International Asexuality Day: my favourite boooks with acespec rep

I'll do separate blog posts in more detail about these, but these are three books that I loved, as an arospec asexual, that centre the narrative of an aroace.

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Summer Bird Blue is a contemporary, young adult novel that follows the journey of Rumi Seto as she battles through the loss of her sister, Lea, the one person she felt could understand her. She is trying to figure out who she is at the same time as dealing with her grief: what is she without Lea? Without the music they make? Will she be able to pick up an instrument again, or will it hurt forever?

At the same time, Rumi struggles in figuring out her identity and navigating the pressures she feels in an amatonormative world. She could talk to Lea about it, but now Lea is gone, and instead she's faced with Kai: her aunts neighbour, who she finds aesthetically pleasing, but does that mean she wants to date him?

"I don't feel I have fewer pieces than anyone else, or that I'm somehow less whole because I don't want to date. But I feel like I'm supposed to feel that way."

"It doesn't have to make sense to me. It just has to make sense to you."

Main Rep: Aromantic Asexual

Links: Portal Bookshop StoryGraph

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Loveless is a contemporary young adult novel following the protagonist: Georgia, as she moves away from home and starts university. Georgia has one "problem" she wants solved: she has never kissed anyone, never been in a relationship, and never had a crush, despite being a romantic at heart (did you mean: aromantic, Georgia? Yes.).

This novel hits the nail on the head when it comes to the fear of being alone as she reaches a time in life where it is "normal", and expected, to be in a relationship. Georgia battles coming to terms with her aroace identity because she is scared it means she is, as the book title gives us straight away: Loveless.

“Was that all I’d be? Sad and lonely? Forever? Had I doomed myself by daring to think about this part of me? Was I just accepting a life of solitude?”

Can Georgia, being so focused on the idea of love being romantic and sexual, realise the love she really wants has already been around her this whole time?

Main Rep: Aromantic Asexual

Links: Portal Bookshop StoryGraph

Goddess of the Hunt by Shelby Eileen

Goddess of the Hunt is a collection of poems about the Greek Goddess Artemis. It follows her emotions, the pressures she feels from other people, and moments where she feels displaced and misunderstood as an aroace.

I own that power it came from me the girl who everyone told would fall in love one day no matter how loudly I screamed it's not what I wanted it was never what I needed

Main Rep: Aromantic Asexual

Links: Amazon StoryGraph