LCC
PZ7.1.K277
Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Square Fish (2019), Edition: Reprint, 304 pages
Description
Romance. Young Adult Fiction. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) Striking a perfect balance between heartfelt emotions and spot-on humor, this debut features a pop-culture enthusiast protagonist with an unforgettable voice sure to resonate with listeners. Alice had her whole summer planned. Nonstop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting-working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual). Alice is done with dating-no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done. But then Alice meets Takumi and she can't stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!). When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library-employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she's willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated-or understood.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LibroLindsay
I was drawn to this book initially because it's a romance with an ace POC for a main character...the very few books discussing asexuality that I know about aren't really billed as romances, and I was really interested in getting that perspective. This has been published by Swoon Reads, for heaven's
My knee-jerk reaction, at least during the beginning of the book, was that of feeling a little underwhelmed. As I mentioned, romances aren't my thing (which shouldn't be confused with liking a good love story). What I did like, though, was that all the discussions surround Alice's asexuality felt pretty normal. Author Claire Kann was not pedantic about explaining the complexities of Alice's feelings, and she pulled in other issues on occasion as well--like sexual harassment, racial identity and discrimination, and (IMO) abusive relationships. I started to feel invested about a third of the way in, and then I had to know how everything shook out for Alice.
While I liked the story overall, I had a few gripes. For one, it was kind of jarring that we saw Alice and Takumi hanging out rather casually, but it always seemed to be pretty low-key, with her spending more and more time at his place with the occasional excursion to the beach...NBD. But then all of a sudden, we learn he took her paragliding, for a hot air balloon ride, and all this other stuff. What? I have no idea why those actual activities were glossed over--they felt kind of thrown in there for the heck of it with very little discussion of why or any real significance of forwarding the plot. Also, Takumi felt pretty flat. Apart from him needing (a rather short period of) time to try to understand Alice's sexual preferences, this guy has no real depth. He's Cutie Code Black attractive, basically a Renaissance Man, and doesn't really get upset with Alice being pretty rude to him through much of the book. What are his faults? Maybe I'm putting too much effort into this...one of the stand-out characteristics about the romance genre is that it is driven by plot and not character. I just wish Takumi had as much to offer us as Alice.
And let's talk about Feenie. I know she and Alice finally came to a truce in the end, but HOLY SHIT. She's abusive. Like, seriously abusive. She manipulates Alice throughout the book, giving her the affection she craves, but it's apparently totally cool that she has violent anger issues. And that she and her boyfriend are adults living on their own and still feel the need to get it on in a room at a party like they were 14 years old, all the while leaving Alice to be harassed and potentially abused by drunken ogres. It seemed pretty clear to me throughout the book that Feenie seemed to have expectations about the nature of Alice's orientation...she was used to Alice having very few romantic interludes and getting all of her attention, and the minute that Alice finds someone she clicks with, Feenie cannot deal. I'm sorry, but since when does Alice have to spend all her time at home? If she's paying rent and keeping up her space, there's no discussion. I don't blame Alice for avoiding Feenie...I would drop her like a hot potato. I just hope as Alice gets older, she grows out of that "friendship."
Whew. Anyway, considering these issues I took with the book, I did really enjoy reading it. It provided a little escape to some difficult reading and living I've dealt with lately. I hope there are more like it to come, and I hope Claire Kann has a prosperous career...there's a lot she offers in her prose, and the YA world surely benefits from Let's Talk About Love.
Many thanks to Swoon Reads and Net Galley for this advanced copy.
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sake. I was ready to lift my embargo on romances to check it out.My knee-jerk reaction, at least during the beginning of the book, was that of feeling a little underwhelmed. As I mentioned, romances aren't my thing (which shouldn't be confused with liking a good love story). What I did like, though, was that all the discussions surround Alice's asexuality felt pretty normal. Author Claire Kann was not pedantic about explaining the complexities of Alice's feelings, and she pulled in other issues on occasion as well--like sexual harassment, racial identity and discrimination, and (IMO) abusive relationships. I started to feel invested about a third of the way in, and then I had to know how everything shook out for Alice.
While I liked the story overall, I had a few gripes. For one, it was kind of jarring that we saw Alice and Takumi hanging out rather casually, but it always seemed to be pretty low-key, with her spending more and more time at his place with the occasional excursion to the beach...NBD. But then all of a sudden, we learn he took her paragliding, for a hot air balloon ride, and all this other stuff. What? I have no idea why those actual activities were glossed over--they felt kind of thrown in there for the heck of it with very little discussion of why or any real significance of forwarding the plot. Also, Takumi felt pretty flat. Apart from him needing (a rather short period of) time to try to understand Alice's sexual preferences, this guy has no real depth. He's Cutie Code Black attractive, basically a Renaissance Man, and doesn't really get upset with Alice being pretty rude to him through much of the book. What are his faults? Maybe I'm putting too much effort into this...one of the stand-out characteristics about the romance genre is that it is driven by plot and not character. I just wish Takumi had as much to offer us as Alice.
And let's talk about Feenie. I know she and Alice finally came to a truce in the end, but HOLY SHIT. She's abusive. Like, seriously abusive. She manipulates Alice throughout the book, giving her the affection she craves, but it's apparently totally cool that she has violent anger issues. And that she and her boyfriend are adults living on their own and still feel the need to get it on in a room at a party like they were 14 years old, all the while leaving Alice to be harassed and potentially abused by drunken ogres. It seemed pretty clear to me throughout the book that Feenie seemed to have expectations about the nature of Alice's orientation...she was used to Alice having very few romantic interludes and getting all of her attention, and the minute that Alice finds someone she clicks with, Feenie cannot deal. I'm sorry, but since when does Alice have to spend all her time at home? If she's paying rent and keeping up her space, there's no discussion. I don't blame Alice for avoiding Feenie...I would drop her like a hot potato. I just hope as Alice gets older, she grows out of that "friendship."
Whew. Anyway, considering these issues I took with the book, I did really enjoy reading it. It provided a little escape to some difficult reading and living I've dealt with lately. I hope there are more like it to come, and I hope Claire Kann has a prosperous career...there's a lot she offers in her prose, and the YA world surely benefits from Let's Talk About Love.
Many thanks to Swoon Reads and Net Galley for this advanced copy.
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LibraryThing member foggidawn
After a rough breakup, Alice isn't sure she ever wants to be in a relationship again -- until she meets Takumi, who breaks the mental scale she's used for years to measure cuteness. Alice is bi-romantic asexual, and unpacking that with any potential romantic partner is always a lot of work. Plus,
There are lots of things to like about this book, but it has a few issues as well. For the most part, I liked the characters, especially Alice (which is good, since the reader spends so much time in her head). She's super cute, and I really want to be her friend. Takumi is a little too perfect for me to believe in him, and Feenie (Alice's bestie) is just confusing to me. Lots of people are loving this book for the diverse representation, which is awesome. Though I can't personally judge how well it's done, the fact that it exists seems like a good thing. My main issue with the book was the plot, or lack thereof. If you require a book with a lot of action and progression, this one probably isn't for you. Alice does stuff, or more often, avoids stuff, so if people having problems communicating is a pet peeve for you, this book also probably isn't your thing (it's a pet peeve for me, but if I didn't read any books where communication issues were a key point, what would I read?). I also didn't feel that the ending wrapped things up particularly well, which is fairly true to life, but doesn't make for an entirely satisfying reading experience. If you like slice-of-life stories with diverse representation, give this a try.
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Alice and Takumi are immediately such good friends that she doesn't want to ruin anything. Meanwhile, Alice is fighting with both her parents (who want her to go to law school, when she has no interest in that) and her best friends, who are getting married (to each other) and may be accidentally excluding Alice sometimes.There are lots of things to like about this book, but it has a few issues as well. For the most part, I liked the characters, especially Alice (which is good, since the reader spends so much time in her head). She's super cute, and I really want to be her friend. Takumi is a little too perfect for me to believe in him, and Feenie (Alice's bestie) is just confusing to me. Lots of people are loving this book for the diverse representation, which is awesome. Though I can't personally judge how well it's done, the fact that it exists seems like a good thing. My main issue with the book was the plot, or lack thereof. If you require a book with a lot of action and progression, this one probably isn't for you. Alice does stuff, or more often, avoids stuff, so if people having problems communicating is a pet peeve for you, this book also probably isn't your thing (it's a pet peeve for me, but if I didn't read any books where communication issues were a key point, what would I read?). I also didn't feel that the ending wrapped things up particularly well, which is fairly true to life, but doesn't make for an entirely satisfying reading experience. If you like slice-of-life stories with diverse representation, give this a try.
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LibraryThing member bookbrig
Really cute, and the first book I've read with an asexual lead. I liked Alice so much, and her cutie code way of sorting things jumped out as something I think a lot of our teen readers will connect with. I still don't love contemporary YA romance, but this was a quick and sweet read.
LibraryThing member AnnaWaffles
Oh my goodness, I loved this book. I had a stupid grin on my face at least 90% of the time, and the rest of it had me honestly tearing up. (Do you know how often a book does that to me? Basically never.) It was sweet and adorable and warm and fuzzy and I just cared so dang much that everyone was
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going to be okay in the end. I can't wait to recommend this book as much as humanly possible. Oh, the squee. Show Less
LibraryThing member akblanchard
Black college student Alice is firmly attached to her identity as biromantic but asexual, but her orientation doesn’t stop her from crushing on handsome library worker Takumi. Can she tell him the truth about her lack of interest in sex? On top of all this relationship tension, Alice’s best
This young adult novel (surprisingly) grew on me. Once Alice stops rating people’s looks according to her insufferable Cutie Code, she becomes an appealing (if slightly childish) heroine. I found myself rooting for her and Takumi to reach an understanding. This novel may not be exactly realistic, but it is fun.
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friends are mad that Alice no longer spends all her time with them, and her domineering parents are insisting that she prepare for law school, even though she’s about as interested in the legal profession as she is in sex. This young adult novel (surprisingly) grew on me. Once Alice stops rating people’s looks according to her insufferable Cutie Code, she becomes an appealing (if slightly childish) heroine. I found myself rooting for her and Takumi to reach an understanding. This novel may not be exactly realistic, but it is fun.
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LibraryThing member BarnesBookshelf
Alice is so relatable in so many aspects of what she does and how she thinks. The book does an excellent job showcasing the struggles of being ace in the dating world, and how it intersects with race.
Awards
ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection — 2019)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018-01-23
Physical description
8.29 inches
ISBN
1250294509 / 9781250294500