I love weird books. I love weird girlies. I love weird books for weird girlies. What more is there to say?
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
Mila, a lonely outcast at school, manages to bring her best friend Riley back from the dead, but accidentally resurrects two other teens as well. The girls have a week to figure out who really killed Riley before the spell reverts them back to corpses. When I reviewed it, I comped it to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie meets The Craft meets Mean Girls, and called it “the most delightful young adult zombie/witch small-town murder mystery romance I’ve ever read.” This one is for the horror comedy girlies who like their young adult fantasy with a streak of “fuck the patriarchy.” (Razorbill, 2018)
Once & Future by A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy
Ari Helix is an orphan in a future run by corporations, a teenage space outlaw, and the reincarnation of King Arthur. When she meets Merlin, who is now a teenager due to him being cursed to age backwards, Ari and her crew of queers and misfits are sent on a two-book quest across alien planets, futuristic Medieval Times playlands, and ancient Britain to break a curse. McCarthy and Capetta’s YA duology has weird characters, weird situations, weird settings, and my favorite of all, a weird blend of sci-fi and fantasy. (Jimmy Patterson, 2019)
Queens of Noise by Leigh Harlen
The Mangy Rats is a punk band fronted by Mixi. The plot starts off simple enough: they’re trying to win the Battle of the Bands at their favorite dive bar, which is dealing with a hostile corporate takeover. What’s weird about that, you ask? Well, everyone in the band are werecoyotes, there are vengeful witches, and there are more hexed chickens than you can shake a stick at. A little punk, a little goth, a little romance, and a whole lot queer. (Neon Hemlock Press, 2020)
Weird Fishes by Rae Mariz
Do you like mermaids? Well, here are some weird-ass mermaids. Ceph is a squid-like creature living in an ocean civilization. She teams up with Iliokai, a seal-like creature who sings stories of the sea. Ceph and Iliokai must save each other and their people, not just from polluting terrestrials but their own kin as well. Get your weirdness kick with a dose of environmentalism and anti-colonialism. (Stelliform Press, 2022)
Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris
Rita, who is Mi’kmaq, and her white girlfriend are already struggling with their relationship when Rita’s father dies. Rita retreats to a cabin in the woods as part of an artist residency her girlfriend pressures her into attending. There, her tether to reality frays as surreal experiences and impossible things start happening to and around her. Morris funnels grief, Indigeneity, the climate crisis, and the cultural devastation caused by colonization into a tense eco-horror novella of surreal grotesqueries. (Stelliform Press, 2023)
