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.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I requested The Wrong Kind of Weird based purely on the premise, and as expected, it’s a lot of fun. I also like that it’s not afraid to be a bit messy, with the complicated romantic entanglements, while also tackling deeper themes simultaneously.

I liked how the interactions between the characters felt very non-stereotypical and realistic, for the most part. While you’ve read about these high-school hierarchies before, Ramos makes them feel believable, and you feel invested in the fact that Cameron is troubled by the fact that Karla looks down on him in school due to who he hangs out with, even though she was totally fine hooking up with him over the summer.

I did like that, while Karla does snub him in school, she isn’t portrayed as an all-out villain, and there’s dimension to her and some of her friends, even if it becomes apparent that things may not work for her and Cameron after all. Lucas, her on-off boyfriend, actually being nice to Cameron, also helps.

Mackenzie makes for a great foil for Karla, in that she is incredibly free spirited. While I can’t say I was super blown away with how the romantic arc was executed, I do think they make a great fit together overall.

And while there’s a lot of pop-culture stuff in the book, some of which went completely over my head, I liked how the story applied the broad themes of Pride and Prejudice, even though this isn’t a retelling by any means. I particularly love how Cameron’s observations of Darcy’s arc in regards to his love for Elizabeth seem to somewhat parallel his growing awareness of Mackenzie’s positive attributes.

This is a fun read, and I’d recommend it to fans of Y contemporaries.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher of an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a great read. Very enjoyable experience. Good characters. I can see this becoming a new favorite for people

Cameron is a geek. Even though he knows he's gone up a few steps on the list of boys in his school, he loves his anime, and manga, and friends from his geek club. But he has a secret, he's been hooking up with Karla, one of the It girls, part of the gang who his club consider their rivals. And if that's not weird enough, another member of that group, the jocker who's always bullied, wants to make up for all he's done. As a bonus, Cameron sees his former bully's sister Mackenzie join his club. Even though she seems to hate him, they find more and more in common. 

3.5 rounded up to 4.

The title does its job of making you want to read the book but I don't think it describes it well. I like how Cameron's journey is to fit in his own weirdness, if I were to use the title. Although his weird situation (sorry for the repetition of the word) does bring him a lot of trouble, I can't call it wrong either.

I did take a little long to sympathize with him, though. I was that very kind of teenager, who loved Japanese media, etc, not that I was part of a club, my friends weren't in the popular crowd like Karla's, but I'd say our relationship was more like that, each liking their own thing. So maybe I envied how he'd found his place and yet wasn't satisfied? Also, I never bought his relationship or even his feelings for Karla, so the love triangle failed for me. Last, I didn't understand his problem with Mackenzie, which made it even harder to believe he couldn't see how much happier they were together from the start. As the story goes, however, things fit better. He doesn't argue as much with Mackenzie, so I don't frown seeing through the author's efforts to make me buy that they're enemies, and we start understanding Karla better, and despite still not buying his feelings for her, I did like her, it's a great character. Both girls are. And I grew fond of Cameron, too. 

This story is not strong in the love triangle trope or the enemies to lovers one, but it's still a good YA, from the pov of a boy, and not written by a cis woman, but by a nonbinary author. I love women writing, most of what I read are by them, and I think it's great to get another voice.

 Regardless of genre, it's got solid writing and good development and conclusion, so I recommend it to any lover of YA romances, especially if you're a fan of anime/manga.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

I wish the book focused more on the characters rather than atmospheric descriptions, I found myself getting lost in the atmosphere without properly understanding the characters.
Also the romance felt extremely underdeveloped. This is most likely due to the off pacing. By having there be no romantic interest in the final LI till about 50% in puts the romance at a disadvantage, especially in a story like this

I absolutely loved this book! I 100% would like to be part of the GANU club😍
High school can be tough.. what am I saying it IS tough, and although all of our journeys are different, I loved reading about Cameron and his story.
We can all learn a thing or two from him.. it was funny, it was sad, it gave me all the feels. As high school events usually do. The rollercoaster of emotions.
Already my favorite book of the year so far!!

My Reaction: Super cute, dramatic, and as salaciously cornball-ish as a high school romantic, enemies to friends trope can.

Cameron Carson is the epitome of quirky, nerdy and geeky. He's a member of his school's G.A.N.U. (Geeks and Nerds United) and he knows better than anyone that appearances aren't always what they seem. Cameron has been secretly "hooking-up" with one of the most popular girls in school, Karla Ortega. And no one knows it. They've kept their secret since summer and neither have any intentions to divulge to their respective friends/cliques what they have been doing.

It's business as usual, until the new kid on the block, Mackenzie Briggs (who I've come to absolutely adore and enjoy) steps on the scene and essentially shakes up the entire social scene and brings into question for Cameron what's really most important to him: keeping up appearances or true friendship.

The story is heavy on nerd culture, anime, and all things high school. And there is lots of fandom surrounding cosplay, Dragonball Z, manga, and anime. If that's you, this is certainly a book you'll enjoy!

Publication Date: 1/3/23

This book was a light, enjoyable read. Things i like: it gave a glimpse into the World of anime and cosplay. It highlighted the journey of an unlikely character finding himself and love. The main character had to make decisions regarding his friendships and family life in order to grow. Im bot sure if missed something while reading but the race of the girls our main character liked was never explicitly stated so the reader is left to make assumptions. Not a bad thing just st an interesting method used by the author. The overall theme of differences not being a deterrent when you truly care about someone BUT also being true to who you are and what you want was spot on. I would love to use this book in my school library to encourage some of my anime lovers to read a novel.

Cameron DeAnthony and Jocelyn are the geek squad and every now and then McKenzie joins them but what the gang don’t know is that Cameron has been hooking up with Carla Ortega the popular girl at school and the bully Lucas is on again off again girlfriend. He even wants to join the place that they could spend even more time together is it his life wasn’t going great enough Carla tells him she wants to lose her virginity with him. Even though this is every teen boys dream come true Cameron says he hast to think about it because what Carla doesn’t know and the gang doesn’t know is it Cameron has been seeing someone else not officially but enough that it will eventually affect his relationship with Carla his friends and unfortunately with Lucas. This was such a good book I really am not into teen romances and I thought this was something different but having said that I still thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. There’s a little mystery and a lot of LOL moments I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind to dictate my review.

3.5 stars

After the more serious books I've been reading lately, this was a nice change of pace, although I think I would have appreciated it even more if I had been more of an anime/manga geek. I understood maybe half of what Cameron and his friends talked about, and while I'm definitely a fan of Studio Ghibli, I don't read much Manga and I'm by no means an expert on anime. Still, I loved Cameron's enthusiasm for the craft, and I laughed at some of the arguments his friends had over which was better. But what I loved was his realization that each of the cliques was obsessed with something or another, whether it was anime or theater or even sports, and that one didn't have to belong to one group or another. Rather, people could connect with others via some sort of common ground, not just one's obsession.

This was entertaining and lighthearted, and I liked the author's casual queer and person-of-color representation without making it the point of the story. The author's own apparent passion for anime really came out, which I enjoyed even if I didn't completely get it. I also loved how Cameron learns the wonders and value of something like Pride and Prejudice even if it turns out to be not quite his cup of tea. It was cool how he made connections between what he was experiencing and the play/book.

I'd be open to reading more by this author and hope that they continue writing.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a cute YA Romance!

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Cameron Carson. He finds himself in the middle of two girls that are very different from one another. I wouldn’t say that it is your typical love triangle, but it does cause a lot of problems for Cameron.

Through the hookup with Karla and getting to know Mackenzie better, he learns what he wants from a relationship and also how to be himself. Karla comes from a different group of friends and Cameron hasn’t always got along with them because they seem him as that weird, nerdy kid. I could definitely relate to him on that front because I was that kid in high school. Mackenzie brings out the best in him and he can be more of himself. He doesn’t have to change who he is and that is the kind of message I enjoy reading about!

There were only a couple things I wasn’t a fan of, but this is just personal taste. There was more sex talk than I like in YA as well as jokes that just don’t fit my humor. These two details won’t be an issue for others so definitely take it with a grain of salt!

Overall, this was a nice YA romance. Cameron learns a lot about himself and I think many teens will be able to relate to him. It’s also a very quick read too!

Rating: 3.5 stars

I loved Cameron and Mackenzie, they're a great couple and I love they're being nerdish and sweet.
Karla is a complex character, one you love to hate as she's not very likeable and very queen-bee.
it's a well plotted and entertaining story, there's more layer and I liked it.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

I absolutely adore this cover, so major kudos to the person who designed it.

The storyline, however, I wasn't quite as enamored with it. "The Wrong Kind of Weird" has some "Pride and Prejudice" parallels, but they're not obvious right away. Cam is a wonderful character who spends way too much time chasing after someone who refuses to be seen in public with him. While the big climax wasn't bad, it failed to reach it's full potential because the author did not spend enough time with Cam and his friends. It needed more Mackenzie and more Cam with his friends.

This story is the type of story that you picture on the big screen. It was honest in the sense that it showed how awkward high school can be, but also showed the funny moments that one can experience.

I wanted to keep on reading and not put down my kindle! I really enjoyed how real and honest the characters were with themselves. I liked how Cameron worked through his feelings and found himself again. He learned to be proud of who he is and what he likes, and not changing for anyone in order to fit in.

I recommend this book to fans of coming of age, self-discovery, and friendship stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rate: 3.5

I don't know how to explain it, but this book was better than I expected. This story was a love letter to being a dork, and delightfully snarky and sarcastic.

I really enjoyed this book! The humor was amazing and the characters were all so relatable. I thought this was the perfect YA read. So many high school memories came to mind while reading this and I loved reliving what I felt back then.

This was such a quick sweet read.

Cameron is a member of the geeks and nerds club, a club as you guessed it for members like that. But Cameron had a secret that could end his friendships real quick. He’s been hooking up with people from other clubs. What he was hoping was a summer fling is all tangled up now. Especially when he meets Mackenzie, a girl who isn’t afraid to be who she is.

This story tackles high school and sex and cliques. It was funny and had a great message. I felt like I was reading a romcom that I’d watch.