How to Steal a Train by M.C. Schmidt is a beautifully crafted collection of stories that captures the messy, hilarious, and deeply human moments of everyday life. Each story offers something real—whether it’s characters navigating identity, confronting the roles they play in their daily lives, or simply trying to make sense of the world around them.

What stood out most to me was how grounded and relatable these stories felt. There's something refreshing about reading characters who are actively figuring themselves out—flawed, confused, and funny in the most authentic ways. Schmidt’s ability to balance humor with emotional insight is remarkable. More than once, I found myself laughing out loud, only to pause a moment later thinking, "Wait—what just happened?" only to read on and start laughing again.

This collection is sharp, witty, and surprisingly poignant. I truly enjoyed the experience and fully intend to revisit these stories. Highly recommend for readers who appreciate humor that hits close to home and writing that gently (and sometimes not-so-gently) nudges at the complexities of being human.

In this collection of short stories, many of our protagonists are stuck and are trying to find ways to free themselves and move forward in their lives again.

I really, really enjoyed reading this collection. The author packs so much personality and so much character progression into such a small space. I love when short story collections have threads connecting them together, and the ones in this collection were excellent. "The Middle Distance," in which a woman gets stuck climbing up a tree, is particularly memorable. "How to Steal a Train" was a smart, heartwarming note to end on. I loved that so many of the main characters made active choices to improve their lives, no matter how big or small those actions might've been.

Great writing, great characters, great plots and progression. I'm so glad to have read this.

This review has been cross-posted to GoodReads. Thank you to NetGalley and the Anxiety Press for the opportunity to read and review!

This was such a fun and sort of nostalgic collection. All of these stories were previously published in other publications but are now compiled into one set. All of them were so well-written and had amazing character development despite the short length of them all. They were all amusing, nostalgic, and heartfelt.

This was amazing! The authors character development in so few words is brilliant! You leave each story feeling as if you have made a friend! A must read!

A unique, funny and affecting collection. The writing is strong and the characters are memorable. The Middle Distance is my favorite story here, I think..