Given the author, I was expecting this to fall somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum, going so far as to ask my fiancee which character(s) on the dust jacket she thought would be on it, but I must say I was surprised to find out where exactly on that spectrum our main character Georgia wound up falling. I knew almost instantly where Oseman was going with it, from the moment Georgia was repulsed by the people kissing around the fire, but naturally it took over half the book for her to come to the realization herself. The whole time, I wanted Sunil to pop in to say “honey, no,” and educate the poor thing, except the book would be a lot shorter, and probably not as interesting, if it all got wrapped up so quickly and tidily.
Speaking of things being tidy, my only complaint is that Georgia just happens to have a cousin who’s also asexual? I don’t know that I’ve ever met somebody who is, at least not someone who’s admitted to it, so it felt too coincidental and like Oseman just needed an easy way to talk Georgia into being okay with it. It’s only one small part of the book, though, and I was wanting her to make her peace with it already, so I was willing to set my problems with it aside. Still, it is worth mentioning, because the rest of the book is rather well-plotted and written in comparison.
To me, it feels like Fangirls-style Rainbow Rowell, only much gayer, and I mean that as a compliment. You have your sheltered main character with a fanfic obsession, your roommate who can rub people the wrong way but has a hidden soft side, misunderstandings that threaten to break apart the friend group, etc. Oh, and plenty of fun banter. And like with Fangirl, I want more of these characters (and the Simon Snow books didn’t count, in Fangirl’s case). So I’m glad that Oseman added an additional little story that delved more into the interaction between Pip and Rooney we only got the cliff notes version of in the book itself. Now where’s my sequel!?
Lastly, I must say that it’s refreshing to see a book with an asexual (and aromantic) main character. This is a minority that gets essentially zero representation, so good on you, Oseman. You gave them their time in the sun and, as far as I can tell, you handled it rather deftly too. You’re probably so proud of yourself for that cheeky title, too, aren’t you? Thankfully, though, Georgia isn’t loveless. She still has the love of her friends, and she learns that that’s enough for her. But that isn’t enough for me. Again, give me a sequel!
