Whimsy: A Novella

by Shannon McLeod

Years after an accident that kills her college roommate and leaves her disfigured, Whimsy is still struggling to live with a face that betrays the traumas of her past.

Whimsy is a 7th grade teacher in Metro Detroit; her insecurities are compounded by her students, who never pass up a chance to humiliate her. However, when Whimsy meets Rikesh, a journalist who writes a human interest piece about her crash, she finally feels happiness is possible. Though he is emotionally unavailable, Whimsy is stuck on pursuing Rikesh, and they use one another to project what they lack. As she struggles with self-doubt in their courtship, at work, and in her friendships, she considers the ways her own perceptions of her physical appearance have shaped her reality.

Winner of the Wild Onion Novella Contest

"Whimsy is lonesome and poignant, and even a bit funny, too. Shannon McLeod has written a moving, authentic portrait of a young woman at the start of her adult life, wrestling with its unfairness and unease. McLeod's heroine longs to be seen fully, and with compassion, but can't yet see herself that way, and it's compelling to watch her move through the world.”
— Edan Lepucki, New York Times Bestselling Author of California

“Shannon McLeod’s writing is funny, raw, and ultimately intimate and tender.”
— Bryan Hurt, author of Everyone Wants to Be Ambassador to France

“In her tough and surprising debut novella, Shannon McLeod makes her nuanced observations feel inevitable. With steady restraint and immaculate pacing, rendered in only the simplest of strokes, it builds and builds to finally rupture so much greater than the sum of its parts.”
— Tim Kinsella, author of Sunshine on an Open Tomb

“The women in Shannon McLeod’s debut story collection, Whimsy, are reminiscent of the women in Mary Miller’s Big World and Roxane Gay’s Difficult Women; young American women navigating a new world of female aloneness and autonomy, an aloneness in turns empowering and dizzying, battling society and men and themselves for feelings of self-worth and deservedness, battling the stillness of autonomy.”
— Elizabeth Ellen, author of Person/a: a novel

174 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2021

Reviews

[Martha Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

How beautiful

[Rachel Krantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well-written novella about the impacts of negative self-image, and how it is as much in the eye of the beholder as beauty. Very readable, insightful, and kind-hearted without being in any way cheesy.

[Star Wuerdemann]

WHIMSY is one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time. The main character, Whimsy, is portrayed with grace and grit, and the author, Shannon McLeod, employs impeccable timing for allowing her story to unfold. I was gripped from the first paragraph. The story is about scars, physical and emotional, and the vulnerability of living with your scars on full display. Somehow, it is an intimate story told from a character for whom intimacy is difficult. Brava.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I knew nothing about this story before I agreed to read it, and was absolutely delighted by it.

[Lora Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

picked this up on a whim (pun intended) in asheville fall of 2022. it was small and fit in my carry on and something about it’s simplicity (both the cover and the title) called to me. i let it slip through the cracks but finally opened it up. i enjoyed the author’s writing style and the novella was definitely a “slice of life”. i’m curious to know more about the main character and the author’s inspiration behind the story!

[Erin Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written and moving novella with a young female protagonist who is easy to empathize with. The ways in which Whimsy deals with the aftermath of her accident are engaging and authentic, and she is as filled with rage as she is with the need to be loved and recognized by those around her. I particularly loved how she navigated her first year of teaching and how McLeod let Whimsy make mistakes in both her professional and personal lives without seeming to feel the need to correct those mistakes or push Whimsy towards a false-seeming happy ending. This is a truly profound book, a perfectly paced story that plumbs the depths of what it means to be a flawed human living on this flawed planet. Highly recommended!

[Antonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really connected with the small but genuine details of Whimsy’s internal thought. The things we think and do when we are alone. Whimsy, whose character navigates the relationship between trauma, self worth, pride and vulnerability, feels like your friend. Whether or not you have ever experienced a trauma that entrenched the sensible reality of your self worth, you will still find relatability.

[Jeffrey Yamaguchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsy by Shannon McLeod is a wonderful novella, an emotional story about a young woman who is dealing with scars both internal and external. A tragedy has happened in the past, a traumatic experience that haunts her — but the dramatics of that event and the immediate aftermath are in the distance. What this story explores is the quiet echoes and jagged ripples of guilt that continue to impact how she experiences and perceives where she's at right now — the usual goings on in life — work, dating, family. I was impressed with this exploration — so thoughtful and raw and nuanced. Most definitely worth a read.

[Franco Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel about a young teacher trying to navigate life and her trauma as the survivor of a car accident that killed her college roommate. This book was really sweet. And really heart-wrenching. I read it in one sitting at the park and didn't want it to end. Although, I actually love the way it does end; with quiet detail that makes you know Whimsy and her love interest, Rikesh, more deeply.

As the spouse of a teacher, I'd just like to say that this novella meant a great deal to me. Reading Whimsy's daily struggles with school administrators while also being expected to do a very difficult job made the book familiar. I hope people who read it will get a glimpse into what public school teachers experience.

[Anne Greenawalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem! I read this in two sittings because it was so readable (not to be confused with an easy read). The character is anxious and awkward in a way that's almost uncomfortable, but she's also honest, with so many likeable and relatable moments that it's easy to empathize with her. McLeod carefully crafts each scene to show the character's life, her vulnerabilities, and her strengths. While reading, I highlighted so many poignant phrases and ideas so I could return to them; for example, the character does something as simple as burn frozen waffles in the toaster, but it says so much about her and her emotions at that moment. Wonderful writing.

[scout · Rating 4 out of 5]

so my teacher let me borrow this book she’s been telling me about it for about a year and this is her nephew’s wife’s book. this book honestly was pretty good. it’s felt basic in a way to me it not necessarily had an extreme plot I’d say. but i did really appreciate the simple moments that the main character went through. this book was kinda depressing at times the made character just felt miserable. it kind of brought your mood down but it didn’t make you cry. it made me feel sometimes embarrassed because the main character felt extremely pathetic at times. but I really appreciated these emotions that was brought out in me. so thank you mrs gielle!

-scout

[Jocelyn]

enjoyed being in the world of Whimsy, a young protag teacher with the sandpapery face, who preforms insecurities and occasionally, modern dance moves. I appreciated the threaded together story structure too, and the lovely design, inside and out, of this skinny orange and black debut.

[Josh Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exemplary novella that accomplishes. An intimate narrative with language that ensnares, pacing that satiates. Each story, or chapter, are what make Whimsy both the storyteller and the story. McLeod can do it all in under 200 pages. A stunning debut.

[J. Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really beautiful novella with precise writing. Worth adding to your bookshelf.

[Shannon Shipley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up in a free box. Warm, sprinkled with laughs and melody. Enjoyable

[Ilene Goldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saved this novella for my first plane ride since the pandemic began and I'm glad I did. From the first page, Whimsy engrossed me with her loneliness, neuroses, and authenticity. Whimsy is a 7th grade teacher in the Detroit area who struggles with the trauma of a car accident that left her disfigured and her college roommate dead. Like Shelby in Alice Hoffman's Faithful, Whimsy has to put her life back together; but the physical reminder of the accident are ever-present.

More than the visible scars, Whimsy is emotionally paralyzed by the emotional baggage. Or maybe the emotional baggage was always there.

McLeod's prose is poetic and precise. Her characters blossom and recede like a night-blooming flower--showing more of who they are in the darker moments. Whimsy navigates romance, and is ultimately forced to reckon with how her perception of her appearance differs from others', and what that means for love and self-love.

I just adored this book, for the humor and love and even judgment McLeod brings to her narration of Whimsy. And, if I'm being honest, because it reminded me so much of Faithful in the magic of the storytelling while being utterly different in feeling and sentiment.

[Micayla McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice slice of life with very fluid writing. The author has an excellent voice and smoothness in the way she tell such an interesting story in a short time. However, this book just wasn't for me. It got a little too real for me to handle at times and I know that's exactly what would make this a 5 star book for other readers!

[Rachel Krantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little novella is a highly portable and engrossing beach read. It centers on a very sympathetic character named Whimsy who was facially scarred in an accident — though as the story goes on, the reader is increasingly unsure whether she’s really as disfigured as she believes herself to be. Like the novella’s author Shannon McLeod, Whimsy is a teacher, and this book gives an amusing and genuine look into that profession. It also holds a mirror up to those of us who struggle with body dysmorphia. (So, unfortunately, to some degree, most of us.)

A quote I loved: “He asked me about what it was like to be a teacher. I told him I didn’t have much to compare it to, but that it seemed I had less free time and less money than people with other careers. I was happy when he didn’t reply with any platitudes about it being ‘rewarding.’”

[Chase Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book three times in a row, cover to cover to cover to cover to cover to cover. I highly recommend Whimsy. This addictive book will not only make you laugh and cry, it will shift your perspective and do what great fiction does --> this novel will add years to your life. Read Whimsy over and over and over and get an extra twenty years whydoncha?!

[Kevin Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsy is one of the most honest, accurate portrayals of classroom teaching I've ever encountered. McLeod's writing is insightful, touching, and endlessly engaging.