Jaz Baker’s Reviews > The Best Short Stories 2025: The O. Henry Prize Winners > Status Update
Jaz Baker
is 40% done
Finished story #8. It was very interesting. At first I liked how metaphorical it was because I’m a sucker for how other people relay things with “deeper meaning”. But then I realized it’s more than metaphors, it’s both fantasy and the exact same world we live in. It made me angry a lot, for Emma. A kind of personal anger tbh. I’m not entirely sure how I feel tbh.
— Jan 17, 2026 10:17PM
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Jaz Baker
is 70% done
#14 oh my god. Truly truly devastating. The raw emotion I’m feeling right now is what I expect out of 2025’s best short stories. So devastating, so true, so real.
— 16 hours, 15 min ago
Jaz Baker
is 65% done
#13. I’m starting to curb my enthusiasm about these stories. I guess just because it’s ’best of 2025’ doesn’t mean I’ll love them all. Out of 13 so far I’ve probably been impressed with about 3/4. They’re all very well written. I like the snippets of lives I would otherwise know nothing about but I’m not left with anything to consider about said lives.
— Jan 26, 2026 10:40AM
Jaz Baker
is 60% done
#12. At the end my first thought was “…that’s nice sweetie.” I actually really liked the dialogue but the ending? The beginning? Maybe I’m missing something. I guess the beginning was to show where Kevin came from and what his father was like. The end was lacking any/every thing. Not sure why it’s on this list of bests.
— Jan 22, 2026 06:43PM
Jaz Baker
is 55% done
#11 I thought the author did a really good job of portraying a “trapped” feeling. Except when someone or something dies. 4.85/5
— Jan 21, 2026 10:13AM
Jaz Baker
is 50% done
#10. I feel two ways. 1) it wasn’t spectacular 2) for the story it was and who the narrator is, it couldn’t have been told better.
— Jan 20, 2026 05:55PM
Jaz Baker
is 45% done
#9. I liked this one. It says a lot about how life is or can be for someone like Calypso. Her conflicting and conflicted Ma, her hard little sister (my fave), creepy older men, puberty. Beautifully written I think.
— Jan 19, 2026 04:41PM
Jaz Baker
is 35% done
Seventh story down. I just keep saying awww over and over again. So sweet and endearing. I found lots of depth in the parts that referenced the old boss and that building. I can certainly see how this story made the list.
— Jan 13, 2026 05:02PM
Jaz Baker
is 30% done
Sixth story down. This one was very..ruminating. I can’t say I’ve thought about the passage of time and life this way. How the valley of “things” is so much more vast between me and my grandma than the one between her and her grandma. The way he talked about his hobbies was interesting too, tied in with the military stuff I guess.
— Jan 10, 2026 01:32PM
Jaz Baker
is 25% done
Fifth story down. Wow how sad. The writing kind of reminds me of my own writing. Like the kind of writing I do when I’m so overly full of emotions and feelings that I can only write in short, powerful bursts or words. I have a feeling like I might need to reread this one. The ending kind of made me gasp and go “….oh.”
— Jan 09, 2026 04:30PM
Jaz Baker
is 20% done
Fourth story done. Not my favorite so far. The very last line was a tiny bit interesting (but also not really). The writing was solid. The story was fine but I can’t fathom how it ended up in the best of 2025. Maybe it’s because I had a hard time relating to the characters? But I didn’t get any deeper meaning past the surface and the surface was boringly mundane.
— Jan 08, 2026 04:57PM
