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A review by crufts
Loveless by Alice Oseman
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
Even before we read the first page, we all know Loveless is a book about an asexual/aromantic character coming to terms with herself. Despite knowing the basic plot, I was captivated by Alice Oseman's story about Georgia Warr and wanted to know what happened next so much I could hardly put the book down. Why was it so good? Well...
(1) The characters
Much of the conflict in the novel is interpersonal conflict. Now, the author could have achieved this by picking some character to be the Big Bad Designated Asshole who continually berates Georgia for her ace/aro status.
But instead, Oseman did something much more subtle and clever: 99% of the conflict is from Georgia's well-intentioned friends.
(1) The characters
Much of the conflict in the novel is interpersonal conflict. Now, the author could have achieved this by picking some character to be the Big Bad Designated Asshole who continually berates Georgia for her ace/aro status.
But instead, Oseman did something much more subtle and clever: 99% of the conflict is from Georgia's well-intentioned friends.
"You know you'll find someone--" [said Pip.]
"Don't say it," I said. "Please do not say it."
So she didn't.
Everyone is really doing their best to help Georgia - but they all have their own assumptions that get in the way. Georgia, too, makes mistakes in her attempts to understand herself. Even so, I was rooting for her and all of the other main characters.
(2) Realistic and believable internet-speak / modern lingo
(2) Realistic and believable internet-speak / modern lingo
I wouldn't usually notice this, but I recently read Val McDermid's Northanger Abbey (review linked here) where the supposed "modern lingo" was completely out of touch.
In contrast, the chatspeak used in Loveless was exactly the kind of thing you might see in real life around 2015-2025. It blended in naturally:
In contrast, the chatspeak used in Loveless was exactly the kind of thing you might see in real life around 2015-2025. It blended in naturally:
G - we are very opposite people, yes
R - very refreshing
G - love that for us
R - Tasty
G - delicious content
R - 10/10
Meanwhile, the characters use normal English in their spoken dialogue, rather than randomly dropping in internet keywords ("lol", "omg", etc).
(3) Short, snappy, to-the-point chapters
Each chapter is concise, brisk and single-minded. Without fail, each one brings some kind of turnabout or change to the story, culminating in the sweeping character development we see by the end.
(4) Detailed description of internal thoughts and feelings
The major roadblock in the way of anyone figuring out that they're ace/aro is that people generally do not describe romantic or sexual feelings in detail. Instead, people tend to say "I'm in love!" or "He's hot!" and assume that the listener understands what they're talking about.
But an ace/aro listener would think "Clearly that means they like that person a lot and want to spend time with them, or they can objectively identify that the person is conventionally attractive", which is... not really what the speaker is saying.
In contrast, Loveless is specific even to the level of bodily sensations, so we can understand exactly why Georgia is struggling:
(3) Short, snappy, to-the-point chapters
Each chapter is concise, brisk and single-minded. Without fail, each one brings some kind of turnabout or change to the story, culminating in the sweeping character development we see by the end.
(4) Detailed description of internal thoughts and feelings
The major roadblock in the way of anyone figuring out that they're ace/aro is that people generally do not describe romantic or sexual feelings in detail. Instead, people tend to say "I'm in love!" or "He's hot!" and assume that the listener understands what they're talking about.
But an ace/aro listener would think "Clearly that means they like that person a lot and want to spend time with them, or they can objectively identify that the person is conventionally attractive", which is... not really what the speaker is saying.
In contrast, Loveless is specific even to the level of bodily sensations, so we can understand exactly why Georgia is struggling:
Then it hit me. The disgust. A wave of absolute, unbridled disgust. ...
The idea of trying to get with any of these people... was, honestly, unnerving. It made me feel itchy. Shivery, maybe. It filled my stomach with weird, horrible dread, and a warning siren went off in my brain. It felt like my antibodies were fighting it off.
(5) An ace/aro character who loves romance
Our protagonist, Georgia, is a heart-eyed connoisseur of Shakespeare's romances and sappy fanfics. She "loves love". She wants to want to kiss someone, and yet doesn't actually want to kiss someone.
Wanting and not wanting at the same time.
This was a fascinating "contradiction" to explore, and (as the novel reveals), is not really a contradiction at all.
(6) The aftermath of realizing you're ace/aro
When Georgia realizes that she is absolutely, definitely, unquestionably ace/aro, the novel doesn't just end there. It goes on into the messy aftermath, and especially the sense of grief that Georgia feels from losing her dreams of a certain lifestyle.
This was pretty heartbreaking to read, so kudos to the author's writing skills.
(7) The washing/dryer machines joke
I figuratively died laughing when I read this.
Were there any flaws in Loveless?
Just one comes to mind: I found it suspicious that non-binary Sunil is introduced with he/they pronouns, only for the narration and all of the characters to ignore the "they" thereafter. Sunil himself makes no objection to this and is seemingly unconcerned to be referred to as entirely male.
Overall, this had the undesirable effect of making Sunil's non-binary status come off as window dressing that had been slapped onto the character without actually thinking it through.
But, but, but...
In another Storygraph review of this book, I noticed someone quoting a paragraph where Sunil appears to be stating that he prefers to be called "he" rather than "they". This paragraph isn't in my library's copy of the book, so maybe it was added in a later edition.
Either way, we have another problem: Why on earth would Sunil ask to be called "they" if he doesn't actually like it and prefers to be called "he"?
Sunil is not a nervous first-year just dipping his toes into Pride Soc for the first time. No, he's the Pride Soc President! If he wanted to be solely called "he", he would have said so when he introduced his pronouns!
Overall, this was a minor quibble at worst and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel. Loveless has laughter, it has tears, and it has friendship. What's not to love?
When Georgia realizes that she is absolutely, definitely, unquestionably ace/aro, the novel doesn't just end there. It goes on into the messy aftermath, and especially the sense of grief that Georgia feels from losing her dreams of a certain lifestyle.
This was pretty heartbreaking to read, so kudos to the author's writing skills.
(7) The washing/dryer machines joke
I figuratively died laughing when I read this.
Were there any flaws in Loveless?
Just one comes to mind: I found it suspicious that non-binary Sunil is introduced with he/they pronouns, only for the narration and all of the characters to ignore the "they" thereafter. Sunil himself makes no objection to this and is seemingly unconcerned to be referred to as entirely male.
Overall, this had the undesirable effect of making Sunil's non-binary status come off as window dressing that had been slapped onto the character without actually thinking it through.
But, but, but...
In another Storygraph review of this book, I noticed someone quoting a paragraph where Sunil appears to be stating that he prefers to be called "he" rather than "they". This paragraph isn't in my library's copy of the book, so maybe it was added in a later edition.
Either way, we have another problem: Why on earth would Sunil ask to be called "they" if he doesn't actually like it and prefers to be called "he"?
Sunil is not a nervous first-year just dipping his toes into Pride Soc for the first time. No, he's the Pride Soc President! If he wanted to be solely called "he", he would have said so when he introduced his pronouns!
Overall, this was a minor quibble at worst and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel. Loveless has laughter, it has tears, and it has friendship. What's not to love?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Grief
Minor: Homophobia