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.
This sounds so lovely. I’ve added it to my list. I also wish I had been exposed to more variations of gender and sexual identity younger. But I’m glad it’s available now.
Oh, I hope you love it – I’m planning to read a few more of Alice Oseman’s books this year, because this was a great introduction to her work and I think she excels at representation.
Gives me so much hope for new kiddos that they get to come of age in a world filled with materials like this!
So true – it’s when encountering these things that I think despite everything wrong in the world right now, at least there is improvement in some areas. 🙂
Since I devoured all available volumes of Heartstopper after Christmas, I’ve promised myself I was also going to check out Oseman’s actual YA novel. Your review is just proving to me that I made the correct choice.
Oh, have you read any yet?
I have a couple more of her novels in my TBR for this year. 🙂