Loveless (novel)

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Loveless
Loveless graphic novel - cover art.jpg
Cover art for Loveless
Author Alice Oseman
Language English
Genre
Published9 July 2020
Publisher HarperCollins Children's Books (paperback)
Scholastic (hardcover)
Publication place United Kingdom
Media typePrint (paperback, hardcover)
Pages433 (paperback)
432 (hardcover)
ISBN 9780008244125 (HarperCollins paperback edition)

Loveless is a novel written by Alice Oseman. Published by HarperCollins Children's Books on 9 July 2020, the novel follows Georgia as she begins university. Depicting her journey of self-discovery as an asexual and aromantic individual, the novel received positive reception from literary reviewers and media outlets.

Contents

Plot

Loveless follows 18-year-old Georgia Warr, a girl entering her first year at Durham University having never kissed anyone or held a crush before. [1] [2] [3] [4] Despite having never having those experiences, she is passionate about reading fanfics. [1] Hoping her first year will help her discover romantic feelings, she begins to ponder why these feelings elude her, leading her on a journey of self-discovery. [2] [5] Georgia is also "wary of the dramatic reality of new love, which promptly wreaks chaos on her platonic friendships." [1]

Development and release

Oseman previously authored Heartstopper , a young adult graphic novel series based on her 2016 webcomic of the same name. She commented on her inspiration for Loveless, expressing her "desire to write a story about the power of platonic love," and elaborated that her prior works explored the idea, "but never as the main theme". [6] Oseman herself is asexual (ace) and aromantic (aro), though has stated Loveless is "not an autobiographical book, but it does draw on a lot of experiences." [7] In an interview with Pride , Oseman stated "I wanted to read a story that explored all the uncertainty, confusion, internalized phobias, and path to self-acceptance that I've read lots about in gay coming-out stories, but never had with an aro or ace protagonist". [1] The book lists the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) and Aze as educational resources. [8]

Loveless was published as a paperback by HarperCollins in the United Kingdom on 9 July 2020. [9] Scholastic published the novel as a hardcover in the United States on 1 March 2022. [10]

Reception and accolades

Loveless received positive critical reception from literary reviewers and media outlet writers, with many praising the novel's depiction of an aro/ace individual. Some also added that Loveless helped them discover their own aromanticism, or helped them affirm their personal journeys with their aromantic or asexual identities. [5] [11] In February 2023, Jonny Yates of PinkNews wrote that the novel is "perhaps one of the most notable and popular books with aromantic characters". [2]

Kirkus Reviews wrote that Loveless is "a messy, imperfect, and necessary portrayal of a drastically underrepresented identity." [3] Ani Bundel of Paste recommended the novel, expressing that its depiction of an aro/ace individual in a romance is "a rare thing still, and the burgeoning world of LGBTQ+ love stories needs more of them." [12] Writing for the UPRRP chapter of Her Campus , Zaidi Gonzalez also highly praised Loveless' depiction of an aro/ace individual. Gonzalez suggested that those questioning their sexuality strongly consider reading Loveless, calling it a "fantastic book to read about queerness in general." [11]

Commercially, Loveless had sold 7,274 copies by May 2021 through Nielsen Bookscan with that figure excluding sales in lockdown weeks. [6]

The novel received the YA Book Prize in 2021. [6] [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romantic orientation</span> Classification of a persons romantic attraction towards others

Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the term "sexual orientation", as well as being used alternatively to it, based upon the perspective that sexual attraction is only a single component of a larger concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asexuality</span> Lack of sexual attraction to others

Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be considered a sexual orientation or the lack thereof. It may also be categorized more widely, to include a broad spectrum of asexual sub-identities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aromanticism</span> Lack of romantic attraction to others

Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray asexuality</span> Spectrum between asexuality and allosexuality

Gray asexuality, grey asexuality, or gray-sexuality is the spectrum between asexuality and allosexuality. Individuals who identify with gray asexuality are referred to as being gray-A, gray ace, and make up what is referred to as the "ace umbrella". Within this spectrum are terms such as demisexual, semisexual, asexual-ish and sexual-ish.

Alice May Oseman is an English author and illustrator of young adult fiction. She secured her first publishing deal at 17 and published her first novel Solitaire in 2014.

This is a timeline of asexual history worldwide. The briefness of this timeline can be attributed to the fact that acceptance of asexuality as a sexual orientation and field of scientific research is still relatively new.

<i>Sounds Fake but Okay</i> Comedy podcast on gender and sexuality

Sounds Fake but Okay is a weekly comedy podcast that focuses on asexuality and aromanticism. The podcast is hosted by University of Michigan alumni Sarah Costello and Kayla Kaszyca. Each Sunday, Costello and Kaszyca "talk about all things to do with love, relationships, sexuality, and pretty much anything else they just don't understand."

The portrayals of asexuality in the media reflect societal attitudes towards asexuality, reflected in the existing media portrayals. Throughout history, asexual characters have appeared in television series, animated series, literature, comics, video games, music, and film.

<i>Heartstopper</i> (TV series) English coming-of-age television series

Heartstopper is an English coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama television series created by Alice Oseman for Netflix. It is based on Oseman's webcomic and graphic novel of the same name. The series primarily tells the story of Charlie Spring, a gay schoolboy who falls in love with classmate Nick Nelson, whom he sits next to in his new form. It also explores the lives of their friends Tao Xu, Elle Argent, Isaac Henderson, Tara Jones and Darcy Olsson.

Queerplatonic relationships (QPR), also known as queerplatonic partnerships (QPP), are committed intimate relationships between significant others whose relationship is not romantic in nature. A queerplatonic relationship differs from a close friendship by having the same explicit commitment, status, and structure as a formal romantic relationship, whilst it differs from a romantic relationship by not involving feelings of romantic love. The concept originates in aromantic and asexual spaces in the LGBT community. Like romantic relationships, queerplatonic relationships are sometimes said to involve a deeper and more profound emotional connection than typical friendship.

Heartstopper is an ongoing LGBTQ+ young adult graphic novel and webcomic series written and illustrated by British author Alice Oseman. It follows the lives of Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring as they meet and fall in love. The series is a prequel to Oseman's 2015 novella, Nick and Charlie, although the characters originally appeared in her 2014 novel, Solitaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Spring</span> Fictional character

Charlie Spring is a primary character in the Alice Oseman graphic novel series Heartstopper as well as its 2022 Netflix adaptation, where he is portrayed by Joe Locke. His first appearance was in the 2014 novel Solitaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Split attraction model</span> Discordance between sexual and romantic attraction

The split attraction model (SAM) is a model in psychology that distinguishes between a person's romantic and sexual attraction, allowing the two to be different from each other.

<i>Aze</i> (magazine) Literary magazine

Aze is a literary magazine for asexual, aromantic, and agender people that was created in 2016 and publishes issues online. It was formerly known as The Asexual until 2019 when it expanded to include aromantic and agender people. The magazine publishes visual art, poetry, and personal and academic essays on the subjects of asexuality, aromanticism, and agender experiences and their various intersections. It was founded by Michael Paramo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Paramo</span> American writer

Michael Paramo is a writer, academic, and artist known for founding the literary magazine Aze and for their work examining interpersonal attraction and love with consideration to asexuality, aromanticism, and agender identity. Paramo identifies on the asexual and aromantic spectrum and advocates for people of similar experience to express themselves toward expanding society's ideas of human sexuality, romance, and gender identity. They published a book Ending the Pursuit: Asexuality, Aromanticism, and Agender Identity in 2024.

The YA Book Prize is a British literary award established by publishing magazine The Bookseller in 2014. The accolade is given to young adult novels published by an author in the United Kingdom or Ireland in the previous year.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Henderson, Taylor (2 March 2021). "Alice Oseman Reveals Cover for Aromantic YA Novel Loveless". Pride . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Yates, Jonny (21 February 2023). "6 incredible books with lead characters on the aromantic spectrum". PinkNews . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 "LOVELESS". Kirkus Reviews . 14 September 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Julia (22 February 2022). "'Loveless' Review: A Compassionate Examination of Asexuality and Aromanticism by Alice Oseman". Nerds & Beyond. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 Littleford, Joshua (24 February 2023). "How Loveless by Alice Oseman helped me discover my aromanticism". Gay Times . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Carpenter, Caroline (6 May 2021). "Oseman wins YA Book Prize with 'joyful' tale of self-discovery, Loveless". The Bookseller . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Knight, Lucy (19 November 2022). "Heartstopper author Alice Oseman: 'If you don't have sex and romance, you feel like you haven't achieved'". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Oseman, Alice (1 March 2022). Loveless. Scholastic Inc. ISBN   978-1-338-75195-6.
  9. ↑ "Loveless by Alice Oseman". Goodreads . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  10. ↑ "Editions of Loveless by Alice Oseman". Goodreads . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  11. 1 2 Gonzalez, Zaidi (1 March 2023). "Am I Loveless, Too?: An Aromantic Review Into 'Loveless' By Alice Oseman". Her Campus . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  12. ↑ Bundel, Ani (17 June 2022). "What to Read if You Can't Get Enough of Heartstopper". Paste . Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Oseman wins YA Book Prize for 'Loveless'". Books+Publishing . 7 May 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
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