Title: Wasteland Girls

Author: Anna Bailey

Genre: Short Stories

Publisher: Doubleday

Publication Date: 30th July 2026

Rating: 4.5/5

Cover:

Summary:

These stunningly powerful stories explore the wildness and beauty of the American heartlands, a place where lives are lived on the margins, but also where there is dignity, hope, revenge and restitution.

In ‘Long Way to Come for a Sip of Water’, which was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award, Texan man Ready drives through a divided US to see his dying brother. Wasteland Girls, the title story, is a powerful tale of a family of hoarders, of magic and revenge. In Yukon 1940, a woman sits beside the body of her husband in a remote cabin, trapped by the frozen sea. The Girl in the Ground follows a woman who suddenly reappears after twenty years of absence, but for whom the past is a void. A widower meets a man who should died many times.

Deeply atmospheric and soulful, the stories in Wasteland Girls are inspired by the author’s experience of living amid the beautiful but often ferocious remote landscapes of the US, and among the wild and secretive people who inhabit them. In the vastness of the wilds, anything can happen…

Review:

I don’t tend to read a lot of short story collections, however I always make an exception when an author I’m a big fan of writes them, and I am a huge fan of Anna Bailey’s work. Wasteland Girls manages to achieve something very difficult in short story form which is real depth and scope. This collection is vivid, visceral, and full of characters that, despite only encountering them for a brief period, make a serious impact. There is genuinely not a weak link in this entire collection, every single story left an impression on me and evoked feeling and atmosphere expertly. Bailey is particularly skilled in creating an incredibly strong sense of setting and tone. They manage to paint a picture that is almost overwhelming in its power and realism, capturing loneliness, anger, desire, and occasionally hope with a sharpness that is beautifully immersive. Standout stories for me personally were the titular Wasteland Girls, Riddles, and How to Have Your Children and Eat Them, but as I said,  all of the stories are decisively strong. Whether you often read short stories or not, I highly recommend adding this fantastic book to your TBR list. It is a superbly crafted collection.  

★★★★.5

Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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