“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 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • 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 “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 “Unusual and appealing . . . The Animators covers familiar debut-novel territory: the search for identity, the desire for success, the bewildering experiences of small-town misfits leaving home for the bright lights of New York City. But Whitaker turns these motifs on their heads simply by changing the direction of the road and populating it with women.” — The New York Times Book Review “A mix of  Beaches ,  Girls , and  Thelma & Louise  . . . a ‘complicated,’ ‘sensual, sexy,’ raw nerve of a ‘roller coaster’ through a ‘tumultuous’ friendship . . . If you let this story happen to you, you’re gonna love it.” — Glamour “ The Animators  is inspiring in its freshness and its authenticity, one of the most original and raw books I’ve read in a long time. I look forward to more Whitaker novels to add to my library.” — The Dallas Morning News “A compulsively readable portrait of women as incandescent artists and intimate collaborators.” — Elle “Smart, funny, and vibrant, beautifully capturing the intricacies of friendship . . . a vital read.” — Nylon “An engrossing, exuberant ride through all the territories of love—familial, romantic, sexual, love of friends, and, perhaps above all, white-hot passion for the art you were born to make . . . I wish I’d written  The Animators .” —Emma Donoghue, author of  Room  and  The Wonder “ The Animators  is a heartbreakingly beautiful, sharply funny, arrestingly unforgettable novel about love and genius, the powerful obsessiveness of artistic creation, and the equally powerful undertow of the past. Kayla Rae Whitaker writes like her head is on fire.” —Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner Award–winning author of  The Great Man “[A] tender, lively début . . . [Kayla Rae] Whitaker’s nimbly created characters are as vibrant as the novel’s title suggests.” — The New Yorker “Abiding friendships . . . are rarely portrayed with such nuance and humor as in this first novel, a nimble comedic turn edged with shadow.” — O: The Oprah Magazine “Memorable, sure-handed, and absorbing.” — The Boston Globe “Brimming with electricity . . . Whitaker has crafted one of 2017’s first page-turners.” — Paste “Well-wrought and evocative . . . [M