3.5 stars

A young adult novel that will appeal to fans of anime, it's the story of Cam and his search for love and acceptance. The plot is good, a little predictable in that it follows a predictable romance trope, but overall I think it will appeal to its fan base. I did like that it was set in Minnesota! I'd give it a rating of R for language, but PG-13 for other content which will be fine for high school age readers.

The Wrong Kind of Weird tells the story of a young man in high school learning what it means to be true to yourself, learning the value of your circle of friends, and embracing what you enjoy doing because you enjoy doing it not because someone else tells you that you should.

I really enjoyed the characters in this one, I also appreciated that the "popular girl" has more depth to her personality than just being popular. I feel like often the pretty, blonde girl is often very one dimensional so it was refreshing to get a different taste of that even if she wasn't necessarily the "main character".

I also really loved all of the pop culture references throughout the book, I've currently been watching Dragon Ball Z with my boyfriend so it was fun to get little details that I understood outside of the stor and could relate to. However, I could see where someone who doesn't understand the references may not prefer it because it was pretty heavy/relevant throughout the text.

Overall, I think this was a really solid coming of age/romance ish book. I loved the drama of high school and it all felt very realistic to things someone that age would be going through. However, I do think the pacing (particularly towards the end) could've used some work.

Still a great read overall and would definitely recommend to people who enjoy YA contemporary. If you enjoyed Don't Read the Comments or You Should See Me In a Crown you will most likely enjoy this one as well!

The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos is a delightful debut filled with some of my favorite tropes: messy love triangles, secret hookups, and more. This book was filled with the lots of YA spark and I loved that it followed a male protagonist for a change.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for giving me an ARC of The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos in exchange for an honest review.

The Wrong Kind of Weird is a story about Cameron who is a self professed geek/nerd who comes to find that he is in a secret relationship with ultra-popular Karla. I was not engaged with the book the whole time I read it. It took a long time to be able to follow the characters and I was not able to relate to anyone in the book.

Thank you to James Ramos, NetGalley and InkYard Press for allowing me a free copy for my review.

The Wrong Kind of Weird follows Cameron Carson who ends up in a messy love triangle between one of the popular girls in school he started to hook up with over the summer and fellow geek Mackenzie. Will he choose Karla who is keeping their relationship a secret while molding him into someone her friends will accept, or Mackenzie who gets him and his interests. Well, I think you probably already know the answer but there are a few predictable bumps along the way.

There is A LOT of detailed anime and manga references in The Wrong Kind of Weird that I skimmed over as it made little sense to me and although it did not take away from the overall feel of the book, it did become a little distracting at times. However, this was balanced out by a lot of Pride and Prejudice references too which I loved, so it goes to show that it just depends on where your personal interests lie.

Overall it was nice to have a male voice in the genre and if you enjoy the love triangle troupe alongside a bit of enemies to lovers, then you should enjoy this. Overall although fairly predictable (as you'd expect), it was well-written and had some great scenes around friendship and sex which will resonate with the audience it was written for.

I would love to write a review once HarperCollins decides to come to the table and negotiate with the HC Union.

James Ramos was a new-to-me author with this new release, but I’ll look forward to more of his works from now on. The Wrong Kind of Weird felt like a very authentic coming-of-age story. I’m not a fan of anime or manga, so there was a lot I skimmed through when it came to those scenes, but it didn’t keep me from finishing the book, nor did it keep me from understanding the overall plot or the main themes. Despite not being unputdownable and with a fairly predictable ending, I felt it was a well-written, well-rounded story overall that kept me entertained when I had time to sit and read. If you’re a fan of teen/young adult coming-of-age stories, I think you’ll enjoy reading this one.

"Maybe we weren't all into the same shit, but we were all geeks about something..."

Although I think this book has a lot of merit, it simply wasn't for me.

But that's okay, because I think it will work for the intended audience: young adult readers. The themes and important takeaways should resonate with those living in the "years of firsts," and hopefully it'll help boost the confidence of anyone dimming their own light in order to fit in. And given the diversity of the cast, the lesson of living your truth hits on multiple levels, which I applaud and appreciated. It's not a new message, but it's a powerful one to learn at any age.

My main problem with this romance revolved around the overall originality of the plot and the actions of our MMC. While it was clear where Cam's arc was going to go, I felt like his evolution was clumsy and confusing. There wasn't a lot shown to indicate why he'd go through these changes of heart -- especially so suddenly -- and it led to a disconnect with my emotional attachment to the characters.

At the end of the day, this novel champions embracing your weird and shows that we're all more connected than we even realize. If you're looking for a book that highlights the geekdom, this one's for you.


Thank you to Inkyard Press for providing me with an earc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Wrong Kind of Weird

Author: James Ramos

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Black MC, Black characters, Character with anxiety, Lesbian character, Queer character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, romance, anime, Pride and Prejudice, contemporary

Publication Date: January 3, 2023

Genre: YA Romance

Age Relevance: 16+ (sexual content, cursing, romance, underage alcohol consumption, drug use)

Explanation of Above: The book talks openly about sex and has some scenes with some sexual content in it. There is cursing and romance in the book. There are a couple of scenes with underage alcohol consumption and one scene of drug use (marijuana).

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Cameron Carson has a secret. A secret with the power to break apart his friend group.

Cameron Carson, member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, has been secretly hooking up with student council president, cheerleader, theater enthusiast, and all-around queen bee Karla Ortega since the summer. The one problem—what was meant to be a summer fling between coffee shop coworkers has now evolved into a clandestine senior-year entanglement, where Karla isn’t intending on blending their friend groups anytime soon, or at all.

Enter Mackenzie Briggs, who isn’t afraid to be herself or wear her heart on her sleeve. When Cameron finds himself unexpectedly bonding with Mackenzie and repeatedly snubbed in public by Karla, he starts to wonder who he can truly consider a friend and who might have the potential to become more…

Review: For the most part I loved that the book. The book talked openly about sex and talked about it from a male perspective. The book did well to discuss the topic openly and on a young adult level. The book featured a back and forth narrative and had a slight Pride and Prejudice backdrop. The book was very well written, engaging, and had great character development.

The only issues I had with the book is that there were a lot of references to different animes and other pop culture moments at the beginning and it was a bit overwhelming. The back and forth narrative aren’t distinctly defined, so it takes a minute to reorient yourself when you’re moved through the time periods. I also thought that the world building of the book could have been better developed.

Verdict: It was good!

Fun teen rom-com with an unapologetically geeky protagonist. Cameron is a proud member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club at school. Karla is the exact opposite, queen bee and student council president. They connect during a summer job, and begin a clandestine relationship. Can a secret relationship ever really be worth it, though? Enter Mackenzie, another member of GANU, who has had a fairly adversarial relationship with Cam... til now. Cam has to come to terms with himself and what he really wants in a relationship in order to be happy by the end of the novel.

I really enjoyed reading this kind of romance from the guy's POV, rather than the girl's. The teen characters are portrayed realistically and have great friendships. It brought me right back to high school. I loved watching Cam grow as a person and discover what's really important to him. Overall, I had a lot of fun with these characters and storylines-- would recommend.

The Wrong Kind of Weird finds Cameron Carson and his best friends members of a school club known as Geeks and Nerd United (GANU). After a clandestine summer romance with coffee shop co-worker Karla Ortega, the schools' queen bee, she and Cam agree to keep their hookups secret, while working together on the school's production of Pride and Prejudice. When he begins bonding over similar geeky interests with Mackenzie Briggs, his former nemesis and newest member of GANU, he wonders if he should end his dalliance with Karla, who continues to snub him in public. Although Cam's romantic entanglements are the focus of the story, the diverse cast of characters (black, Latine, queer, straight) make this an exploration of identity and learning to accept people across the divide of school cliques. The author, a self-proclaimed geek, realistically portrays geek enthusiasm conflicting with the need to fit in.

This book was just okay for me. I thought the premise was interesting and, as a fan of anime, I enjoyed the inclusion of within the book, but the writing style felt dry and formulaic to me. I had a hard time getting lost in the story, but that's more of a personal opinion than anything else. I think anyone who enjoys YA romances with more than one love interest will also enjoy this one.

❇️BOOK REVIEW❇️

The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos
Rating: 3 ⭐️

“Cameron Carson has a secret. A secret with the power to break apart his friend group.

Cameron Carson, member of the Geeks and Nerds United (GANU) club, has been secretly hooking up with student council president, cheerleader, theater enthusiast, and all-around queen bee Karla Ortega since the summer. The one problem—what was meant to be a summer fling between coffee shop coworkers has now evolved into a clandestine senior-year entanglement, where Karla isn’t intending on blending their friend groups anytime soon, or at all.

Enter Mackenzie Briggs, who isn’t afraid to be herself or wear her heart on her sleeve. When Cameron finds himself unexpectedly bonding with Mackenzie and repeatedly snubbed in public by Karla, he starts to wonder who he can truly consider a friend and who might have the potential to become more…”

This was a quick, enjoyable nerdy read. The nerdy references were a little heavy and overdone- but I overall liked the story!

Recommend if you enjoy:
- Found family
- High school social dynamics
- Love triangle
- Anime/manga references
- Pride and Prejudice
- Realistic relationships

Publish date: January 3, 2023 (✨out now!)

Thank you to @netgalley, @inkyardpress and the author for the ARC!

#thewrongkindofweird #bookreview #arcreview #netgalleyreview #books #bookish #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

Cameron is a charter member of the GANU (Geeks and Nerds United) club, and he's super shocked to find himself in a secret romance with his school's super popular It-Girl, Karla. He tries to find a way to make their wildly different friend groups blend, even a little, so they can take their relationship public, but then he meets Mackenzie and starts questioning everything.

I overall enjoyed this story - the message of figuring out who you are and being true to yourself is a good one and the anime/geek content was pretty great (even if I didn't know what 98% of it was). Best for ages 14+

The Wrong Kind of Weird was a funny, awkward and slightly weird YA romance. I loved all of the characters, their personalities and honestly wish I could live in this book.

I did like the plot, however I felt as though the parallels to Pride and Prejudice could be more clear, and start a bit earlier on. The characters all fall into their assorted high school cliches, which is nice, but very typical and I would've wanted to see more of the groups mixing. I also found that the description, while nice, takes you out of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press and the author for allowing me to read an advanced readers copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Cameron is generally pretty good about accepting himself as who he is. He loves anime and so he proudly wears anime shirts to school. Him and his friends even have a group called GANU (geeks and nerds United).
His friends basically hate the “cool” kids though and they assume that the cool kids hate them. One particular cool kid, Lucas, has been picking on Cameron for years.

But Cameron is keeping a secret from everyone. Cameron has been hooking up with one of the coolest girls in school for months in secret. Cameron would never even dream of dating Karla before this past summer. But then Karla and Lucas broke up (again) and Karla started working at the same coffee house as Cameron. They got to know and like each other away from school, away from their cliques.

When school starts back up they either have to keep their situation secret or break things off. It’s not that Karla is embarrassed of Cameron. It’s not. Or is it? Because it’s hard to explain away her hesitation beyond he’s not cool and she is cool.
But, the thing is, Cameron’s friends would hate them dating too. They think the popular kids look down on them and, as a result, they almost pre-emptively dislike all the popular kids.

So Cameron gets the idea in his head that he just has to bridge the gap between the groups. If he can get the popular kids to like him then Karla will be able to admit that her and Cameron are together (not that it’s official, but it could be).

In the meantime though he starts getting to know Mackenzie better. Mackenzie is an official member of GANU. She likes all the same things Cameron likes. He can be himself around her. At first he thinks she dislikes him but it turns out he’s wrong about that. He’s misread her sarcastic personality as unfriendliness.

Which girl will he fall for in the end?

I think there’s some good lessons here about accepting yourself.
I think the biggest problem at the beginning for Cameron and Karla was how their secret hook ups made him feel about himself. If she wants to hook up with him but it’s not ok for anyone to know, then she’s probably not cool with how he comes off at school. And if he’s ok with being her secret then is he accepting himself as he is? It’s something to think about.

There’s also another thought about being with someone you can be yourself around. Someone who likes you as you are and not the version of you that’s cool enough for their friends. But, at the same time, you don’t all have to like anime to be a good couple huh?

I first received an early edition from NetGalley of this book and then won a physical book from BookishFirst.

I liked the characters in this book and the storyline. I liked the subtle Pride and Prejudice comparisons. And I like that the book makes you think about what the characters are going through. The conclusion came on a bit suddenly, I felt like the book flew by.

Cameron is weird. He is a founding member of the Geeks and Nerds United club. Despite that, he's been hooking up with Karla, who is the "It girl". Everyone wants to be her and everyone wants to date her. Obviously, these two friend groups don't and can't mesh. So these two getting together happens only in secret. MacKenzie is new in school and she has no problem being who she is. She's weird too. But also, kind of, cool? Cameron struggles with how much to put up with from Karla, while wondering if him and MacKenzie are friends now. Cameron has a lot of growing up to figure out and needs to learn that there's more than one way to be weird.

This book is definitely a YA book, as it deals with high schoolers. However, it's very readable for adults and not just the cutesy drama-filled kind of YA novel. Cameron is dealing with some real stuff and you find yourself rooting for him in some places, but getting angry at him in others.

Told in two different timelines, we get to see how things started over the summer, to where things ended up around prom time. I'd definitely go ahead and recommend this to pretty much anyone. We all have some weird inside of us.

This book was funny, sarcastic, and endearing. If you have a little bit of weird in you, you're going to love it.

Cam has been secretly hooking up with Karla, the STUCO president, and nobody can know because their friend groups are complete opposites. Cam, part of the multicultural Geek and Nerds United (G.A.N.U), and Karla, part of the most popular group at school, couldn’t be more different. Enter Mackenzie, the new girl at school, and Cam starts to wonder who to choose.

This story was fun but also delved into some deeper and important topics. The author did a really good job and covering these topics while still keeping the book fun. I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but when I do I'm so happy it's books like these.

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #thewrongkingofweird

I don't read a lot of YA but occasionally a blurb intrigues me. I'm always on the lookout for something I can read with a family member and this looked very interesting in that respect, a good book to talk about some of the social things that tend to happen in high school.

Namely, high school popularity. Seems like there is always a group that is at the top of the pecking order and goes out of their way to judge others according to that yardstick. This book captures this perfectly with Cameron Carson's story.

Cameron is your average senior. He's not the most popular, but he has his group of friends. Others might call them nerds for their love of gaming and anime and all sorts of things that I wasn't familiar with having graduated many years ago, but that didn't matter. It was easy to get the idea of the way the lines were drawn here. The story is told in Cameron's point of view and I really liked that about this story. I felt I really got to know him and his life through his eyes. And I liked this character and his group of friends. I felt at home with them.

Things get interesting when he starts a secret relationship with Karla Ortega, one of the most popular girls in school at the same time he is developing a relationship with Mackenzie, the sister of Karla's back-and-forth-ex. It's not as complicated as that sounds and again, I could recall things like this happening in high school, even at my ripe age. 
 
You just know it's going to blow up in his face at any moment, yet, he can't seem to extricate himself. He thinks about dumping Karla until she decides she wants them to lose their virginity together. But he's really compatible with Mackenzie. It's all so dramatic and realistic for the YA crowd. 

A class production of Pride and Prejudice becomes the backdrop for all this drama and I thought the author handled this is a very sweet way as unexpected relationships form.

While it's not a linear telling of the story and it jumps around a bit, I did enjoy Cameron and his friends and thought this story captured the drama that is high school. We all know it. There is a diversity of characters that I really liked the most about this one. Perfect for the YA reader and their friends as it makes for good discussion. Cute story, likeable characters. A good reading experience -- I will be watching for future work from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and HC for granting me access to this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review of this book when the Harper Collins Union strike is over because their needs were met.