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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Alice Osemans books are always a comfort to read
i'm kind of speechless. this book was just sO FUCKING GOOD
i have been waiting to get this book ever since it came out in july 2020, but i kind of procrastinated getting my hands on it until i saw the us edition cover, and i was like "holy shit alice oseman drew this cover i want it SO BAD, i am willing to wait until november 2nd for this cover"
but then it was POSTPONED sadly to february 2nd, so i just ended up buying the UK edition from book depository HAHA
but god, this book was so witty and wonderful and it gave me the same feeling as stepping out into warm sunlight. i'm so in love with anything alice oseman creates, and loveless was no different--her words feel like home. needless to say, i read this book in less than two days and now i'm emotionally devastated.
i absolutely love every single character--georgia is so relatable and honestly inspiring, pip & rooney are hilarious and vibrant, and jason & sunil are so sweet <3 the aro and ace rep actually made me cry at one point, especially in that one scene where georgia and ellis were in the car eating mcdonalds on christmas eve--it's just, wow, i feel so seen. it feels so liberating, like i'm flying. can't stop thinking about these characters, about the words of this book, about shakespeare plays and cold fall mornings in historical english universities. loveless makes me want to love myself--it makes me love asexuality, it makes me love love.
give alice oseman all the stars, ALL OF THEM. every part of me feels black, gray, white, purple <3
i have been waiting to get this book ever since it came out in july 2020, but i kind of procrastinated getting my hands on it until i saw the us edition cover, and i was like "holy shit alice oseman drew this cover i want it SO BAD, i am willing to wait until november 2nd for this cover"
but then it was POSTPONED sadly to february 2nd, so i just ended up buying the UK edition from book depository HAHA
but god, this book was so witty and wonderful and it gave me the same feeling as stepping out into warm sunlight. i'm so in love with anything alice oseman creates, and loveless was no different--her words feel like home. needless to say, i read this book in less than two days and now i'm emotionally devastated.
i absolutely love every single character--georgia is so relatable and honestly inspiring, pip & rooney are hilarious and vibrant, and jason & sunil are so sweet <3 the aro and ace rep actually made me cry at one point, especially in that one scene where georgia and ellis were in the car eating mcdonalds on christmas eve--it's just, wow, i feel so seen. it feels so liberating, like i'm flying. can't stop thinking about these characters, about the words of this book, about shakespeare plays and cold fall mornings in historical english universities. loveless makes me want to love myself--it makes me love asexuality, it makes me love love.
"are they also..?
"they're asexual too."
"wow." ellis grinned. "well, that makes three of us."
"there are more," i said. "a lot more. out there. in the world."
"really?"
"yeah."
ellis stared out the window, smiling. "that would be nice. if there were lots out there."
give alice oseman all the stars, ALL OF THEM. every part of me feels black, gray, white, purple <3
oh my god i want to read this so bad BUT I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NOVEMBER 2 FOR THE US EDITION (I REALLY WANT THE US EDITION TT)
am literally marking my calendar rn
am literally marking my calendar rn
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spoiler alert
I had high hopes for a relatable aspec character in this book, but it was rather disappointing.
There were so many great opportunities to point out how misogyny drives sex-obsession in our society from the perspective of an asexual girl, but instead of any deep thought on society, the privileged white brit main character spent most of the book hating herself for being aroace then using and hurting her friends. For example, this paragraph:
“But why are, like, most teen movies focused around the fact that teenagers feel like they’re going to die if they don’t lose their virginity?” I asked, then almost immediately figured out what the answer was. “Oh. This is an asexual thing.” I laughed at myself. “I forgot other people are obsessed with having sex. Wow. That’s really funny.”
It’s not even true! People generally being so sex-obsessed isn’t even about sex or their being allosexual *on a societal level*. It’s much deeper than that. A little critical thinking about our society will tell you that much.
I didn’t even want the main character to get a happy ending by the time I got midway through the book because of how insufferable, self-absorbed and lacking in self-awareness she was.
The book also treated queer identities like tokens too. Many of the characters introduced revealed their queerness (or their two dads) in a forced way that felt token-ish. The split attraction model was treated similarly when the main character first researched it, in a tokenish way that made it almost meaningless - the sort of way some allos employ SAM online to disguise their misogyny or homophobia.
Many other characters were underdeveloped like Sunil who was so central but so shallowly fleshed-out. The writing was definitely telling instead of showing. The over-the-top college proposal (in place of a meaningful, drawn-out plan) to Pip was lazy and the details were wonky too - which cellist/violist would ever agree to get in a boat with their instrument for a dramatic proposal??? The eventual appreciation for platonic love, Pip and Rooney’s delicious enemies-to-lovers subplot and the main character’s redemption arc made reading the book slightly bearable, but it was still rather tepid overall.
I had high hopes for a relatable aspec character in this book, but it was rather disappointing.
There were so many great opportunities to point out how misogyny drives sex-obsession in our society from the perspective of an asexual girl, but instead of any deep thought on society, the privileged white brit main character spent most of the book hating herself for being aroace then using and hurting her friends. For example, this paragraph:
“But why are, like, most teen movies focused around the fact that teenagers feel like they’re going to die if they don’t lose their virginity?” I asked, then almost immediately figured out what the answer was. “Oh. This is an asexual thing.” I laughed at myself. “I forgot other people are obsessed with having sex. Wow. That’s really funny.”
It’s not even true! People generally being so sex-obsessed isn’t even about sex or their being allosexual *on a societal level*. It’s much deeper than that. A little critical thinking about our society will tell you that much.
I didn’t even want the main character to get a happy ending by the time I got midway through the book because of how insufferable, self-absorbed and lacking in self-awareness she was.
The book also treated queer identities like tokens too. Many of the characters introduced revealed their queerness (or their two dads) in a forced way that felt token-ish. The split attraction model was treated similarly when the main character first researched it, in a tokenish way that made it almost meaningless - the sort of way some allos employ SAM online to disguise their misogyny or homophobia.
Many other characters were underdeveloped like Sunil who was so central but so shallowly fleshed-out. The writing was definitely telling instead of showing. The over-the-top college proposal (in place of a meaningful, drawn-out plan) to Pip was lazy and the details were wonky too - which cellist/violist would ever agree to get in a boat with their instrument for a dramatic proposal??? The eventual appreciation for platonic love, Pip and Rooney’s delicious enemies-to-lovers subplot and the main character’s redemption arc made reading the book slightly bearable, but it was still rather tepid overall.
DNF at the 200 page mark.
While I understand that representation does not automatically conclude relatability, our main character Georgia has veered so far away from relatability she is now in annoyance territory. She is one of the most emotionally incompetent characters I've ever had the misfortune to meet. She is oblivious, and does not care to alleviate that obliviousness, to the detriment of both herself and the people around her. She knows something is up, but all she does is tuck her head in the sand and pretends if she just tries hard enough it'll go away. She takes no initiative, and is just, annoying to the point of absurdity. She does not know how to use Google, she has spent her entire teenage years on Archive of Our Own (and presumably the queer side of Tumblr and Pinterest) and has never encountered any definitions of Asexuality. She must be legally blind to ignore the Glaringly Obvious Signs that are right in front of her. She is so hellbent on ignoring the truth it has become less "girl forcing herself to conform to social dictations of amatonormativity (everyone should be in a relationship because romantic relationships are The Best)" and more "girl is stupid."
I do not have patience for this type of fictional characters. Maybe this is a good intro guide to asexuality for non-ace people, but for me, as an asexual person looking for relatable representations, it did absolutely nothing for me besides making me waste $20.
While I understand that representation does not automatically conclude relatability, our main character Georgia has veered so far away from relatability she is now in annoyance territory. She is one of the most emotionally incompetent characters I've ever had the misfortune to meet. She is oblivious, and does not care to alleviate that obliviousness, to the detriment of both herself and the people around her. She knows something is up, but all she does is tuck her head in the sand and pretends if she just tries hard enough it'll go away. She takes no initiative, and is just, annoying to the point of absurdity. She does not know how to use Google, she has spent her entire teenage years on Archive of Our Own (and presumably the queer side of Tumblr and Pinterest) and has never encountered any definitions of Asexuality. She must be legally blind to ignore the Glaringly Obvious Signs that are right in front of her. She is so hellbent on ignoring the truth it has become less "girl forcing herself to conform to social dictations of amatonormativity (everyone should be in a relationship because romantic relationships are The Best)" and more "girl is stupid."
I do not have patience for this type of fictional characters. Maybe this is a good intro guide to asexuality for non-ace people, but for me, as an asexual person looking for relatable representations, it did absolutely nothing for me besides making me waste $20.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book was so good !!!
i loved reading something so different, i’ve never read a book with aro/ace representation and even tho i’m not under the asexual umbrella there was so much that georgia felt that i related too (obviously not everything) but this book was just so comforting and just full of good vibes. i love good vibes. we stan good vibes. alice oseman giving me my happy ending once again!! thank you queen !!!
i loved reading something so different, i’ve never read a book with aro/ace representation and even tho i’m not under the asexual umbrella there was so much that georgia felt that i related too (obviously not everything) but this book was just so comforting and just full of good vibes. i love good vibes. we stan good vibes. alice oseman giving me my happy ending once again!! thank you queen !!!
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes