiction Writers Review
“Watts doesn’t shy away from complex discussions on religion, race, sexuality, and what it means to love a family member despite their shortcomings in Needlework. Kody is a humble young man caught in the tangled web between rural Appalachian traditions and 21st-century forward-thinking ideals.” —Chapter 16
“Watts’s engaging book addresses timely topics like addiction, homophobia, and racism, but her gentle, heartwarming prose makes this book a comfort read. Kody’s sweetly honest narration makes it impossible not to cheer for him. . . . Highly recommended.” —School Library Journal
"Watts (Quiver) depicts queer existence in a conservative white Appalachian town with realism and, effectively, hope. Even as Kody experiences harm caused by those closest to him, he never doubts his value, a characterization that proves validating in this poignant exploration of the generational trauma caused by poverty, addiction, and racism, and of the power of being loved for oneself." —Publishers Weekly
"Watts, who lives in Appalachia, captures the setting, the characters, and their voices with conviction. . . . A very readable novel." —Booklist
“Watts’ latest contemporary Appalachian story movingly melds identity exploration with more prominent themes of addiction, family, faith, and racism. . . . The overall tone is hopeful—not unlike a Dolly Parton song itself.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Julia Watts just keeps getting better and better and illuminating more and more dimensions of life...she continues to make a tremendous contribution especially for rural teens who are struggling with issues of identity.” Appalachian Mountain Books
“Touching and heartfelt. A Very genuine and fun young adult story.” —Barbarian Librarian
“Julia Watts doesn’t sugarcoat the problems in contemporary Appalachia, but she also writes with big-hearted generosity and love. Kody, the gay sixteen-year-old protagonist, is sensitive, funny, and kind. I wish I’d had this book to read when I was young. Plus, Dolly Parton and dogs—what’s not to love?” —Carter Sickels, author, The Prettiest Star
“Needlework brings the reader to rural Kentucky, where a sixteen-year-old boy with a love for Golden Girls, quilting, and Dolly Parton helps his grandma care for his mother. Other area boys tend not to have Kody’s interests, nor a mother addicted to opioids, so Kody is left not knowing where he really fits in the town, much less the world. But when he discovers a family secret, he suddenly learns more about himself than he was ever ready for.” —Lambda Literary Review
“In Needlework, set in a Kentucky world of Walmart jeans and empty storefronts, Julia Watts writes a poignant story about a sixteen-year-old Dolly Parton wannabe who just doesn’t fit in with the other boys in town. At once complicated and heartbreaking, Kody’s efforts to help his mother confront her opioid addiction, keep a big family secret, and deal with the close-mindedness of those closest to him keep us wondering who will get a second chance—and whether they deserve it.” —Kelly Ann Jacobson, author, Tink and Wendy
“Kody was an amazing character who was so easy to relate to. I laughed with him, cried with him and in the end triumphed with him. His struggles tugged at my heartstrings and it was wonderful to watch him learn and grow. This is a fast read, but an important one. I would definitely recommend this book.” —2IfBySeabrook Book Review
“Needlework is a manual on how to be alive amidst the challenges of living. Julia Watts's Kody is the queer protagonist we all need right now, reminding us the necessity to love and forgive (even within its brutality) and to never let go of the music in our life that teaches us how to celebrate our truest selves.” —Aimee Herman, author, Everything Grows
“A really well done coming of age story . . . loved how morally grey a lot of the adult characters in there were instead of going for the less realistic ‘here's an example of a good guardian and here's one of a bad guardian’. . . Really well done.” —ThisIsNotABookstagram
Past praise for Julia Watts
"For anyone who has felt “different,” Watts’s novel will be ultimately relatable.” —VOYA Magazine, Perfect 10 Rating
"The atmosphere is vivid: Watts’ knowledge of country Tennessee shines through in the details.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“[A] contemporary gem . . . touches on many societal divides including ideology, religion and sexuality.” — Catholic Library World
“This just may be the perfect book for our times, when acknowledgement of common ground and empathy are sorely needed.” —New York Journal of Books
"Opens important conversations about faith, family, independence, and identity." —Kirkus Reviews
“An examination of friendship and events in life that make us reconsider why we believe what we believe.” —Booklist
"An amazing, heartfelt book." —Foreword Reviews
2021-07-13
A gay teen drags it up as Dolly Parton.
With one parent incarcerated and the other struggling with addiction, 17-year-old Kody lives with Nanny, his maternal grandmother, in her Morgan, Kentucky, modular home. Between watching The Golden Girls, church on Sundays, and working on sewing projects together, the two have a lot in common. But, close as they are, Nanny doesn’t know Kody’s greatest secrets: He’s gay, and he has a ritual Dolly Dress-Up Hour when she’s not home. A third secret comes to light when a surprise Facebook message connects Kody, who is White, with Macey, the 15-year-old half sister he knew nothing about. Yet another surprise for Kody, given that the town is almost entirely White, is that Macey’s late father was Black. The siblings meet across state lines where Macey lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, and get to know each other. Macey believes she might be bisexual, and her family’s casual acceptance surprises Kody. But the more they connect, the more Kody’s personal secrets—and his family’s own closely kept secrets—begin to unravel. Watts’ latest contemporary Appalachian story movingly melds identity exploration with more prominent themes of addiction, family, faith, and racism. Though she doesn’t skirt away from uncomfortable situations or harsh realities, the overall tone is hopeful—not unlike a Dolly Parton song itself. Although the end of the novel feels too rushed, the rural setting and community are richly drawn.
A would-be “Backwoods Barbie” tale with a whole lot of heart. (Fiction. 14-18)
