This was such a touching and funny exploration of one girl's exploration and acceptance of her sexuality. It tells the story of Georgia, a quiet 18 year old, obsessed with romance but having never been in a relationship herself. As she embarks upon her first year of university with her two best friends, she discovers that identity and sexuality are far more confusing than she realised. Firstly, I thought the tone of this book was fantastic. It felt like a really authentic portrayal of new adults making their way in the world and never veered too far into saccharine sweetness or similarly, never felt too maudlin. I really liked Georgia and although she makes some truly horrible choices, she holds herself accountable and recognises where she has gone wrong. I also thought that the book did a great job at discussing difficult topics, such as masturbation and abusive relationships, in an open and honest fashion. This book was not written for me, and I would be fascinated to read reviews from people who identify as ACE, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as a coming of age story and would definitely recommend it to anyone who can remember what it was like to be 18.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this. Just a brilliant YA book that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. The real message that comes across is the importance of friendship - it's such a positive look at friendship but without being unrealistic - the group of friends has misunderstandings and fall outs but they all find their way back together. The characters were great, the main few were all likeable and felt very real, but all still had their own faults and issues to overcome. I really really liked the inclusion of a character who was slightly older - so true at university that you can find fantastic friends outside of your own year group. On a side note - I actually studied at Durham University where the book is set and I absolutely loved reading about it! Durham is a small city so anyone who knows the area will recognise the names of all the university colleges and buildings, and cafes, clubs etc. Made it an extra fun reading experience for me.

I fell in love with Alice Oseman’s writing after reading the Heartstopper series and was keen to read her other books. Thank you to Harper Collins Audio and NetGalley for proving me with a copy of the audiobook for review purposes.

Georgia has never been in love, has never kissed anyone. About to go away to university with her two best friends Pip and Jason, she starts to feel like she’s missing out on what she thinks of as normal teenage experiences. With the help of Pip, Jason and her new roommate she starts to experiment but nothing feels right.

Georgia learns about the broad spectrum of sexuality and finally starts to accept herself and what she feels. At its heart this is a book about friendship and how the love between friends is as important as any romantic relationship.

This book was wonderful. I never had the chance to go to university, but reading Georgia and her friends’ experiences made me feel like I was living it with them. Although I know a little about asexuality, hearing about it from the perspective of someone experiencing it themselves made it easy to relate to and left me with a much deeper understanding. This would be an important read for anyone who is questioning their sexuality or wanting to know more about being aromantic or asexual.

The narrator was excellent and made the listening experience gripping and emotional.

Audio ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review


Audio review: Great choice of narrator. She really captured Georgia's voice and delivered on the very UK brand of humour threaded through the book.


Main review: I really like Oseman's style and in general she handles sensitive topics with care and tact and the bare minimum of preachiness. Small caveat but I am not ace or aro (demi and bi) so my personal experience just won't line up. However, the characters were relatable and engaging. I found Georgia very annoying for a lot of the book, mostly because she acted in a very self involved way. I realise this was part of her quest for identity but I just found it irritating. However, I also related to her feeling of not belonging or not being queer enough. I think it's important to say that while Georgia's experience of being aro-ace is perfectly legitimate (she is sex repulsed to an extreme degree), it absolutely doesn't represent the entire asexual spectrum. Oseman didn't owe anyone other perspectives on being aro-ace but her other ace characters don't really give much of an alternative. It didn't bother me but I note opinion is divided amongst other people as to feeling really seen and just feeling excluded. The real stand out for me in this book and what kept me listening was the friendships. Friendship is carefully examined and given a plinth where it is easily as important as romance. There was a really moving scene between Georgia and her roommate, which actually made me a bit choked up. Friendship is a kind of falling in love. Now that's a message I can get behind. As for the rest, I don't think this book is given credit for just how wryly funny it really is - I think perhaps that dry humour went over a lot of (US) reviewer's heads.

Oh wow this book was beautiful! This was my first book of Alice Oseman’s and I have since purchase all her others. Her way of writing is very relatable for teenagers and young adults and I believe will be very helpful for those transitioning to university or helping to understand their feelings around sexuality. Beautifully written and and an amazing book.