Aside from being extremely well-written, it was very real. The characters felt like genuine seventeen-year-olds with interesting, but relatable, problems. They are the kind of characters that stay with you and become part of your literary family . . . This is a novel that transcends the LGBTQ genre, and it holds universal lessons for all. It is reminiscent of Judy Blume’s Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret and Tiger Eyes in the way it tackles somewhat taboo subjects within a smoothly written narrative. It has all the makings to become a classic of this generation.” –Foreword Reviews 5-Star Review; Reviewers' Choice 2015; IndieFab 2015 Young Adult Fiction Book of the Year
“What makes us love who and what we love? What makes us who we are? Do our loves make us who we are? In Weird Girl and What’s His Name, Meagan Brothers’s crisp, compassionate novel for young adults, all of these questions are explored from various character perspectives . . . This is not a “gay book for teens.” It’s a book inclusive of teen readers—yes, queer teens and geeky teens—many of whom will recognize themselves and their challenges in its pages. Adult readers will certainly recognize themselves in this book as well, from many different angles and in many different phases of life. We can all gain some insight.” —Rain Taxi
“Brothers is an excellent writer, with a grasp of subtlety not often seen in the young adult section. She never gets mired in melodrama the way some (or most) of her peers do, and she deals with serious topics with an admirable grace, the likes have been rarely seen since Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” —KinderLit Canada
"Weird Girl and What's His Name" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to school and community library collections." —Midwest Book Review
“Voices are crisply and intimately drawn. Minor characters are equally vibrant . . . Carefully and subtly imagined.” —Kirkus Reviews Starred Review; "Best Teen Books of 2015" & "Best Teen Romance Novels of 2015"
“Rory and Lula are charming characters who talk to the reader as though they are talking to a good friend. . . . Teens will find a lot of appeal here” —Someday My Printz Will Come/School Library Journal
"What could have been a niche novel only for X-Philes is a quirky, thoughtful illumination of identity formation and the difficulty of assigning labels to love." —The Globe and Mail
“The characters are wonderfully likable, the story is smartly written, and—what’s this?—there’s a possibility for a happy ending? Read and find out.” —Booklist (Starred Review)
“Effectively mixes past and present . . . real, evolving . . .” —Publishers Weekly
“Brothers’s pitch-perfect dialogue and well-polished prose make her an author to watch.” —School Library Journal
"Say hello to one of my new benchmarks for great YA fiction. Weird Girl and What’s His Name is absolutely wonderful, heartbreaking, and utterly engaging stuff." —Manhattan Book Review
“Recommended for huge fans of “The X-Files” or anyone who has struggled to figure out their own identity or sexuality” —TeenReads
"Readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories will enjoy this powerful novel.” (Top 18 New YA Books of Fall 2015) —BuzzFeed
"What really shines in Meagan Brothers' novel is the voices and the characters; they feel authentically human and vibrant and you'll be glad to spend 300-odd pages with the both of them.” (Top 17 New YA Books of October 2015) —Bustle
“This new LGBT YA novel is as gripping as it is heartfelt.” (Best 12 Books of October 2015) —Brit+Co
“There have been a lot of noteworthy LGBT YA novels hitting the market lately, but Weird Girl and What's His Name is one of the most complex and touching.” (10 New YA Books Every Twentysomething Should Read) —Style caster
“Brothers burrows deep into her characters' hearts and minds as they struggle with unruly sexual urges, family issues, and their own ruptured friendship. A welcome addition to the growing canon of LGBTQ-themed teen literature.” —Chronogram
"Meagan Brothers is a force to be reckoned with . . . she reminds us of the exquisite pain of unrequited love and of the absurd loyalty and drama we're all capable of." —Book Jawn
"A great story about how gender roles are not always clear cut, and how self-expression is all about letting go of your fears and doubts." —YA, Why Not?
"“Truly a fantastic read. . . Definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good plot line, or simply a wonderful book to read.” —League of Advanced Readers
"A satisfying breath of fresh air." —Lambda Literary
“Rory is another great LGBTQ teen, whose gayness does not define him as a person." (Top 30 YA books of 2015) –Forever Young Adult
"A wonderful story about family, love, and fan fiction. Brothers does an excellent job of showing that true friendship can survive anything, including football, sexuality, and government coverups." —Brian Katcher, author, Almost Perfect
"Rory and Lula might bond over out-there sci-fi, but their relationship is as real as it gets. To paraphrase their favorite show: The truth is in here." —D.C. Pierson, comedian and author, The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To
"Gorgeous writing, real characters I could give my heart to, and a huge-hearted exploration of being a fan of something specific (music! X-Files! football!). . . I'm certainly now a huge fangirl of Meagan Brothers! — Kim Culbertson, Northern California Book Award Winner of Instructions for a Broken Heart and Catch a Falling Star
"I fell in love with both narrators of WEIRD GIRL AND WHAT'S HIS NAME, and found their story meaningful, original, and truthful. As someone who's been both a weird girl and a what's her name, I heartily endorse this book." —Janice Earlbaum, author, I. Liar and Girlbomb
"I wish I could go back in time, when I was Lula and Rory's age, so I could feel like I finally had someone who spoke my language. . . This is a book for anyone that has ever binge watched on a TV show or fallen in love with their best friend or searched for a way out of redundancy or dreamed of an adventure.” —Aimee Herman, author, To Go Without Blinking
"As an avid reader and writer, there is rarely a novel that makes me think “I have never read a book like this before.” WEIRD GIRL AND WHAT'S HIS NAME is one of the occasional exceptions . . . An innovative piece of young adult fiction, and I definitely would recommend to both young adult and adult fiction readers.” —Annabelle Jay, author, Caron High News
"Fanboys and fangirls, rejoice! This wise and witty book is pure teen-geek heaven. With laugh-out-loud moments, smartly drawn characters, and a platonic love story that rivals Scully and Mulder's, this book perfectly captures the joys and heartaches of all-consuming fandoms and 'it's-complicated' friendships. I loved it."—J.C. Lillis, author, How to Repair a Mechanical Heart and We Won't Feel a Thing
"A bold, funny and touching story for anyone who has experienced the heartache of an unrequited crush, whose sexual identity is a work-in-progress, and whose journey to self-discovery represents not so much a straight line as a meandering path. —Melissa Keil, author, Life in Outer Space
10/01/2015
Gr 6 Up—Rory and Lulu share an affinity for all things geek: The X-Files, Buffy, and conspiracy theories. When Lulu discovers that underage Rory had an explicit relationship with his divorced boss and hid it from Lulu because of her crush on him, she begins to question her own sexual orientation. After she is rebuffed by her favorite teacher, Lulu decides to hunt down the skeletons in her family's closet. This buddy/misanthrope novel explores the difficulties in LGBTQ relationships, as well as teen angst in general. While the narrative is uplifting, some readers may have a hard time with the slow burn pace and minimal plot movement. The overuse of The X-Files as a metaphor for character complexity may keep some of the core audience at arm's length. However, Brothers's pitch-perfect dialogue and well-polished prose make her an author to watch. VERDICT Recommended for fans of realistic fiction with relationship drama and an LGBTQ focus.—Brian Hoff, Elmwood Park High School, IL
2015-06-29
In a small town in North Carolina, a close friendship between two eccentric high schoolers breaks apart, leaving a rift.Lula and Rory have always had two things in common: their outcast status and their love of the 1990s paranormal TV series The X-Files. Rory is generally overlooked by his classmates. Lula's "weird girl" moniker comes from her being both bookish and outspoken and taking after her equally headstrong grandfather. Rory, who is out to Lula as gay, nevertheless keeps secret his illicit relationship with his middle-aged boss, Andy, an equivocal divorcé who continually deflects Rory's questions about their future. One night, after one of Rory and Andy's many fights, Lula discovers the relationship and confronts Rory. Later that night, she disappears. The void left by Lula's disappearance is palpable and leads both estranged friends down surprising paths. Rory narrates the first half of the book and Lula, the second, and both voices are crisply and intimately drawn. Minor characters are equally vibrant, particularly Walter, Lula's rugged but kind stepfather, and Seth, the school's unexpectedly wholesome and gentle quarterback. The X-Files, the details of which both Lula and Rory lovingly recount, provides a strong common language and set of symbols throughout. Carefully and subtly imagined. (Fiction. 14-18)
