Weird girl lit is having a moment. From TikTok videos to front tables at indie bookshops and in countless newsletters, a cluster of novels that seem to share a single, distinctive vibe are being gathered under a recognizable label. The weird girl novel is told from the perspective of a young woman who is fraying at the edges. She’s self-destructive, yet she frequently manages to keep a wry sense of humor about it. She tends to form obsessions—over people or ideas—that may or may not brush against the surreal. She presents as an unpredictable, unruly protagonist, or anti-heroine, depending on how you frame it, and we are the mess-loving readers eager to see what sort of chaos she’ll spark next.
As someone who has emerged from the weird-girl mold, I’ll say the denomination may be fresh, but books featuring weird girls have existed for ages. We’re fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, but she didn’t create the archetype, nor did Mona Awad. Nor, for that matter, did Sylvia Plath or any of the Brontë sisters. Below is a list, not exhaustive by any means, of some titles I’d point you to once you’ve conquered Weird Girls 101 and feel ready for the next level.
And remember, sometimes weird girls grow up to become weird grown-ass women, and those stories are a joy to read as well.
Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson
I’m placing this 2022 debut right at the top because it still puzzles me why it isn’t a staple on every current “weird girl” roundup. Johnson’s self-effacing narrator, Vivian, endures heavy family turmoil and a demanding occupation (she works as a lawyer at a psychiatric hospital) and then treats it all with humor, which is one of her many clever coping strategies. Yet she’s genuinely trying to navigate it all.
Blood and Guts in High School by Kathy Acker
This surreal 1984 novel follows a girl named Janey and may feel a bit excessive or opaque at first. Loosen up and let Acker’s feverish prose wash over you as you follow Janey through running away from home, moving to New York, joining a gang, selling herself into prostitution, escaping again, and then having a tumultuous affair with French writer Jean Genet.
After Claude by Iris Owens
At the start of this 1973 book, Harriet’s boyfriend Claude ends things, but she refuses to move on until the final pages. The middle portion tracks Harriet’s glorious stretch as a chaotic ex-girlfriend who longs to escape her own mind. “There are times when I’d rather converse with a crazed mugger than reason with myself. Anyway, what good are questions when you can’t use the answers?”
Problems by Jade Sharma
It’s a remarkable feat that Maya, the heroine of Sharma’s 2016 debut, is a heroin addict and a complete mess who nonetheless proves a delight to spend time with. Problems was the first book published by Emily Books (the feminist imprint launched by Emily Gould and Ruth Curry) when it was part of Coffee House Press, and the whole project embodies the spirit of what weird-girl fiction strives for.
The Princess of 72nd Street by Elaine Kraf
What does it mean to live well when lines between reality and fantasy blur? Elaine Kraf’s 1979 novel follows Ellen, a woman on the Upper West Side who adopts the persona Princess Esmeralda whenever a manic episode paints the world in brighter colors. Those out-of-control moments aren’t merely terrifying or sad; Ellen discovers beauty—and a sense of agency—in them, giving the book a strangely hopeful edge.
Fish Tales by Nettie Jones
This 1984 novel, edited by Toni Morrison, is a raunchy, non-stop party—until it isn’t. It traces Lewis Jones, a married woman in New York, who indulges in sex parties, drugs, and every other hedonistic pleasure the city can offer, only to re-evaluate her priorities when love brings a man who makes her question everything into her life.
Lives of the Saints by Nancy Lemann
Louise Brown, a recent college graduate, is watching everyone around her fall apart in a big, loud city. In this 1985 novel, recently reissued by NYRB, Louise returns to the lush, decayed charm of New Orleans where a particularly compelling Southern gentleman catches her eye. The book is filled with sharp, funny observations that are often followed by a gut-punch of a revelation.
My Education by Susan Choi
Among Choi’s works, this one charms with the misadventures of Regina Gottlieb, a reckless graduate student who becomes involved with a professor—and then with the professor’s wife. The saga is full of awkward missteps, scorching sex, and a hard look at how the world actually operates, all through Regina’s lens.
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud and What Was She Thinking? by Zoe Heller
What becomes of weird girls as they mature? In these two novels, the heroine grows prickly with obsession over more glamorous lives, and she then insists that you turn your gaze toward her own raw, unvarnished ugliness.
