Born Weird

Born Weird is... Weird. I know, I know I'm ridiculously original  with saying that. So clever, people should pay me to write this stuff. So I knew nothing about Kaufman, other than I had heard about him vaguely at the only Toronto literary thing I've been to literally in 3 years when someone told me he was funny.

The thing is, everyone's family is weird.  We all say that, right? I'm pretty sure we all also say "ha ha you think your family is weird, but compared to mine they're normal".  Well folks, we're basically all mad here, and that's kind of the core of Born Weird. Kaufman drags a family who was blessing/cursed/blursed by The Shark (aka Grandma, and really, who's Grandma wasn't a shark?) so they could survive being raised by their too young kind of crazy parents.  Grandma Weird (ok, so to clarify, really, their last name is Weird) decided the blessings-turned-curses need to go, and says she'll get rid of them on the day she dies and her (youngest?) grandchild Angie proceeds to go on a mildly mad-cap journey across Canada and randomly Upliffta (it's a thing. If I explain why it's a thing, I'll ruin the thing, so I'm not ging to explain the thing) to gather her siblings so they will no longer be cursed. Obviously, they all show up, or the curses don't get lifted.  It's a fairy tale guys.

So also hilariously, Goodreads has this on the Fantasy shelf. That confuses me a little, but it does have a princess so I guess I'm ok with it. The book is strange, quirky and full of family drama.  It's a quick read, and  admittedly adorable (though I kind of feel the author will hate I called it adorable) even if it is a little confusing.

*** I was sent this book by the publisher - all opinions are my own.