“Give your friendships the magic you would give a romance. Because they’re just as important.”
Loveless by Alice Oseman is a wonderful coming-of-age novel for queer teens trying to figure out who they are. Georgia Warr is graduating from high school and she’s never been in love. Her friend Jason has had a few relationships, and her other friend Pip has at least kissed a few girls, but Georgia has never had the chance. Not even for a first kiss. Her entire family is full of successful romances: happy couples with cute stories about their relationships. Georgia’s never felt the way they all do though. So, as Georgia starts her first year at university, she decides to figure out herself – to figure out her sexuality and finally find the romance she’s been missing out on. However, her plans go awry as Georgia pushes herself too far and ends up hurting herself and her friends in the process. It seems like Georgia just isn’t destined to have the happily-ever-after she’s always dreamed of. But as she meets new people and attends meetings with the Queer Society at her university, she’s faced with new terms that may redefine who she thinks she is, and what she thinks her happiness should look like.
“I used to dream of a spellbinding, endless, forever romance. A beautiful story of meeting a person who could change your whole world. But now, I realised, friendship could be that too.”
Oseman skillfully delivers the story of a young aromantic-asexual teen trying to figure herself out amid the intense culture of love and sex that surrounds the young-adult period of life. Georgia’s character is written so realistically: she’s just a teen who doesn’t understand why she doesn’t want this romantic love that seems to come to everyone else so effortlessly. Her journey through experimentation and education is wonderful, steeped in facts and coupled with true resources for kids who feel the same way Georgia does. And it’s not just the main character who’s so true: Georgia’s friends Jason, Pip, and her roommate Rooney all have their own quirks, traits, and troubles. Oseman breathes life into Georgia’s struggle to learn about, understand, and come to terms with her aro-asexuality, and the conflicts and resolutions between the characters are wonderful. This novel has it all: learning about who you are, unrequited love, a side-dose of enemies-to-lovers, and a beautiful emphasis on platonic and self-love that is often missing in young-adult novels, as Georgia learns that the love she’s been yearning for has been right in front of her the entire time – just in a different form.
“Two months ago, I would have been dreaming of a perfect, magical meet-cute at my first university ball. But now? Now I dressed for myself.”
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