January 9
2021
Loveless, by Alice Oseman
Loveless, by Alice Oseman
Title: Loveless
Author: Alice Oseman
Genre/ issues: YA. Sexuality. Relationships. Ace/Aro representation. Queer identities.
Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, you can find this book on Booktopia, or support your local independent bookstore. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.
I’ve only recently discovered the work of the wonderful @aliceoseman and it’s fair to say that I am obsessed. Loveless is a book about love, where people find it, and how it can exist outside society’s expectations. As one of the characters says – “The heteronormative rulebook? Fuck that.”
Georgia is obsessed with fanfic romances, and is sure she’ll find her person one day – despite the fact that she’s never kissed anyone, never had a crush, and certainly never been in love. As she starts uni, she starts trying to search for romance or stir up some attraction, and this causes problems both in her friendship group, and in herself, as she struggles to figure out what her feelings mean. Asexual, aromantic – she had heard of these terms, but what do they mean for her?
Oseman’s Heartstopper was one of my favourite graphic novels of last year, in no small part because of the gentle, witty, authentic and wonderful portrayal of the central characters. Loveless is the same, and whilst I know this is primarily Georgia’s story, the struggles of her roommate Rooney to find herself and allow herself to be seen resonated so deeply with me that it hurt to read sometimes. “I just … I hate the idea of people knowing me because … surely then they’ll hate me the same way I hate myself.” Same, Rooney, same.
This is a wonderful book, and I’m extremely glad that Past Tamara planned ahead and made sure that Future Tamara had another Oseman book to crack into once she’d finished it.
#TamaraReads #2021readingchallenge 4/2021
Happy reading,
