Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.
As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight.
But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.
Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?
This wise, warm and witty story of identity and self-acceptance sees Alice Oseman on towering form as Georgia and her friends discover that true love isn’t limited to romance.
I did a little bit of research after reading this. The commonly accepted figure for asexuals is one percent of the global population, although most people accept that the actual number is higher. That's about 78 million people. That's somewhere between Thailand and Germany, based on current population numbers. And yet almost no one has heard of it. It's that tiny little A in the middle of the acronym. Part of the problem may be that it's a spectrum, not an absolute, and not very easily explained.
That's the problem for Georgia, anyway. She's never even heard of asexuality, has no idea what it means or even that it's a thing. She just thinks she's wrong. Broken, somehow. Because the world is set up for people to fall in love, and if she can't do that, what's the point of anything?
I'm making this sound very grim, and it's genuinely not! It's funny and life affirming and sweet. I'd love to see this on Netflix or Disney+. Again; 78 million people. That's a heck of a potential audience.
I adored the friendships, both the long lasting ones and the new ones Georgia develops over the year. Those are the kinds of relationships I want to have, and I absolutely agree that they shouldn't be considered so far below romance.
Alice Oseman had a knack for taking a difficult, sensitive subject, and making it easy for anyone to follow without talking down or patronizing. I have no idea how she does it, but I hope she'll keep doing it for a long time. I'll keep reading as long as she's writing.
Please note, in case it is not your bag; there is sex in this book, including a character who has numerous one night stands. There is also some homophobic language and behaviour.
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