I LOVED THIS BOOK. I felt the dynamics of students felt authentic and realistic. I appreciated the sincerity, the silliness, and the realities of being a teenager. I felt that Ramos was able to appeal both to current teens and to adults. The characters were great and I enjoyed the dynamics. High school English teacher approved!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am currently withholding my review in support of the Harper Collins Union Strike. I will update when union workers have received a fair agreement.

thanks for letting me read this one it was a good book but sometimes felt like i couldnt keep up with the back and forth of the future and present and i wasnt super invested in the story line but overall it would be a great book for young adults who are astill in high school

Thank you to Inkyard Press for the ARC of The Wrong Kind of Weird. Personally I was really excited to read this as it reminded me of one of my fave books, "Charming As a Verb' . While Ramos' writing style is great, I struggled to stay invested with the story line. I would still recommend this book to those who are looking for good young Black men representation, but personally it is not for me.

I have never before read a book where the main character’s nerdiness feels so realistic.

That’s one of my favorite things about The Wrong Kind of Weird. How our main character, Cameron, is in love with Dragon Ball, and how it comes up in every aspect of his life. Even though I grew up watching anime, I was never interested enough in the idea of Dragon Ball to watch it, but this book had me really considering whether I should pick it up solely because Cameron loves it so much.

I also really liked how this book balances being so nerdy while also trying to relate to readers who may not be as in the know of these things. A lot of references are casually mentioned, but also explained well enough for readers who don’t understand to pick up on what this book is talking about. At no point does it feel like this book is trying too hard to relate to both sets of people, easily bridging the gap between otakus and non-otakus.

As someone who really likes banter, I also really enjoyed the relationship between Cameron and Mackenzie, one of his love interests. They had the perfect amount of snark for each other for me to immediately go “oh, I like this girl” and really care for seeing their story play out.

But one of the biggest things I liked about this book was the lesson. Throughout the story, Cameron learns that everyone is a little weird. Everyone has something they’re a big fan of that may not be universally liked, and that “being popular” and having friends isn’t so much not being weird, but rather being confident and unapologetic in who you are.

This is definitely a book I will be recommending to a large variety of people!

I got an ARC of this book.

So I get the idea of the book. I really do. I really liked parts of it. I enjoyed the Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z information. I knew exactly what was happening, because of my own love of the series. I loved the nerd stuff so much. My issue is I just don't understand why the MC ended up choosing the way he did. It made zero sense. There was no build up. If the book was about him choosing himself instead of someone who said things like how it isn't ok to make something your whole personality, yes. Instead it is a weird love triangle.

The queer characters felt thrown in. They didn't really have plots or reasons to exist most of the time. I wanted more building up of them. I loved the idea of them, but they just didn't go anywhere.

Overall, eh. It is great to see hardcore fans get some page time. I just wish the plot was more engaging and the ending felt more inline with the characters.

I enjoyed this book. I really liked the characters and could relate to some of them. I would definitely recommend this book.

uh. I loved this book. This book about manga-reading, anime-watching, cosplay-creating (self-proclaimed) geeks, nerds and dorks. I loved it. Who’d have thought???
I really dug the pacing of the book and I loved that the characters are real and flawed and, thus, MUCH more interesting. It was a great eye-opener, too, regarding type-casting in books and in life. Great read. 💜📚

Thanks netgalley and the publisher for this opportunity to read and review The Wrong Kind of Weird.

As a huge nerd myself, the idea of this book really speaks to me. I loved all the nerdy references. I really didn’t love Karla tho and her indecisiveness.

The friendships in this book come off as real and flawed. But you can tell these characters truly care for each other. It’s a great book for someone struggling with identity and where they fit in the status quo. A coming of age tale that’s modern enough to keep your attention.

My only criticism would be that it seemed to jump around a bit and sometimes I was confused if we were in the past or present.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The Wrong Kind of Weird was such a delightful and fun read that brings you back to high school. It was so realistic and cute, coming of age story. I would love to see this turned into a TV show or movie.

Great friendship groups!

I could not help but feel for Cameron and all his friends. Oh the hardships of high school. How far should one go to fit in?

I think is a really good representation of high school and the different cliches within it.
Cameron is hooking up with the most popular girl in school and has to keep it a secret. He finds out how things can blow up in your face when you're keeping a secret. And how it might mess up another good thing that you have going on.
I didn't love the characters. I am glad they grew and changed throughout the book.
I think teens will like it and be able to see themselves in someone represented in the book.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Such a cute book! Cameron, Karla and MacKenzie are brilliantly my favorite characters. So relatable and easy to love! The story just brings you back to high school with all the different cliques, awkwardness and funny moments. I loved every bit of this! Stuff got so juicy and interesting near the ending as well. I just had to read this in one sitting. Easily a 4.5 star book!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

Unfortunately, I abandoned this book. I wanted to like it and thought it may be a great read for my "geeky/anime" group of kiddos...but the language was off-putting (building in the shape of a penis) and I found teens hitting each other up on Facebook to be unbelievable. Few, if any, use that platform any more. I just couldn't find it in me to keep reading.

I am kind of a nerd. When the opportunity came up to read an ARC of The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos and the description says that the main character is a member of the Geeks and Nerds United club, I snatched up the opportunity faster than my middle school bullies could call me a nerd.

Cameron Carson is a member of the Geeks and Nerds United (G.A.N.U.) club at school. Karla Ortega is student body president and all around popular girl. They belong to two different social circles - ones that kind of hate each other. During the summer before their senior year begins, they find themselves working at a local coffee shop together and one thing leads to another. What was supposed to be just a summer fling becomes something more as the two continue to sneak around during the school year. As Cameron tries to find a way to ingratiate himself with Karla's friends and make it more "appropriate" for the two to publicly date, he finds himself drawn to newcomer Mackenzie Briggs, who isn't afraid to be herself no matter what others think of her.

The nerd representation in this book was amazing. There were debates about manga vs. anime and, subsequently, subbed vs. dubbed anime. At one point, a character goes off on a tangent about the Hand Flex Scene (capitalization added by the author, not me, but I agree with it) from 2005's Pride & Prejudice starring Keira Knightley (if you know, you know). It felt like I was once again sitting and listening to my bestie go on and on about why it was the superior adaptation of the novel based on that one scene alone.

This novel was dedicated to the geeks, nerds, and dorks and it really shows. It read like a love letter to those who felt like outcasts growing up because of their love of all things fandom. To put the cherry on top, most (if not all, my memory storage is at a -10gb since having a kid) of the characters were people of color. As someone who grew up in a community and went to a school where people of color were the majority, it was so incredibly relatable and brought such nostalgia.

For anyone who grew up being bullied for the things they loved (or are currently being bullied), The Wrong Kind of Weird is the kind of story that will help you heal and will empower you to be unapologetically loud about the things you hold dear. As Cameron navigates the social ladder of high school, he slowly and unconsciously learns about the things that actually matter - in the grand scheme of life as well as to him personally. He finds himself swept up in the exhilaration of being in this secret relationship and tries to change himself to fit into a mold that wasn't made for him. When he finally reaches the other side of the whirlwind, it hits in a way that makes you want to travel back in time, throw this book at your younger self, and sit there until they finish reading it so you can save yourself some of the pain to come.

I have next to zero complaints about this beautiful coming of age story. Each of the characters had their distinct personalities, all the relationships were complex and fleshed out, and even the "bad guys" (for lack of a better term) were characters that I cared about. I honestly spent the majority of the time while I was reading wishing that the author was my friend in real life. My only complaint is a brief moment where they dissed oatmeal raisin cookies and I wanted to throw hands, but overall, I really just wanna be besties with them. James, if you are reading this, LET'S BE FRIENDS! (I promise not to bring you oatmeal raisin cookies - mostly because I will have already eaten them all.)

The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos is available for preorder now and will hit shelves January 3, 2023.

While this story was cute and I did enjoy reading it, there were some things that went over my head. It was very catered to a certain group of people with specific interests that I unfortunately know nothing about.

One of my favorite things about being a part of the book community is when a book arrives in the mail that you didn't know was coming, but had been eyeing on your want-to-read list. Sometimes it's just like a sign to stop everything and devour the book as soon as it arrives, and that's precisely what I did with this one!

I had never read anything by James Ramos, but I assure you they will be an author to watch for sure! This contemporary romance grabbed me with the incredible colorful cover and a great synopsis. The writing and characters took it on home for me in a delightful story that constantly had me noticing how well-written and thought-out the plotline was. From the Jane Austen tie-ins with the play and theming of the book, they had me hooked and I can't wait to recommend this one to teens, this title just had so much to offer.

Thank you to Inkyard Press for the physical ARC to read and review, it's always an honor to get to read titles from publishers releasing such incredible titles for our young adults! Books like this one always have such an important place in my heart knowing I can pass them along and recommend them to readers who need stories they relate to like this one.

Everyone needs to read this book!!! I’ve seen this book quite a number of times on my bookstagram and finally decided that it was one I needed to read. I’m really glad I did. What a beautiful and inspiring story. Overall this book was just crafted spectacularly from the characters to the plot to the romance. Love everything from James Ramos.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

3.5 stars! This is a hard one to rate for me. There are a lot of things I liked, but a few things that brought it down. The characters were very charming, Karla was a real standout to me! The dialogue felt very natural, and the humor was mostly pretty good! The big fault of this book is that the type of pop culture references were a bit niche. There was a lot of references to Dragon Ball, One Punch Man, and Studio Ghibli. Overall a solid read, but it is definitely geared to a niche audience

Thank you to Inkyard Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Wrong Kind of Weird is a story following 3 High School Students. There’s Cameron who is eccentric, quirky,and unpopular, Karla who is the queen bee and all around it girl and MacKenzie who is sweet and wears her heart on her sleeve.

During Summer breaks Cameron hooks up with Karla as a summer fling. Fast forward to senior year the two haven’t seemed to end their fling. Karla and Cameron aren’t blending friend group. Actually they are like oil and vinegar to everyone in the school.

Then comes MacKenzie who is a real friend to Cameron and the two start bonding. Cameron starts to wonder who may be more than a friend especially after Karla continuously snubs him.

This is a cute coming of age story. With the characters finding their own worth and exhibiting the way high schools are cliqued up. It gives you a look into high schoolers way of life. With totally relatable characters and situations. Plenty of times there have been unexpected couples and drama in a high school setting. It’s overall a really good story.