Weird Girl and What’s His Name

As the title suggests, Rory, who narrates the first half of this book, is overlooked by his classmates, while his best friend and fellow X-Files obsessive Lula, who narrates the second half, can’t stay under the radar. Rory may be overweight, nerdy, and gay—something only Lula and the older lover Rory hasn’t told her about know—but the whole junior class knows Lula, her all-black outfits, and her out-of-date slang learned from the grandparents who raised her. Lula’s grandparents won’t talk about their daughter, and when Lula finds out that Rory has been keeping things from her, too, she runs away. Lula’s story begins after she returns home, and Brothers (Supergirl Mixtapes) effectively mixes past and present as Lula copes with the fallout of her actions and describes her journey, which included minor humiliations, efforts to figure out her sexuality, and a mother who doesn’t measure up to fantasy. Happily, by book’s end, the title no longer applies: both Lula and Rory have people in their lives—friends and romantic interests—who know not just their names but their real, evolving selves. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)