Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bottle Rocket Hearts | 2007 | Zoe Whittall | Buy |
| 2 | Holding Still For As Long As Possible | 2009 | Zoe Whittall | Buy |
| 3 | The Middle Ground | 2010 | Zoe Whittall | Buy |
| 4 | The Best Kind of People | 2016 | Zoe Whittall | Buy |
| 5 | The Spectacular | 2021 | Zoe Whittall | Buy |
| 6 | The Fake | 2023 | Zoe Whittall | Buy |
| 7 | Wild Failure: Stories | 2024 | Zoe Whittall | Buy |
Zoe Whittall’s seven standalone novels and story collections span from 2007 to 2024. Her debut, Bottle Rocket Hearts (2007), is a love story set in Montreal’s queer punk scene. Holding Still For As Long As Possible (2009) follows three Torontonians navigating gender, emergency medicine, and post-9/11 anxiety. The Middle Ground (2010) continued her exploration of urban Canadian life.
The Best Kind of People (2016) was her breakout novel, asking hard questions about how families cope when a loved one faces serious accusations. The Spectacular (2021) stretches across decades to trace a family’s women through changing social norms. The Fake (2023) examines deception and the desire to be seen as a victim. Wild Failure: Stories (2024) is her most recent work, collecting short fiction that shares her novels’ interest in how people construct and destroy their self-images.