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cherishw's review
3.0
It was nice to read about asexual represntation in a positive light. I wish this novella was longer because it was forced to tell us alot of things instead of showing us.
moonchildmelancholia's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
the handling of the subject wasn’t exactly subtle or complex, but that’s definitely not a bad thing and stories like this with a more direct approach are definitely needed as well! I think this short story could be great for younger teenagers to learn about asexuality
It was a cute little story and i enjoyed it :)
It was a cute little story and i enjoyed it :)
sarahthornton's review
3.0
BIPOC sapphic asexual representation.
Delightful, important in context, short enough to be accessible to the target audience.
I think it was a little too short for the naysayers to have come around in the amount of time/growth in the book, but we all need our fairy tales and we need more of these.
Delightful, important in context, short enough to be accessible to the target audience.
I think it was a little too short for the naysayers to have come around in the amount of time/growth in the book, but we all need our fairy tales and we need more of these.
hazelrobin's review
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
bluelaceagate's review
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0
This is targeted more towards teenagers and I think if I had found this in my teen years it would have meant a lot to me and helped me figure some things out a lot sooner than I had. In the About the Author, it says that Sands writes LGBTQ+ stories to add diversity and reach out to younger audiences. I think this story does that successfully. It introduces asexuality's in a way that will be relatable to many young aces and ends on a much needed hopeful note.
As an older reader the writing is simple, with a little too much tell instead of show, and many of the characters are flat. This is perhaps to be expected since this story is a novella and is forgivable.
The main problem I had was the treatment of homophobia in the book. There are several instances of people close to the main character saying homophobic things and then immediately changing their tune when the main character confronts them. These characters are then unconditionally supportive of the main character and her relationship from then on with out any further thought and very little discussion. It is incredibly unrealistic and I found it frustrating. Being a novella that focused on introducing asexuality the author probably didn't have much time to get in-depth with her portrayal of homophobia. It felt unsatisfying and think it would have been better if the author spent less time focusing there.
As an older reader the writing is simple, with a little too much tell instead of show, and many of the characters are flat. This is perhaps to be expected since this story is a novella and is forgivable.
The main problem I had was the treatment of homophobia in the book. There are several instances of people close to the main character saying homophobic things and then immediately changing their tune when the main character confronts them. These characters are then unconditionally supportive of the main character and her relationship from then on with out any further thought and very little discussion. It is incredibly unrealistic and I found it frustrating. Being a novella that focused on introducing asexuality the author probably didn't have much time to get in-depth with her portrayal of homophobia. It felt unsatisfying and think it would have been better if the author spent less time focusing there.
longlost's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“I don’t want to talk,” Kayla replied. “Sex or not, I didn’t like Jason like that, so I broke up with him. I shouldn’t have started dating him in the first place. Apparently he liked me and everyone thought I should. So I did because....” Because maybe she’d seem normal, maybe no one would realize how different she was. “Because they expected me to. But it didn’t feel right, so I broke up with him. You should be proud of me for not being pressured into anything more!”
I really loved this book. Kayla's ace experience resonated so heavily with me, and I adored reading about her growing relationship with Althea. Considering the book was so short I wasn't expecting to become so attached to the characters, but I was thinking about Kayla and Althea long after I finished reading. I appreciated all the windows into Kayla's life: her relationship with Althea, with her mother, with school. Even Mr. March, who only appeared briefly in a few scenes, was someone I was looking forward to seeing whenever he did return.
Kate Sands has a lovely writing style that compliments Kayla's narration - her emotions are always so clearly shown and understandable, and the development of the friendship between her and Althea is always done with an immense amount of care. Though this book doesn't have the amount of pages of a full-length novel, the world Sands immerses us in always feels alive - my only complaint is that some side characters can feel like they aren't fully fleshed out.
Overall, a lovely book to relax across from the fireplace with, packing enough emotional punch to keep the pages turning.
I really loved this book. Kayla's ace experience resonated so heavily with me, and I adored reading about her growing relationship with Althea. Considering the book was so short I wasn't expecting to become so attached to the characters, but I was thinking about Kayla and Althea long after I finished reading. I appreciated all the windows into Kayla's life: her relationship with Althea, with her mother, with school. Even Mr. March, who only appeared briefly in a few scenes, was someone I was looking forward to seeing whenever he did return.
Kate Sands has a lovely writing style that compliments Kayla's narration - her emotions are always so clearly shown and understandable, and the development of the friendship between her and Althea is always done with an immense amount of care. Though this book doesn't have the amount of pages of a full-length novel, the world Sands immerses us in always feels alive - my only complaint is that some side characters can feel like they aren't fully fleshed out.
Overall, a lovely book to relax across from the fireplace with, packing enough emotional punch to keep the pages turning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Body shaming
digimai's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pastelkerstin's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The romance in this is cute. And it actually didn't bother me, like some other people, that Kayla didn't know what was up with her/had internalized aphobia for most of the book's length. Maybe it's because I read Loveless recently and in that book the main character deals with internalized aphobia for many more pages.
But it bothers me how, at two different points in the book, a character says something homophobic, then the main character gets mad at them, and the person backtracks completely immediately, apologising and saying that what they said was inappropriate. In real life, when someone says something like "Is that girl [who is a lesbian] corrupting you?", they have a deeper, perhaps partially subconscious, homophobic bias. And that doesn't immediately go away after one person whom you trust told you that you're out of line. People don't do 180s like this in a matter of minutes. That felt unrealistic to me.
Also, all of the characters, beside the main character and the love interest, are paper thin, characterwise, but I guess that's to be expected from a novella of this length.
Some people will probably also feel meh about the fact that there is an "allo saviour" in this, i.e. a non-ace character who teaches an ace character about what asexuality is. This doesn't bother me too much, a) because this actually happens in real-life sometimes, b) it beats being clueless, and c) I think it makes narrative sense here.
Lastly, I want to add that the book uses "transgendered" at one point, which is not a word and should be edited to "transgender". This might be a microaggression to some, so I wanted to mention it. (I read the ebook version on Kindle Unlimited, for reference)
But it bothers me how, at two different points in the book, a character says something homophobic, then the main character gets mad at them, and the person backtracks completely immediately, apologising and saying that what they said was inappropriate. In real life, when someone says something like "Is that girl [who is a lesbian] corrupting you?", they have a deeper, perhaps partially subconscious, homophobic bias. And that doesn't immediately go away after one person whom you trust told you that you're out of line. People don't do 180s like this in a matter of minutes. That felt unrealistic to me.
Also, all of the characters, beside the main character and the love interest, are paper thin, characterwise, but I guess that's to be expected from a novella of this length.
Some people will probably also feel meh about the fact that there is an "allo saviour" in this, i.e. a non-ace character who teaches an ace character about what asexuality is. This doesn't bother me too much, a) because this actually happens in real-life sometimes, b) it beats being clueless, and c) I think it makes narrative sense here.
Lastly, I want to add that the book uses "transgendered" at one point, which is not a word and should be edited to "transgender". This might be a microaggression to some, so I wanted to mention it. (I read the ebook version on Kindle Unlimited, for reference)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Homophobia
Minor: Body shaming
synth's review
2.0
There are two good things about this book: it's about a sixteen year-old girl figuring out and accepting she's asexual, and the romance is biracial (it does not, however, inform or in any way impact the black character, their relationship, or the story).
Further than that, the story is simple, with little unrealistic drama, and easy acceptance from the people who matter. Even the homophobic character faces some consequences at school. Sadly, the main character agonizes for months over her "brokenness" without even thinking of googling it, but changes her mind in three days once exposed to the idea... though the way this (the love interest introducing the concept of asexuality to the main character) was handled was respectful.
All in all, a short and basic story, written with basic storytelling and writing skills, featuring basic characters (not unlikeable, but not remarkable).
Further than that, the story is simple, with little unrealistic drama, and easy acceptance from the people who matter. Even the homophobic character faces some consequences at school. Sadly, the main character agonizes for months over her "brokenness" without even thinking of googling it, but changes her mind in three days once exposed to the idea... though the way this (the love interest introducing the concept of asexuality to the main character) was handled was respectful.
All in all, a short and basic story, written with basic storytelling and writing skills, featuring basic characters (not unlikeable, but not remarkable).