Editing Stone Fruit

{{Short description|2021 graphic novel by Lee Lai}}
{{About|the graphic novel|the fruit|Drupe||||||}}{{Infobox novel
| image             = Stone Fruit.jpg
| caption           = First edition cover
| author            = [[Lee Lai]]
| pub_date          = May 11, 2021
| publisher         = [[Fantagraphics]]
}}
'''''Stone Fruit''''' is a graphic novel by [[Lee Lai]], published May 11, 2021 by [[Fantagraphics]].

In 2022, the book won the [[Lambda Literary Award for Graphic Novel/Comics]], was a [[Barbara Gittings Literature Award]] honor book, and a finalist for the [[Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics]].

== Reception ==
''Stone Fruit'' was generally well-received, including starred reviews from ''[[Booklist]]''<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Hong |first=Terry |date=2021-05-15 |title=Stone Fruit |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Stone-Fruit-/pid=9747043 |access-date=2022-03-17 |via=Booklist}}</ref> and ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Comics Book Review: Stone Fruit by Lee Lai. Fantagraphics, $24.99 (236p) ISBN 978-1-68396-426-1 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-68396-426-1 |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |date=11 May 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

''Publishers Weekly'' applauded how Lai "skillfully captures the ways family dynamics and histories play out in romantic relationships, and how heavy those legacies can land," which results in "a poignant and mature rumination on how people change, and change each other, proving Lai a talent well worth watching."<ref name=":5" /> Terry Hong, writing for ''Booklist'', called the novel a "jaw-dropping debut" with "stunning artistry," complementing by Lai's "complex narrative skills."<ref name=":4" /> Laura Olive Sackton, writing for the ''[[Chicago Review of Books]],'' also applauded the novel, calling it "[a] remarkable contribution to this chorus of queer storytelling," saying the narrative is filled with "smart dialogue and character growth" and that through the illustration, Lai "literally draws transformation, and the feelings it evokes, onto the page."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sackton |first=Laura Olive |date=2021-05-27 |title=The Sacredness of Queer Aunthood in "Stone Fruit" |url=https://chireviewofbooks.com/2021/05/27/stone-fruit-lee-lai/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=Chicago Review of Books |language=en-US}}</ref>

''[[The Guardian]]''<nowiki/>'s Rachel Cooke provided a mixed review, calling ''Stone Fruit'' "[a] downbeat but moving exploration of the aftermath of a relationship."<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Cooke |first=Rachel |date=2021-05-25 |title=Stone Fruit by Lee Lai review – breaking up is hard to do |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/25/stone-fruit-by-lee-lai-review-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Cooke noted that while the book is affective, "you finish it with no hope at all that its characters will ever be able to resolve their difficulties. There is something intensely bleak at its centre."<ref name=":6" />
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Awards and honors for ''Stone Fruit''
!Year
!Award
!Result
!Ref.
|-
| rowspan="2" |2021
|[[American Library Association]]'s Best Graphic Novels for Adults 
|Top 10
|<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-01-23 |title=2021 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List |url=https://www.ala.org/rt/gncrt/2021-best-graphic-novels-adults-reading-list |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35|National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 Award]]
|Honoree
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee Lai |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/people/lee-lai/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=National Book Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5" |2022
|[[Barbara Gittings Literature Award]]
|Honor
|<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Chapman |first=Monica |date=2022-02-01 |title=2022 Barbara Gittings Literature Award and Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award of the Stonewall Book Awards announced |url=https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2022/02/2022-barbara-gittings-literature-award-and-israel-fishman-non-fiction-award |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[Lambda Literary Award for Graphic Novel/Comics]]
|'''Winner'''
|<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Segal |first=Corinne |date=2022-06-13 |title=Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Lambda Literary Awards! |url=https://lithub.com/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-the-2022-lambda-literary-awards/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|[[Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics]]
|Finalist
|<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=L.A Times Book Prizes 2022 |url=https://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/bookprizes-2022/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=Festival of Books |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last= |title=L.A Times Book Prizes 2022 |url=https://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/bookprizes-2022/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=Festival of Books |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|[[American Library Association]]'s Over the Rainbow Book List
|Top 10
|<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chapman |first=Monica |date=2022-02-15 |title=Over the Rainbow Committee announces 2022 Top 10 Book List |url=https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2022/02/over-rainbow-committee-announces-2022-top-10-book-list |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[Stella Prize]]
|Shortlist
|<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-14 |title=Announcing the 2022 Stella Prize Shortlist |url=https://stella.org.au/2022/04/announcing-the-2022-stella-prize-shortlist/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=Stella |language=en-US}}</ref>
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:2021 graphic novels]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian women artists]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian women writers]]
[[Category:2021 LGBTQ-related literary works]]
[[Category:2020s LGBTQ novels]]
[[Category:English-language literature]]
[[Category:Fantagraphics titles]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related graphic novels]]
[[Category:Lambda Literary Award–winning works]]