What Is “Weird Girl Fiction”?

Like most industries, publishing relies on trends. Here at Book Riot, we run the yearly bookish trend predictions to see what genres the industry will likely heavily cater to in the year or even years to come. One consistent trend is romantasy, which has stayed relevant for years. In years past, there were steampunk, dark academia, and other microgenres that dominated many sectors of publishing—this industry moves through many reading trends. In fact, there’s a new one that has recently emerged on TikTok, no less: weird girl fiction, or weird girl lit. Weird girl fiction is commonly defined as books that elicit “unhinged female rage” and “transgress social norms.” All Access members: scroll for a list of all the titles that didn’t make our Best Adaptations of the Century list! Based on many BookTokers’ recommendations, the books under this label explore issues that women face today in a patriarchal society: women’s rights, sex work, and motherhood, among many other pressing issues. Characters should also possess unconventional behaviors to be able to fit the label. It’s expected that this falls under literary fiction, which usually explores the human condition. Weird girl fiction d...