Weird Girl and What's His Name by Meagan Brothers

Description from Goodreads

In the tiny podunk town of Hawthorne, North Carolina, high school geeks Lula and Rory share everything—a love for sci-fi, resentment toward the parents that abandoned them, and Friday night binge-watching of old X-Files episodes. But when Lula discovers that Rory has been secretly sleeping with his creepy middle-aged boss—she disappears on a journey to find her long-lost actress mother in New York. When she returns, nothing is the same, and she is forced to make amends or risk repeating the mistakes of the generation that caused the two friends so much pain. Meagan Brother’s piercing prose speaks to those who have ever felt unwanted and alone, and who struggle to find their place in a world that seems to reject them. 

(Personally, I don't think the synopsis entails very well what the book is really about, but I don't want to write my own either because I'm afraid I will spoil some of the events which might be best to experience first-hand.)

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I have to say right away that I have very mixed feelings about Weird Girl and What's His Name. While I really enjoyed the occasional philosophical thoughts and all the science fiction references, there was just something about the novel that I couldn't really come in terms with. Maybe it was because the book is divided into two different sections: Rory's point of view, and Lula's point of view. While Rory was an okay character me, I liked Lula better, even though at times I didn't really care for either one of them.

While I liked Rory okay, I wasn't really able to identify with him as well as I was able to with Lula. Even though personality-wise I'm a lot more like Rory than Lula, the problems Lula was facing were a lot more relatable: am I the only one who feels alone in the world? Is there someone out there for me who will accept me as I am, unconditionally? Where is my place in the world? Are romantic and platonic forms of love equal? Even though Rory did think about these as well, somehow the way Lula dealt with these problems made me more aware of them. The big themes reflected upon in the novel are what probably all of us ponder on at some point in our lives, but these are thoughts that I've myself personally thought about recently, as I'm currently in a transition into the next stage in my life. Lula's experiences made so much sense to me, and that was probably why liked Lula so much.

I have to admit though, that the writing wasn't exactly my favourite part in the beginning. At times it felt a bit awkward with so many punctuation marks, strange time jumps, and the confusing story telling from time to time. However, the more the plot progressed, the more fluent the writing became. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I associated the best part of the book with Lula, so I became to like the writing as the events were more to my liking. Towards the end, Brothers is able to insert some of the most wonderful thoughts in the book, despite the weak start. There was this moment in which Lula talks about the importance of The X-Files in relation to her relationship with Rory. How the TV show becomes a medium for their emotions and thoughts that allow them to discuss about matters which just cannot be expressed with everyday words. When I read that passage, I felt immediate connection with her as I totally understood what she meant. I'm that kind of person too! I also use novels and TV shows to bond with people. 

The references of The X-Files and Lord of the Ring were always well-placed and funny, and I found myself sniggering or nodding to them. The fact that Rory and Lula were such a fanboy and fangirl, was definitely one my favourite parts of the book. I tend to be a bit of fangirl myself, and I loved how their fondness for science fiction wasn't played down. The things that we love do define us as persons, at least to some extent. I'm not as dedicated fan of The X-Files as the characters were, but I have my own shows that I stand by forever: Supernatural, The Walking Dead,  Fringe, Hannibal, Game of Thrones, so I 101% understand the reruns, the blogs, the discussions, the makeovers. Our 'obsessions' can become the salt of  our lives when we become so emotionally invested in them. 

I found writing the review for Weird Girl and What's His Name very difficult. While the book was a good read, and I enjoyed it more and more as it progressed, but I was a bit disappointed as it wasn't as original as I first imagined it would be. The philosophical nature of the book took me by a surprise (in a good way) and I wished had been more of that. Those precious gem moments in which the author becomes reflective of the important things in our lives were the golden core of the whole novel. 

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Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Description from Goodreads

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she's made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings… 

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy's novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the 'Afterworld' to survive a terrorist attack. But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved - and terrifying - stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most. 

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Afterworlds is a very different novel compared to the generic YA novels. The current novel includes two separate stories of two different genre. The main plot (in my opinion) follows Darcy, an 18-year-old inspiring novelist who gets the chance of her lifetime: her book, Afterworlds, has been picked by a publishing company and its going to be published next fall. In order to purse her dream to become a respectable writer, she ditches college and moves to New York to work on her novel and its sequel. The other storyline is Afterworlds, the book that Darcy has written and currently making some adjustments on. Afterworlds is about a girl named Lizzie who experiences a near-death experience, and thanks to it, is now able to see ghosts and travel in the afterlife, which may be pretty darn cool but also brings a dark side with it.

I loved the originality and the risk Westerfeld took when writing this novel. I think it can be tricky to not include both contemporary and paranormal genres, but also to make these completely separate stories. I was first afraid that the including two completely different stories would make them eat each other alive, leaving virtually nothing to enjoy about. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I realised that both storylines were entertaining and funny, with a bit of angst in both. I’m not sure if Westerefeld did it purposely or not, but while Lizzie's storyline was okay, Darcy’s was much more relatable and interesting. Afterall, Lizzie's story was a debut novel by an 18-year-old (but this doesn't mean that 18-year-olds cannot be talented writers!!!!!! maybe less experienced that's all).

Darcy’s experience as debut novelist and as an upcoming writer was so fun to read about. I’m sure Westerfeld has gone plenty of the same episodes as Darcy with all the draft deadlines, BEA events, promoting tours, and various other things. I have never really given a thought what sort of other things come along with being a writer, besides the creation of stories. It was really entertaining and even informative to learn about what sort of processes the writers go through when publishing a book, and the best part was that Westerfeld made this experience a fun one. I'm pretty sure that quite many readers have fantasised about writing and publishing their own novels, and I loved how Westerfeld took this into consideration. For me, it's rare to read about writer's experiences as a published author.

Even though Lizzie's story was interesting as a concept (even though a bit used I might add, even though it could be that Westerfeld was commenting/criticising the generic paranormal novels too) with the ghosts and the paranormal romance, I was so much more compelled by Darcy’s storyline. The book was GLBT which I didn’t even know until the romance started developing. I found Darcy and her love-interest and how their relationship develop a lot more interesting than and Lizzie's love life. Even though both were experiencing their first-loves, Darcy’s (or Westerfeld’s??) story felt more real, more intimate than Lizzie's, which surprised me quite a bit. I’m usually all for the paranormal romances, but this time the contemporary romance won the war.

But I loved the parallel lives of Darcy and Lizzie. Darcy is going through this transition period in her life, and she without a doubt projects those problems and difficulties she faces into her book, Afterworlds. When the writer goes through a rough patch, so does the main character. This symbiosis makes a beautiful circle with all the events that are included in both Westerfeld’s Afterworlds and Darcy’s Afterworlds. It also gives insight to how much the authors pour themselves into their writings, and it’s really wonderful yet painful at the same time.

Afterworlds was a fun and different, even though not the quickest YA novel to read. It took a bit of time for me to get into the novel and its flow, but once I was aboard, I really was aboard. However, while writing this review, I can’t help to wonder why I didn’t like to book more then if it was pretty good? I would like to give it a better rating, but something tells me that the book could have been better, but how? NO IDEA, and that’s driving me crazy. I guess you can’t always fall in love with books you read, even though you have liked them.

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