As soon as I saw that Maggie Shipstead was writing a short story collection I got PUMPED. I adored her book Great Circle and I'm a sucker for short stories.

Each story is deliciously specific honestly like each of her existing books. Favorites include the title story, You Have a Friend in 10A and La Moretta. I felt fully immersed in each of her short stories and enjoyed her descriptions and gift for language.

Shipstead, I'm ready for the full-length novel on several of these stories!

I am not sold on short stories, necessarily, but I am a big fan of Maggie Shipstead’s after reading Great Circle. It’s an editors’ pick in Best Literature & Fiction on Amazon, a New York Times bestseller, and has won numerous awards.

You Have A Friend in 10A is comprised of ten short stories. Each story will make you feel something different. Some of the characters you love and some aren’t too likable. Shipstead is a remarkable writer who can write from any point of view and make you feel the story is real. To me, that is the key to good writing and a good piece of literature. It needs to feel real to me or at least believable.

The good thing about a book with a collection of stories is that you can pick it up whenever you want. You can finish one story and wait a while and pick the book up again for another story, or read it all in one setting and experience something new with each story.

From a love triangle on a Montana dude ranch to a mystery around a dying elderly man in Paris to an insecure writer getting ready to publish his first book, each story will take you on a journey.

This book is definitely worth a read.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book and write a review.

A really nice collection of short stories by Maggie Shipstead. All of them are written in beautiful prose, that sweeps the reader away.

I tend not to read short stories because I want something longer to dive into. I usually feel like there is more to the story that isn’t being told. Most of these stories fall into that category, where I wanted more. But over all I did enjoy them. 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You may know Maggie Shipstead from her latest book, Great Circle, or her previous novels, Seating Arrangements, or Astonish Me. Now she shares her short stories in You Have a Friend in 10A. I've read all her books and enjoyed their literary style and great characterizations, so I was interested to see what types of short stories she wrote. Her stories span genres including science-fiction, thriller, and character-heavy tales, so you get a wide variety of writing.

While I enjoyed some stories, others felt raw and unfinished. Some stories may appear familiar to readers who have read her other books. Occasionally, I was bored with the material and wondered how long the story would go on. If you're a big fan or enjoyed her other books, it's worth a look.

"The Cowboy Tango" involves a young woman who works on a ranch where the ranch owner has fallen into unrequited love with her. I feel sure that I read that one before. It reminded me of her latest book.

"Angel Lust" and the title story both reflect on Hollywood and the ways that some people get corrupted and redeemed. "Angel Lust" was different in that a longtime, somewhat famous actor cleans his father's rural home and finds some surprising items. The other story sounded like one of the main characters in Great Circle.

"La Moretta" focuses on a couple on their honeymoon with unusual results. That was a surprise. I wish I could say more, but I would be giving away the entire plot.

Some other stories I cannot even recall, so I wasn't that impressed.

However, this collection shows the evolution of Maggie Shipstead as a writer. As a writer myself, I found that the most telling. She even states in the acknowledgements how some may still be in the development stages although not in so many words. It was brave for her to publish these because they are in much rawer forms. While some could be expanded into long-form books, others could be swept under the rug.

The short stories in "You Have a Friend" are like dark chocolate truffles, intense, and to be savored slowly.

I was a huge fan of Shipstead's 2021 novel, Great Circle, and I snatched up her newest book instantly. It was clear from the start that this is a completely different animal. Great Circle is a sprawling saga, with characters developing over the course of its 600 pages. The characters in the new short story collection are illuminated in brief flashes, and then they are gone. Maggie Shipstead is a talented and versatile writer, and I look forward to more from her.

Shipstead released three novels before this collection of her stories appeared. However, she had been writing and publishing short stories all along: The 10 in this volume all first appeared in literary magazines or on websites between 2009 and 2017. In the acknowledgments, she reveals, "this book came out of years spent learning to be a writer, a process that will never be complete." In a way, then, reading this book is like following along with an apprenticeship. Perhaps that explains why there is not much in the way of thematic cohesion. She's experimenting with topics and structure here, so there is more variety than continuity. I found the book on the whole slightly acrid — accomplished, certainly, but with little warmth to endear me to the characters and plots. Nevertheless, for any Shipstead fan, a new release from her is hard to resist, and it's rewarding to see where she first tried out some of her tropes and to track how her style has developed. (Full review at BookBrowse.)

Maggie Shipstead is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. In You Have a Friend in 10A she skillfully lays all her considerable talent on the page. Even in short stories, her characters are fully realized and draw the reader into their captivating tales. I look forward to Shipstead's next works.

You Have a Friend in 10A is a collection of short stories written by Maggie Shipstead over a span of years. I enjoyed a few of the stories. , The first one called The Cowboy Tango, which showcases a love triangle of sorts between the owner of a dude ranch in Montana, his female employee and his nephew. As well as La Moretta which follows newlyweds on their honeymoon. But the rest of the stories primarily fell a little flat for me. I didn't connect with most of the characters. I would read a story and still have to wonder what was the point. Ultimately, I look forward to Maggie's next full length novel and feel like I am probably just the wrong person for this collection of short stories. 2 stars - it was okay.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of You Have a Friend in 10A for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

You Have a Friend in 10A is a collection of short stories that range from a one-night stand in the Olympic village between two athletes to a honeymoon gone wrong in Eastern Europe. Varied and eloquently worded, Maggie Shipstead gives the reader what she does best - glimpses into beautifully composed characters with layers of nuance and peculiarities.

I am a huge fan of Shipstead - Great Circle is one of my favorite books of 2021 which is probably why I felt a bit let down by You Have a Friend in 10A. We as her readers know what she is capable of and there were quite a few stories in this collection that fell short or flat of her talent.

While I appreciated the effort, Shipstead’s short stories don’t serve her talent here - I wanted to know more about some of the characters, wanted to watch them develop and trace their origins, while instead pieces felt rushed or not fully flushed out.

I would still highly recommend if you are Shipstead fan - there’s some really great work here. But if this is your first introduction to her, Great Circle is where you should focus your attention.

Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Maggie Shipstead and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is one of the most varied books of short stories I’ve ever read- which makes sense, since Shipstead wrote these stories over the course of 10 years. They’re all dark to some degree, and a few even veer into horror (La Moretta, The Great Central Pacific Guano Company). Her characters are often unlikeable- sometimes deliciously, like the narrator of “Acknowledgements,” a new author choosing who to thank in his book, revealing more of his narcissism with every page. Others were unlikable in a way that makes you want to look away, like the recovering former cult member who narrates the title story, You Have a Friend in 10A. Shipstead is a master of character and place.

I did find myself getting slogged down in the reading at times- there didn’t seem to be one thread holding the whole book together. The time was worth it in the end, as I liked each story as it’s own piece, separate of the collection. My favorite was the most earnest and the first in the book, The Cowboy Tango. It follows the staff of a dude ranch, most notably a lonely, tough young girl who comes to live and work there. It’s the perfect example of Shipstead’s ability to write all of her characters complexly, even if they’re otherwise easy to hate. I’d imagine most readers will have ups and downs reading this book, but you’ll probably come out with a few new favorites.

This was a hard one to review. On one hand I do not love short stories so that made it difficult but on the other I love Maggie Shipstead and her other fiction novels (shout out Great Circle) were a revelation to me.

I think that the 10 stories were engaging and varied in topic and content. Great things for a short story anthology to be. The first story also has the best name “The Cowboy Tango”

I think I struggle personally in that I want more depth and character arc than a short story can give me 99% of the time. I think that people who love short stories would adore this.

I appreciate the opportunity to have read and reviewed. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for the review copy!

This was several short stories and I had a hard time getting into these stories. By the 4th I was skimming so I’ve decided to only give a review here. Just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Thanks NetGalley

After reading Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, I immediately requested this one on NetGalley. I enjoy short stories (though I find I often don't understand them, but I don't have issue with that), so I was excited to see Shipstead come out with a collection of them. I enjoyed a majority of the stories (I think "The Cowboy Tango" being my favorite), but I did find that there were some stories that I had to put down and return to multiple times because I kept zoning out (looking at you, "In the Olympic Village," "Lambs," and "The Great Central Pacific Guano Company"). By the end of each story, I was usually interested in the characters and plot, but being that short story collections jump around to so many different worlds, that did make reading this relatively short work (at not-quite-300-pages) take longer than a different 300 page work might have. All in all, if you enjoy short story collections, this is a solid one that I will be recommending.

It’s no secret that Maggie Shipstead’s GREAT CIRCLE is one of my favorite books from 2021 so this collection of short stories was high on my TBR for this year and it did not disappoint. This collection was full of love and life and grief and friendship and living. The stories were all so different and utterly captivating. Whether you’re a Maggie Shipstead fan or exploring short stories (like I am) definitely add this one to your book list to savor and read over time, or like I did and in one sitting on an airplane.

The short stories in this collection range vastly in subjects. Some of them caught my attention and I thoroughly enjoy how Maggie wraps up her story, usually in one short and simple sentence.
But other stories were really confusing for me, no matter how slow I would read or how many times I went back to see what I had missed, which was usually nothing. These stories would be greatly enjoyable to the correct audience, it’s just that I’m not in that group.
Maggie’s writing style is fun to read, descriptive, and except for when she’s soaring over my head, entertaining.
Sincere thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is now available.

I always like it when authors are transparent about their day jobs. Maggie Shipstead is a travel writer, flying around the world crafting pieces that show up in the magazines tucked inside the airplane seat pouch in front of your knees.

This makes sense. In both this collection of stories and in Great Circle, Shipstead pilots us from L.A. to Ireland to Antarctica. Although she's fluent in writing these different places, I like Shipstead best when she's grounded in Montana, where she currently resides. These neo-Westerns are sparse and dusty and were my favorite parts of the aforementioned books.

I didn't finish every story in this collection. Some played with sci-fi, which I already maximized my capacity for earlier this month. My favorite story was the first: "The Cowboy Tango."

Once again, we are treated to the talent, wit, and compassion for the human experience that shines through all of Maggie Shipstead’s work. I was entranced with her long novel from last year, Great Circle, and saw some echoes of a few ideas from that work in selected stories in this collection. As expected, this book of 10 short stories had some that resonated deeper with me than others, in particular the first one of a love triangle on a dude ranch in Montana. Each story is unique, from such diverse settings as the Olympics to a flight in mid-air to Ireland and Paris and themes that range from regret to parental responsibility to meditations on life and love. Shipstead has a masterful command of language and never fails to challenge me to think long and hard about people’s lives outside my experience and offer insights into the human condition.

This was good collection but i constantly felt that each story should have been a novel. Partly because of their length but also because i felt like I needed so much more from the characters and each world, it always felt like it took too long to get into each world, and then not long enough to pay off.

My review appears on Boston's artsfuse.org

https://artsfuse.org/257713/book-review-you-have-a-friend-in-10a/

I do not award stars --

Shipstead's varied stories range from funny with an edge to darkly haunting. She builds her characters with vivid detail, and she serves up the brutal truth alongside vulnerability in this fascinating collection.

In You Have a Friend in 10A, Maggie Shipstead offers gripping, sometimes haunting, sometimes darkly funny short stories, diving into eclectic and vivid settings ranging from an Olympic village, to a deathbed in Paris, to a Pacific atoll, to an abandoned mountaintop.

The tones of each captivating story vary wildly, whether lighthearted with an edge or tragic and dark.

Throughout each disparate story, Shipstead's eye for detail and for illustrating pivotal small moments allows her to explore the lives of a cast of vivid characters and make them feel fully formed.

Maggie Shipstead is also the author of Astonish Me, Seating Arrangements, and Great Circle, one of my favorite reads last year.

I received a prepublication digital edition of this book courtesy of Knopf and NetGalley.