WEIRDOS WELCOME by Cynthia Baseman

This book has such a wonderful title that I definitely didn’t have a hard time deciding to feature it. WEIRDOS WELCOME, a YA romance, came out last February. It has great neurodiverse representation and an engaging narrative voice.

Rae struggles over masking her autism, navigating social situations and telling people exactly what she thinks—whether they like it or not. Braden acts Just Fine even as his anxiety sends him spiraling over things like quitting the basketball team and the air quality in the cafeteria. Braden and Rae don’t quite fit in, which makes it even harder to survive high school. When they meet as student aides in the Special Needs classroom, their worlds collide. Together they face down bullies, fake bomb threats and the terrifying vulnerability of first love. For anyone who’s ever been called a freak, felt too much, or wondered if their quirks made them unlovable, this raw, funny, and fiercely compassionate neurodivergent love story champions owning your oddness, standing up when it’s easier to disappear,and finding that person who doesn’t ask you to be, or pretend to be, “normal”

According to your website, you are “a library board member at The University of Southern California (Go Trojans!)” and you “champion libraries as rare public spaces where information is curated with care, context, and accountability.” What inspired you to get involved in libraries, and what kind of support do you think libraries need most in our current society?

The inspiration to get involved with libraries happened about sixteen years ago when I was riding my quarter horse in Burbank. It was a sunny day and I’d been thinking for months about how to give back to USC, where I had been lucky enough to receive an amazing education. At the time, I wasn’t totally sure where to begin. Then clop-clop-clop up walks an elegant woman on a Thoroughbred who asks me about my visor. It was cardinal red with gold letters spelling out USC. Turns out, she was on the USC Libraries Board and their signature fundraiser, Scripter, honored the screenwriter and original author of the best adaptation of the year. Libraries? Film? Authors? It checked all my boxes.

How wonderful! And I love that WEIRDOS WELCOME is a neurodivergent romance. How did you know this needed to be an integral part of the story? 

While this isn’t an autobiographical story, it definitely hits close to home. My adult sons are neurodiverse and my niece is on the spectrum. During high school, one of my sons was an aide in a Life Skills class and hearing his responses to the students he befriended had a powerful effect on me. Also, I was astonished (in awe) by my niece’s journey. She went from being misunderstood and misdiagnosed to receiving her autism late diagnosis, and reclaiming her life. The more I learned about neurodiversity, the more I wanted to learn.

And I’m so glad you’ve captured it in this story! You also wrote a memoir, LOVE, MOM about your experiences of loss. What about writing this memoir was most healing for you? 

The simple act of writing was most healing. Love Mom is based on a series of journal entries and letters I wrote to my daughter who was stillborn. I realize now just how lucky I am that I could turn to writing to help me make sense of the unimaginable. Life is full of unexpected events – many having absolutely nothing to do with any decision a person might make. I turn to journaling again and again. It’s a life raft.

No doubt. What are some of your current projects? 

Currently, I’m working on a YA story that takes place at a summer camp in the 1970s. Summer sleepaway camp can be an experience that people carry  with them through adulthood. It’s often the first time a young person is away from their parents or caregivers, a place they are free to make their own decisions – and let’s face it – mistakes. The relationships that kids make over the summer can truly color the rest of their lives in a way that being in school does not.

Order WEIRDOS WELCOME

For more about Cynthia Baseman and her books,
go to https://cynthiabaseman.com/