It's the summer of 1976, and Kit is fed up of his small town life in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where he lives with his Dad and grandmother. Dreaming of a more exciting life in the big city, Kit enlists the help of his girlfriend Alice, and they hitchhike towards a new home with his glamorous, artistic mother Laura. As Kit and Alice reach their final destination, their relationship is tested, and Kit faces a difficult realization that will change his life forever.
Kat Kruger's novel adaptation of the film Weirdos retells this tender story of a young man's journey to self-discovery.
Kat Kruger is a best-selling freelance game designer at her owner-operated company, Steampunk Unicorn Studio. Her previous projects include: HeroQuest, Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, and various D&D adventures. In the TTRPG sphere she has most notably contributed to the inaugural Uncaged Anthology and Eyes Unclouded. She is also the Dungeon Master on the family-friendly, actual-play podcast d20 Dames. When she's not writing or editing games, she's raising a geeky toddler with her partner and their dachshund in Seattle.
Whether it is a book based on a movie or a movie based on a book, they usually don't work out. Movies have a certain pace, usually a faster one than a book, which can make a written story feel rushed if not done correctly. I'm highlighting this in particular because Weirdos is an example of a perfectly achieved adaptation.
This novel is based off the 2016 movie of the same name, but it doesn't feel like it. I know writers can't deviate much from the original story, so I'm thinking that the movie is the same plot-wise, but Kat Kruger has such a way with words that makes the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" sound silly.
The author managed to get inside the minds of two believable fifteen-year-old teens and still make this a mature and heart-warming coming of age story.
This novel made me judge the characters from the very beginning and then made me regret it. Character development was wonderfully achieved. I was pleasantly surprised with Alice; I begun the story feeling like she was just a selfish girl who feared being left alone, but she proved me wrong in the end, just like many other characters did.
I loved the weird yet deep conversations Kit and "Andy Warhol" had. I loved the development of the "lucky/unlucky" meaning throughout the novel. I loved the third eye. I loved many things of this story.
It's a beautiful narration of self-discovery, but more importantly, it's a story of acceptance.
Rating
4 out of 5 stars*
*I'm rating this story no higher than 4 stars because, although I loved it and moved me, it still is an adaptation.