I need to read more queer YA contemporaries

So, here is the thing: I really need to read more YA contemporary. I mean, really. I had no idea I would love this that much.

Loveless tells the story of Georgia Warr, a girl who is very much in love with the idea of love (through books and movies and fan fiction) but has never had a crush herself. But fear not, she is off to uni with her 2 best friends, and that is the time when everything will change, and she will finally find love. Because that is what college is all about, no?

Needless to say, things do not go quite as expected. And so, between a houseplant and a student play, Georgia, having set out trying to find love, ends up finding herself instead.

I don’t want to give anything away, but more than anything, I took away that this is a story about love, and all the different facets it has.

This might have been the best book I read this year so far, and I’ve given a couple of 5 stars already. The journey Georgia goes through was so interesting. The characters were so real and relatable. Their mistakes felt justified, and their triumphs earned. I loved every single one of them. Well, maybe not her aunt and uncle or the Pride Soc’s ex-president, but pretty much everyone else. And the ending made me so hopeful, it felt like a perfect fit.

And finally, I can’t really explain it, but I don’t think I ever felt so seen. While I never tried to identify myself within the asexuality spectrum (though I’ve been happily single for over 10 years), I saw so much of myself in Ellis (and sometimes in Georgia). I also saw myself in the characters with harmful or unhelpful reactions such as “give it time” or “you just haven’t met the right person yet”. I have been all those people. It’s ridiculous how much representation matters, yet we are still so bad at providing it. I definitely learned a lot by reading this book. I wish I had read this years ago.