Just Finished Reading: Weird Girl and What's His Name

Weird Girl and What's His Name

by Meagan Brothers
To be published on October 13, 2015
by Three Rooms Press

Source: ARC from the publisher for review

Synopsis from Goodreads: In the tiny podunk town of Hawthorne, North Carolina, seventeen-year-old geeks Lula and Rory share everything—sci-fi and fantasy fandom, Friday night binge-watching of old X-Files episodes, and that feeling that they don’t quite fit in. Lula knows she and Rory have no secrets from each other; after all, he came out to her years ago, and she’s shared with him her “sacred texts”—the acting books her mother left behind after she walked out of Lula’s life. But then Lula discovers that Rory—her Rory, who maybe she’s secretly had feelings for—has not only tried out for the Hawthorne football team without telling her, but has also been having an affair with his middle-aged divorcee boss. With their friendship disrupted, Lula begins to question her identity and her own sexual orientation, and she runs away in the middle of the night on a journey to find her mother, who she hopes will have all the answers.

My take: As a blogger, it's fun to weigh in on all the same books everyone else is reading. But there's nothing more rewarding than being able to talk about a great book that might not be on everyone's radar. I've been a big fan of Meagan Brothers since her debut novel, Debbie Harry Sings In French.

My Meagan Brothers ARC collection!

I also read and enjoyed her second book, Supergirl Mixtapes. But I think that Weird Girl and What's His Name is her best book yet -- and my favorite.

Like Debbie Harry Sings in French, Weird Girl and What's His Name falls into the LGBTQ category (adding the Q because there's a good amount of Q in the book.) I'm always on the lookout for diverse books, and if you are too, this is a great pick. Also high on my list are YA books that draw on universal experiences and emotions.  Weird Girl and What's His Name deals with issues all readers can relate to -- identity and family, friendship and heartbreak.  Growing up, did you have a best-best friend? Someone you shared inside jokes with? Someone who got you the way no one else got you before or since? Rory and Lula are those kind of friends. They've bonded over the fact that they're both outcasts in their small town, and over The X-Files. I never watched the show, but still loved the way that it was incorporated into the story, and the way that Rory and Lula's changing relationship paralleled that of Scully and Mulder. I loved all the relationships in this book and there were so many great ones: best friends, mother-daughter relationships, student-teacher relationships, grandparents and step-parents, awkward almost-romances and bad-idea-romances and then a romance-with-possibilities.

I was reading this when along came someone I know who's .... well, let's just call her Picky Reader. She thinks a lot of YA is fluffy and not very well-written, and I'm constantly showing her books that make her reconsider her position. It's the least I can do...

Picky Reader: "What are you reading?"
Me: (Holds up Weird Girl and What's Her Name)
Picky Reader: (Takes book.) "Uh... that's a pretty strange title. And I don't love the cover..."
Me: "Just read a few pages."
Picky Reader: (Finally quiet) "Hey, this is good. Can I borrow it?"

Don't make Picky Reader's mistake. If you're a fan of moving, emotionally complex books about identity and friendship, books like Will Grayson, Will Grayson or This Song Will Change Your Life or Fangirl, you've got to try this! And then come back and tell me what you thought...

P.S. If you're an X-Files Fan, what do you think about the new episodes??