This was sort of a weird book for me because I liked the premise more than the execution. This was a love triangle story that wasn't too bad in terms of love triangles, but Cam spend most of the book monologging, that I felt none of the characters really had any sort of depth or dimension to them, and the plot was sort of non-existent. I don't think there was any real growth or chemistry between Cam and either love interest. I knew who he was going to pick from the start, but the way the book played out, it seemed to come out of nowhere, almost. I think I would have liked this a lot better if there was more development of the characters and more time spent with them.

His sneakers squeaked on the linoleum floor as he made his way to his next class. The hallways were filled with students rushing around, lockers slamming, laughter flowing. It was all a mindless melting pot of personalities… until she appeared and he couldn’t help but smile.

The Wrong Kind of Weird is a YA contemporary following Cameron as he navigates high school and the relationships he’s found himself in.

I wanted to love this book… but it just didn’t work for me. The constant internal monologue for our main character was overwhelming and I felt no emotion or chemistry for not only the character himself, but the relationships and friendships in his life. The dialogue was cringey and I was really bored throughout most of this story. Also the constant explanation of Pokémon and Dragonball Z was just not something I was interested in.

If you like YA novels dealing with high school drama, the theater scene, and anime… then you may enjoy this read.

The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos is a fun YA book that focus on a love triangle and high school tropes of the geeks and the popular kids and finding your place.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This a pretty good young adult novel. I liked the setting and the characters. Thank you publisher and netgalley for the chance to read this one early.

Reading a YA Contemporary with a male protagonist, penned by a male author, was a refreshing change, especially in a genre typically dominated by female leads and writers. Cameron, as the main character, was exceptionally well-crafted and relatable. His struggles with high school dynamics, navigating relationships across different social groups, and the challenges of teenage decision-making due to hormonal influences were all portrayed realistically.

Karla, as a character, grew on me over time. However, I was disappointed that she chose to keep her relationship with Cameron a secret until he gained popularity and her friends approved of him. If she had been brave enough to be open about their relationship from the start and not tried to change him, things might have been different. That said, I was quite pleased with how her relationship with Cameron didn’t work out, as I was rooting for Mackenzie from the beginning. Mackenzie and Cam had their issues to work through, but once they stopped resisting friendship and embraced their compatibility, they were a great match. Mackenzie's self-confidence and authenticity positively influenced Cameron, encouraging him to embrace his true self more fully.

I don´t read a lot of books about high schoolers nowaday since i am very much past that stage in life, and i often find myself stressed out by books about high schoolers, HOWEVER, this one was very fun!! I loved the characters, they felt very realistic and mature, i loved the plot, it was an easy, fun read, and well crafted!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Most of this book is great. Fantastic nods to anime and manga, without reading manga and watching anime. I loved the male point of view for wrestling with how to be intimate for the first time. My major issue with this book was the amount of bathroom talk. Like literal bathroom talk. There was a newspaper article written about it. Otherwise this is a fresh take on romance trope.

Cameron Carson may be a proud member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, but there's a secret he's been hiding - he's been hooking up with the popular student council president, Karla Ortega. What started out as a summer fling between coffee shop coworkers quickly turned into a senior year entanglement, but Karla refuses to blend their friend groups. Enter Mackenzie Briggs, an unapologetically herself kind of girl who Cameron finds himself bonding with. As he's snubbed by Karla in public, Cameron starts to question who his true friends are and who he might have the potential to become more with.

Though the love triangle trope may not be the book's strong suit, this YA novel from the perspective of a boy, written by a nonbinary author, is a solid read with good character development. Any lover of YA romances, especially those who are fans of anime and manga, will enjoy this one.

Cameron Carson is a nerd. In fact, he is a member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, and loves all things anime. After spending the summer working at his coffee shop job with Karla Ortega, the student council president, cheerleader, and popular girl, they begin "dating". Except when school starts again for their senior year Karla pretty much pretends Cameron doesn't exist. She can't be seen with a nerd, and he becomes her little secret. But when Cameron meets Mackenzie, he realizes that it's okay to be who you are, talk about the things you love, and not apologize for them. And that's when Mackenzie starts to look very attractive to Cameron...

What I loved about this book: 1) fitting in at high school is hard, and finding your niche is so important. Cameron's actual friends are top notch. 2) Friendships > hook ups. 3) No one is any one thing, everyone is multifaceted and suppressing parts of yourself to fit in only hurts you. 4) High school is the jumping off point for the next chapter in a young adult's life and not the deciding factor of who/what you are. 5) The ending! It was a great, mature, positive stance to take for two young people.

All the anime summaries really slowed the story for me. Retelling an anime plot over and over to describe a character trait got old.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Finally a YA/high school book that didn't drive me up a wall. Over the last couple years, most YA books just aggravate me. Maybe I'm just too far removed from my high school days. Maybe I can't tolerate immature teenagers. But this book and its characters just felt so real, each with their own flaws and secrets.

This YA if full of drama and fun! If you're looking for a high school read with lots of complications going on, this might be for you. :)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

OMG. I love this book so much. Yes, I am not a teenager reading YA but this book brought me back to high school with all the good feels and bad memories. lol. It was funny, smart, sweet, and just awesome. This was just a fun read and I couldn't recommend it more.

I really enjoyed The Wrong Kind of Weird. This was just an enjoyable YA novel about a teenager that thinks he wants the popular girl, but really likes the “nerdy” girl and doesn’t want to admit it. This trope has obviously been done before, but these characters are so likable it didn’t bother me at all and I couldn’t put the book down. I would definitely recommend it to any YA lover!

Funny and heartwarming I can’t recommend it enough for someone looking for a fun YA read! Extra points for diversity

'The Wrong Kind of Weird' is the sort of book I wish had existed when I was a teenager. The amount of diversity and representation was so nice to see and would have been a welcome bit of validation for so many of the people I knew growing up. Ramos also captured the complex task of learning relationship dynamics during that age really well. As a fellow "weird kid", I liked how much nerdiness ran throughout the book, but I did feel like some of the explanations of background for the nerdy references were a smidge overwrought.

Title: The Wrong Kind of Weird
Author: James Ramos
Release Date: January 3rd, 2023
Page Count: 286
Format: Netgalley
Start Date: December 26th, 2022
Finish Date: December 31st, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

This was a very unique book in my opinion. It starts out with our main character, Cameron continuing a tryst that started in the summer with popular girl. They have both managed to keep it a secret somehow. Probably because they don't hang out with the same circles, and everybody thinks that she's still involved with somebody else. I really enjoyed reading the story and seeing the struggles of Cameron. It was really wonderful to watch his growth as the story continues on. I won't say too much because I'd rather everybody read this book rather than spoiling it for anybody. I also can't get over how amazing this cover looks! I wound up getting my hands on an audio copy that I plan to listen to down the road. I'd love to meet the author and get a signed copy down the road as well! I love their writing style and can't wait to see what else they have in store for us!

While there are definitely enjoyable aspects of this book, I did not feel connected to the main characters. They had some depth, but still didn't feel fleshed out. Because of this, I felt like of distant and not invested in whether it worked out for them. That being said, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to a teen reader looking for a love triangle story.

Dazzling and funny while tackling some important topics, ‘The Wrong Kind of Weird’ by James Ramos was a fantastic novel from start to finish, and I highly recommend it!

Cameron (who is a nerd) is hooking up with Karla (popular girl), it's supposed to be a summer time fling but goes into their senior year. Although they are hooking up Karla does not acknowledge Cameron because of their different status in school. Along comes a new girl (Mackenzie) who is not afraid to be herself and suddenly Cameron is questioning everything. I though this book had promise but it failed to hold my interest. I just didn't feel like I could connect to any of the characters. Thank you #NetGalley for my copy.