The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos

The quick cut: A self professed high school geek who has been in a secret summer fling with the popular girl feels torn when she won't even acknowledge him in public. Chaos ensues when another girl gets his attention.

A real review:

Thank you to Inkyard Press for providing the arc for an honest review.

While the romantic cliche is that opposites attract, the truth is that it's a rarity in high school. It's the time in life when people are just coming into their own, with their hormones on high and wanting a place to belong. With Cameron wanting to forge a real connection to popular girl Kayla, will he find a way to be with her or get disappointed instead?

Cameron has a very big secret going into his senior year of high school: he has been in a summer fling with popular girl, Kayla. Being that he's a member of multicultural Geeks and Nerds United (G.A.N.U.) club, this makes their connection one that she wants no one to know about. While he keeps trying to find a way to be closer to her friend group, she keeps trying to keep their connection a secret. In comes Mackenzie: the newest GANU member who has no problem being herself. Is Kayla worth it or will Cameron forge a path ahead with Mackenzie instead?

I think the description for this book is a great book concept because it's something that anyone in that age range can relate to. Being in cliques can make it hard to make new relationships with people different than your own. Finding ways to be yourself can be hard when you just want to fit in and the standard high school society is working against you.

That being said, I found myself increasingly hating the lead characters in this book. The author tried to make Cameron nerdy and attractive in an unconventional way, but he came off as an overly woke jerk to me. He kept finding ways to point out how he's more enlightened when it comes to sexism and in the process making himself awful.

Meanwhile, Kayla is a typical popular girl who is used to getting what she wants without question. While Cameron tries to build a stronger bond to her, she refuses to change at all and doesn't want anyone else in her life to know. The only person I really liked was Mackenzie and I thought she was too good for Cameron unequivocally.

A romantic contemporary story lacking likeable characters.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5