Wild Failure by Zoe Whittall - Out Now - 5 Stars

This collection of short stories is everything a great anthology should be—varied, engaging, and expertly crafted. Each story feels distinct, with its own voice and perspective, yet they share common themes that tie the collection together without making them feel repetitive. Unlike many short story collections, where some entries stand out while others fade, every piece here holds its own.

The characters are strikingly real, resembling people you might know or even yourself. Many of the stories are set in Canada, often in the ’90s and early 2000s, grounding them in a familiar yet specific time and place. There are moments that genuinely shock, delivering those “holy shit” twists that make short stories so powerful.

What truly makes this collection shine, though, is the writing. Crisp and deliberate, every word feels carefully chosen, making each story as impactful as possible. This is exactly what short fiction should be—sharp, memorable, and deeply human.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to review this book. The opinions stated are my own. #netgalley #wildfailure #zoewhittall #shortstories @shorts

SUCH an interesting collection. I actually love short story collections, which I know is rare, but this one was a special gem that I think even short story avoiders will enjoy. It had such a brilliant thread of connection between all the stories, linking them by the shared experience of queerness and femininity in a world dominated by men, The stories were all enjoyable, with a few standouts, but even the “worst” story in the collection was a 4/5 star.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for gifting me a digital ARC of this short story collection by Zoe Whittall. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Ten short stories about women living in a man's world, specifically dealing with queer life and feminism. I have a love/hate relationship with short story collections, but couldn't resist since I'm a fan of the author. Each of these stories left me wanting more, yet feeling satisfied. There's a lot of tough subjects here but also compassion and dark humor. I'm probably not the target audience, but the stories are thoughtful and the writing will draw you in.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
Wild Failure was a weird, disjointed romp for me. Maybe it's due to the formatting (and perhaps this would be easier to stumble through in print?) but some parts fell flat for me, and I found myself zoning out in the middle of the first story because the formatting was so offputting. The title story "Wild Failure" was the most successful for me. I liked the raw descriptions that Whittall uses in this story and the romance between the couple. Realistic. Grotesque. In a good way.

I loved Wild Failure's focus on the magic of being an outlier. Whittall's characters are so endearing and easy to fall in love with. I appreciated the messaging about how life can be made beautiful in unique, charming ways.

I've liked Zoe Whittall's earlier work. Oddly they are sometimes hard to find here in the US (why don't we get more Canadian books?) so I was excited to get a chance to read her short stories. I enjoyed the Ontario backdrop and always love stories of women especially those living very different lives than I do. Whittall always makes these women feel like real people even when she only has a few pages to work with.

A collection of short stories surrounding queer people in many different walks of life.

I'd probably give this a 2.5 but rounded down. I had pretty high hopes for this because the cover is so pretty and I've been trying to get into short story collections more, so the fact that it was focused on queer stories made it extra enticing for me. Unfortunately I just had a really hard time getting into this author's writing style. It felt awkward and short, and the stories were a bit hard to read. Not saying I need every story or book I read to be happy or pretty, but this just felt grungy and edgy just to be so. Maybe this really resonates with some people, but it just missed the mark a bit for me. Not to mention it was slightly confusing figuring out who we were following in each story until a bit into each one.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book for my honest thoughts.

I loved this book and was enthralled with the writing. I loved the character study. Would read more from the author!

"Wild Failure" didn’t quite hit the mark for me. While the short stories had interesting premises, I found myself wanting more from the characters and the plotlines. The writing had potential, but it left me feeling a bit disconnected from the stories. I was hoping for deeper exploration of the characters or a more gripping narrative, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver what I was looking for. It may resonate with some readers, but it wasn’t the right fit for me.

I will not be getting to this book soon, but I do hope to read it at some point. Also that cover is stunning.

I really loved this short story collection. The stories were clever and entertaining. I found myself wishing many of them wouldn't end.

Normally when I read a collection of short stories I’ll stumble across a few I hate and a few I love. When I say I didn’t like a single story… I DIDN’T LIKE A SINGLE STORY! They were all uncomfortable to say the least with a common theme of young x old couples. Over 18 is one thing, but 12 years old? NAHH Not for me!

The craziest part about this entire read is that I actually finished it. I simply could not add another novella to the DNF pile. It was literally under 200 pages. I forced myself to prevail. No matter how uncomfortable I was. Probably the first book I’ve ever given a 1/5-star rating. For a little bit I suggested maybe a 2/5-star rating, but the longer I read the harder it became to grant that mercy.

My thanks to Random House Publishing (Ballantine) and NetGalley for the Digital ARC. This book is ALREADY OUT!!! Go check it out for yourself and see what you think!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: -Whittall is a wonderful writer, a new writer for me. The stories are about mostly queer women/non-binary people as they navigate relationships and aging. They are not inter-related but build upon similar themes. The stories are beautifully crafted with strong character development and insights. They are not light reading, despite their relative brevity. I appreciate her excellent writing.

Well written with important, sensitive themes treated with the seriousness they deserve.

The book largely didn't work for me, not due to fault in the narratives, however, but due to taste. I often have a hard time connecting with characters in short stories, and sadly this didn't give me enough to break that habit, even as close to home as some of the stories are.

That said, I would still recommend, to the right audience.

*Review provided by NetGalley & Random House - Ballantine*

Whittall’s latest book is a short story collection centering on (mostly) queer relationships. Most of the protagonists struggled with a variety of mental health challenges and their relationships were complicated. Though I generally enjoy short stories, these left me wanting more. I don’t need stories to have a satisfying conclusion, but many of the stories ended abruptly. I am a fan of Whittall’s beautiful prose, but perhaps I was not the audience for this collection.

My thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in any way.

This book had to have been therapeutic for the author. There's a lot laid out on these pages and the stories hit on a number of themes. And, as many short stories do, they end. Often with precious little understanding of what the heck just happened. Not saying they're bad stories, they're actually written well and the main characters are well-crafted despite the small timeframe you're given them. I just don't really "get it" if that makes any sense.

This was a really quick, very well written book of short stories with a thread through all of them of feminism and queerness. I really enjoyed this easy read and found some of the stories funny, some heartbreaking. This was a great introduction to Zoe Whittall and I will definitely be reading more from her.

Big Zoe Whittall fan here, and not just because she writes about things so close to my heart. Like being a queer woman, and mental health struggles, and living in Ontario!

This was a really great collection of short stories. I would like to meet Zoe and say wow holy shit you made me feel so seen, the way you write about living with anxiety felt pulled from my own brain.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc. I will continue to read everything Whittall writes and feel bummed that I'm out of the province for the Kingston Writers Fest.

If you enjoy short stories, I cannot recommend Wild Failure enough. I found each story to be so unique and enjoyable. Short story collections are newer for my shelf but this one was so good.

I’m usually a big short story fan. But some of these were a hit or miss. There are some stories that I skipped over halfway but the ones I did like, I really enjoyed. So perhaps readers might find some stories here that they like.

Some stories were so sad that they were funny. But I did feel taken in by the humanity in each story. This is about being woman. Being queer. Being a person in today’s world that makes it so easy to disconnect while being seemingly connected at every moment of every day.