Loveless

this book did so much for me. I felt so incredibly seen. it made me understand parts of myself that I was still struggling with, and I found parts of myself I'd already come to terms with and had accepted and it just felt liberating to read about it, because it just made me feel understood.

rooney's speech to georgia near the end was everything I had hoped for. it's everything I hope for in my own life and it was definitely my favourite part of the book.

the book isn't perfect. some of the dialogue made me cringe a teeny tiny bit. but it wasn't enough to rate this book any less than 5 stars.

I've made so many annotations to look back on because of stuff I related to or just thought was funny. this was well-written, lovely and I cried a little.

thank you.

as an aroace person myself, i was more than disappointed by this book. as others have said, this book portrays georgia's experience as being THE aroace experience, which is neither true nor possible. also, the title of the book is literally loveless but loveless aros and aplatonic aros are not even mentioned in passing. the big theme of this book is ‘‘platonic relationships are just as important as romantic relationships'', completing ignoring the existence of people who don't feel platonic love either. it falls into the stereotype of ‘‘i might not feel romantic love, but don't worry, i'm still human as i DO feel platonic love'' like no, aro people don't have to ‘‘make up'' for their existence in any way. we're fine just the way we are, even if we don't feel love at all; be it romantic, platonic, familial, or any other kind. also, alice oseman has a history of negative bi and pan rep, as witnessed in i was born for this and now this. facepalms

very much not for me, but i appreciate a lot of what this book does for the exploration of sexuality and the pressures put on us to “figure it all out” by a very young age. as a queer who still doesn't quite understand how to identify, i really felt seen. just wasn't a fan of the blatant ignoring of university responsibilities (or lack of mention to the absolute shitshow that typically is navigating your first year of higher education). thought that might've made it feel more authentic and relatable

THE GOOD: 
-i'm just so happy that this book exists. not because the writing is great or the plot is ground-breaking but because I've never felt so seen. for that, this book will always have a special place in my heart. alice oseman is a treasure.
-the dialogue was really funny, love that for us
-so many quotes!!!!

THE BAD:
-the writing was at points was painfully juvenile
-certain parts were a cheesy fucking cringe-fest
-a non-binary character goes with ‘‘he/they'' pronouns yet ‘‘they'' pronouns are never used for them

THE GOOD:??
-i'm just so happy that this book exists. not because the writing is great or the plot is ground-breaking but because I've never felt so seen. for that, this book will always have a special place in my heart. alice oseman is a treasure.
-the dialogue was really funny, love that for us
-so many quotes!!!!

THE BAD:
-the writing was at points was painfully juvenile
-certain parts were a cheesy fucking cringe-fest
-a non-binary character goes with ‘‘he/they'' pronouns yet ‘‘they'' pronouns are never used for them

All The Love In The World!
This book...I am so eternally grateful that this book exists.
Before I start fangirling, quick disclaimer, I'm a partially blind reader. Audiobooks and ebooks with a robotic screen reader are the only way I can read books.
So, I have a defined rating system for fiction books. Here it goes.
1. Did I put the book down?
Impossible. I listened to the audiobook version on the Scribd app. I started in the early afternoon and I couldn't let go of the book. My body refused to fall asleep until I finished. I felt it that much. There goes one big star!
2. What about the characters?
Georgia is perhaps one of the most relatable characters I have ever read. Oh, yeah, another quick disclaimer, I am asexual. Anyway, very relatable for the most part. All the supporting cast was awesome to read about too. I know people like all of these characters in the real world. It'sunusual that I get so hyped while reading a contemporary story, but when it happens, it is a big hype from me.
3. How about structure?
Engaging! At no point did I feel bored, even if the story revolved about college life. There was always something going on, and the way Georgia slowly figures things out was realistic for many aces out there who are still discovering their orientation, which brings me to...
4. Writing
It's good and it flows nicely. The author is not trying to be someone she's not. The dialogue sounds realistic and to me that's a big plus.
5. Subjective stuff
Like I said, I'm ace. I would love to read more books with ace protagonists. This was the basics, a story about a character figuring out who she is and discovering that she is not really into romance and sex. Fantastic! Alice is paving the road for us aspiring authors who also happen to include this kind of perspective into our stories. I am so glad that this book got published and quite popular. There are no specifics I would critique about it, so here it is, my 5 stars in detail.

Holy guacamole on a stick... this is certainly something of a book. It's really hard to put into words what this book made me feel. There were moments that made me laugh, there were moments that made me angry, there were moments that made me almost cry. Honestly this book was all the moments

I tried highlighting my physical books for the first time and oh boy am I glad I did. I was probably a bit highlighter happy but I had fun doing it. The characters are easily loveable and the story is interesting. I genuinely believe that this is an important read for anyone and everyone. Whether you're ace, aro, ace-aro or neither, it's important that people understand that for some people, sex and relationships doesn't do it for them

It reminded me of a quote of sex education, said by the wonderful Gillian Anderson: one character says “I don't want to have sex at all. I think I may be broken” and Gillian's character says back “Sex doesn't make us whole. How could you ever be broken?”

It's true whether you are sex positive, neutral or sex repulsed. A relationship is about so much more than sex. It's about love, whether that's sexual love, romantic love or platonic love experienced by Georgia. You are exactly who you need to be in this world, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

At first I was really a little unsure about this book when I started it but tbh it grew on me. Theoretically I know this is a YA coming-of-age story set in modern England, so theoretically I should have been prepared for the very very teenage voice of the protagonist, but I think I still wasn't prepared enough for it. It made me cringe so much in the first few chapters. As the book went on and as we see our protagonist Georgia's thoughts and reactions to more experiences, the book definitely began growing on me and I even found myself relating a bit to Georgia. It wouldn't be fair for me to discount this book for being exactly what it's meant to be - a coming-of-age YA novel from the perspective of a teenager and written for teenagers and young adults - so in that respect i'd say it's doing a pretty good job in sketching out the struggles and peer pressures that someone in Georgia's place may face, especially as someone who is pretty much clueless about what “asexual” and “aromantic” even means.

I liked that this book focused so much on the importance and beauty of friendships too, something that I think a lot of people, and definitely a lot of younger people, are wont to forget. I like that the book completely rejected the idea that friendships are in any way less important than romantic or sexual relationships, and that Georgia grows into realizing this through the course of the novel.

I started this book for Pride Month. I went into this one just curious about how a coming-of-age experience might read like for an aromantic and asexual protagonist, but somehow came out of it wondering why I related way, way more to the protagonist than I thought I would - definitely not what I expected this book to do. For the record, I differ from Georgia in a lot of key areas - I had tons of crushes, both on people I knew IRL and also on celebrities, and I'm happily married in a heterosexual relationship now, so I know I'm not asexual, but it was still uncanny how much I related to Georgia. I have always found the idea of casual hookups, or even casually kissing strangers in a club as very, very unappealing. I'm learning that I might just be demisexual, another term that is fairly new to me. Anyway, really didn't expect to come out of this book questioning my sexuality.

Oh, and why are these teenagers obsessing over things like Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet? Aren't these relics from my time? Or are they so old that they're now retro and it's cool to like them again? I also narrowed my eyes a little that they were on Facebook groups - don't teens avoid that nowadays?

Overall, this book ended up surprisingly enjoyable and readable, and definitely worth reading for just about anyone. If you've left your teenage years far, far behind like me, just be warned that the voice and writing style may take a while to get used to if you don't read a lot of YA, but at its heart, this book is very sincere about its drive to encourage self-acceptance, something that is particularly important for teens to read about, but which I'm sure most adults can also relate to, having once gone through the same struggles and insecurities.

This book. This book.

So, here is Alice Oseman once again proving that her writing is so incredibly beautiful. I have said it before and I'll say it again but she has a way of writing characters that are so perfectly imperfect.

I loved this book from start to finish.

This book felt like a warm hug and I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but it does to me.

The representation is always so beautifully done in Oseman's works but this one just hit me so differently.

This was such a found family and I couldn't help but fall in love with each of these characters and look at them like they were friends of my own.

I feel like I have repeated myself multiple times but I can't properly express how much I thoroughly enjoyed this.

What an absolute comfort read.

Alice Oseman is officially one of my fav authors of all TIME!!!!

Loved all the characters(favs are Jason and Pip :) and I was so sad when the book ended:(

The book also talks about the importance of friendships and I loved it so much for that coz normally in books friendships are given a second place but here I loved it so much for the friendships the characters had with each other. They were so wholesome and sweet.

1.5 stars
This book didn't end fast enough for me.

Where should I start? First of all, I am aro-ace and this book went in under 20 pages from “ok, that is a valid feeling” to this is downright offensive, bordering on lgbtq-phobia.. and this book is 400 pages.
The main character's internal monologue was offensive, annoying, and frankly, didn't make sense for someone who was pretty knowledgeable about the LGBTQ community and how things operated. She was also extremely bitchy and uncommunicative to people who cared about her, especially Rooney. She on more than one occasion gave back handed remarks that were bordering on slut shaming to Rooney. She made it feel like people owed her their help because she has never been kissed. And of course, the elephant in the room, taking advantage of someone's feelings of her to try kissing someone when she can do it with any rando in the club.
Not to mention, every single page calling herself “not normal” , an “error in programming” while she could have just communicated her feelings and her very sex positive friends, who are LGBTQ, who always encouraged her to do what is comfortable for her (while the internal monologue was like omg i will be made fun of for not having sex and aside from 2 randos in high school, she actually had a more sex positive experience than the rest of us and the rest of us always knew there is not a problem with waiting till you are comfortable), might have helped her. Instead, she shut down, and was resentful of the lives her friends led. Also, it was offensive as an aroace to read this fictional experience where the obsession of the main character with being kissed and having a relationship despite acknowledging that she feels disgust towards them is on. EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE. WITHOUT ANY BREAK. Without her actually being involved in the life happening around her. And frankly? she was spineless af. So tired of the stereotype of the dorky ace chick with oversized granny clothes who sits in the corner and only talks when it is necessary, who is weak and can't defend herself and needs her more confident friends to stand up for her. So tired. It is overdone. I am so angry at this book.

The followings are actual quotes from the book: All of these are in order of how they appeared in the book “It wasn't just that I'd hurt Jason. It wasn't even having to accept that I was some kind of sexual orientation that barely anyone had heard of” this is after knowing TWO PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE, WHO WERE HER FRIENDS, THAT ARE ACE AS WELL.
“I didn't want to be at a party where Jason hated me and Rooney and Pip were living what I would never have.” yes, Rooney and Pip, her best friends who have done so much for her and like each other...
“Because I am aromantic and asexual. But it sounded clunky. They still felt like fake words in my brain, secret words, whispered words that didn't belong in the real word” this is after reading tens of blog posts from real people online (+ the 2 irl friends)
“My animalistic instinct was this is stupid. This is fake. This is a made-up internet thing that is stupid and fake and absolutely not me.” Person talking to main character “I don't know when I started to realize that I hated it. For a long time, I was just dating and having sex because that's what people did. And I wanted to feel like those people. I wanted the fun, exciting beauty of romance and sex. But there was always this underlying feeling of wrongness. Almost disgust. It just felt wrong on a fundamental level.” I felt a wave of relief that I had never let myself go that far. Maybe I was a little strong than I thought.
Imagine your own cousin sharing with you the traumas of feeling forced to have sex and this is what you are thinking all the time.