Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Loveless by Alice Oseman

2 reviews

maple_dove's review

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing fast-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

4.25

This book is so good.

Loveless follows Georgia Warr (She/Her), a first-year in college with two best friends. She yearns for a romantic relationship like the movies. However, she will find that that is not what she really wants.

What I liked/loved:

• The aroace rep. I like that Georgia is an aroace character which doesn't hate the idea of romantic or sexual relationships (initially). Not everyone aroace person is repulsed by the idea of romance or sex and with the heteronormativity many of us live in, even aroace people can get confused on what we actually want.
• The non-romantic, but full-of-love relationships. Love is often characterized as something solely romantic. This book challenges that falsehood, and I'm all for it.
• Discussion about LGBTQ issues. Always.
• Character arcs where it reveals people are not always as they seem. People often have more depth than we can perceive first glance.
• Georgia Warr. She's quiet and awesome. A great combination, no matter what society says. 💛

What I Didn't Like

• There was nothing I could particularly point as "flaws." Loveless is amazing. The characters feel so realistic and real.

Favorite Quotes:

In the end, that was the problem with romance. It was so easy to romanticize romance because it was everywhere. It was in music and on TV and in filtered Instragram photos. It was in the air, crisp and alive with fresh possibility. It was in falling leaves, crumbling wooden doorways, scuffed cobblestones and fields of dandelions. It was in the touch of hands, scrawled letters, crumpled sheets, and the golden hour. A soft yawn, early morning laughter, shoes lined up together by the door. Eyes across the dance floor.

"Anyway, you're only eighteen, you've got so much time--" I started to say, but didn't know how to continue.
[...]
It was something that adults said all the time. You'll change your mind when you're older. You never know what might happen. You'll feel differently one day. As if we teenagers knew so little about yourselves that we could wake up one day a completely different person. As if the person we are right now doesn't matter at all.
The whole idea that people always grew up, fell in love, and got married was a complete lie.

Friends are automatically classed as "less important" than romantic partners. I'd never questioned that. It was just the way the world was. I guess if always felt that friendship just couldn't compete with what a partner offered, and that I never really experience real love until I found romance.
But if that had been true, I probably wouldn't have felt like this.
[...]
I had been so desperate for my idea of true love that I couldn't even see it when it was right in front of my face.

"Actually," I said, trying as hard as I could to keep the irritation out of my voice, "I'm not really interested in getting a boyfriend."
"Oh, well," she said, patting my leg again, "plenty of time, my love. Plenty of time."
But my time is now, I wanted to scream. My life is happening right now.

"You're OK with--with just being friends?" I asked.
He smiled and took my hand again. "'Just friends' makes it sound like being friends is worse. I think this is better, personally, considering how terrible that kiss was."
I squeezed his hand. "I agree."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Sexual content and Bullying

Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Homophobia, and Ableism

Ableism (fetishization of mental illness)(minor)

emily_mh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

I think when a book means so much to you it’s hard to give it an adequate review. Like Mr Knightley said, “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” This book stared into my very soul and made me understand myself in a whole new way, and it gave me so much hope for my future. I laughed and cried and was rendered speechless. I felt like I WAS Georgia. 

Rep: aroace MC, lesbian British-Colombian SC, nonbinary asexual gay South Asian SC, pansexual SC, ace SC, bisexual aromantic Black minor character 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Ableism, Vomit, Homophobia, Transphobia, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Bullying

Major: 3 HP refs, amatonormativity and allonormativity