Member Reviews

As the title says, this was a quick and easy guide to asexuality. Handy to learn more about what asexuality, the ace spectrum is, from ace folks themselves, with common misconceptions by other people being explained (and cleared up). This book could be useful to anyone wanting to learn more about asexuality, from relatives or friends of ace people, allosexuals just wanting to know, or ace people themselves. But as it is quick and easy, this book is more of an introduction (with all the foundations), so this is not the book if you want more details and informations.

Was this review helpful?

Compared to my most recent eARC about asexuality, How to be Ace by Rebecca Burgess, this book is more of an infographic about the ace spectrum than a memoir. Though I am not asexual myself, I did find some of what the narrators went through growing up very relatable. For example, feelings of being lonely and an outsider to your peers because you don't have the same interests. Also the fact that one narrator is a person of culture and reads fanfiction.

Was this review helpful?

Rating: 4.75

An excellent, quick and simple guide. A very informative comic that covers a lot of great topics surrounding Asexuality. It would be a great guide for teens in schools and a fantastic resource for parents or friends of Asexual people.
I learnt a lot and it covered a few questions I had about Asexuality.
We also get real-life experiences from the creators (who both identify as Asexual) which was very helpful.
The artwork was simple but fun, however my review copy was not in colour. This may change for the final publication (and I hope it does! I would love to see these images in colour!)
Fantastic list of resources in the back of the comic, for those who want to do further reading or find support.

After reading some other reviews, the two biggest concerns seem to be, one, the comment about “A” standing for “Ally” in LGBTQIA+. The creators don’t agree with this necessarily, but also don’t dispel the theory. I understand how this is a concern as a queer person myself and wish this was addressed better.
And two, the oversimplification of this publication. While I would have been interested in a more in-depth guide to Asexuality. It DOES say in the title “Quick and EASY”. This is meant to be a first-step for research and from the beginning the creators say there are resources in the back for further reading. So I don’t understand this critique.

Overall, a solid guide and I would definitely recommend it!

Was this review helpful?

A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality uses personal experience to explain the ins and outs of Asexuality to anyone who may be interested. A place to start for beginners of all types, this book is made with love and knowledge for all to enjoy.

Was this review helpful?

This is a great intro to Asexuality. I loved the tone and the style of the illustrations. I think this is great for both people trying to figure out if they fall on the Ace spectrum and everyone else. My only quibble is that I wish the authors had clearly stated that the A in LGBTQIA+ does not stand for ally. That would be like if instead of BIPOC it was BIPOCA.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!

I saw A Quick & Easy Guide to Asexuality on NetGalley and requested a copy! As an asexual person, or “ace,” myself, I figured I’d know most of the information in this book. But it’s always great to read more!

This is a cute graphic novel style guide, where two asexual people talk about their experiences being ace in a very allo-centric world (“allo” being short for allosexual, the opposite of asexual). The art is great and the writing is snappy, making this a really fun read for anyone looking to learn more about asexuality. People often call asexuality the “hidden” or “invisible” orientation because of the lack of information available about it. I think this guide is a step in the right direction to fixing that issue.

I appreciate how this book also clears up common misconceptions about asexuality and aromanticism and how it handles the LGBT+ issue—that some aces feel happy identifying as queer, while others do not. “Aces are welcome” in the LGBT+ community is a wonderful message that does not force people into boxes they do not fit into. (Some asexual people identify as LGBT+, while some do not… And those are both valid!)

This is a great little book that I think will help many people.

Was this review helpful?

A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality is a good, short book about Asexuality. It is an easy read which I believe can be accessible for a lot of people. I definitely recommend it to people who are curious about Asexuality, whether it is in general or for themselves.

Was this review helpful?

E-Arc Review 🚨

A Quick & Easy Guide To Asexuality by Molly Muldoon & Will Hernandez is a fun informative graphic piece, presented in conversational structure that demystifies asexuality.

"...the most important thing to remember is this: You're not broken. You are complete the way you are and there's nothing wrong with you. You are valid. You aren't broken. You're not alone."

I learned new words I didn't know existed through this book. For example, allosexual are those people who do not identify as asexual. I am allosexual.

Why, you may ask, did I, an allosexual person, read this book. Simply put, books has no gender. This guide was also written not just for the benefit of asexual people, or questioning individuals, but also for everyone generally, as stated by the authors.

That being said, I really recommend you try reading this book also. This comes put March 2022 so watch out!

*E-Arc provided by the publisher through Netgalley, however, this does not affect my review, and all thoughts/opinion here are my own.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC,

This book is great to show what asexuality is and explain it. I think it can be perfect both for asexual people and allies. As someone who is not sure about their own sexuality, it was interesting to have a better understanding about asexuality. This graphic novel is also very good at debunking myth and believes around asexuality.
I loved the drawings and how the authors break the four wall to talk to the audience. It was important to have ace authors to write this book because they could easily talk about their own experiences.

However, there was a moment in the book where they identified the A as Ally and it’s just not. I wish they had debunked this belief. Moreover, as it is a “quick” introduction, I felt like it was too short and could not properly go into heavy details in the subject which is a shame, but it’s not the purpose of this book and I understand it. The asexual spectrum is so large that it would need an entire book to discuss it.

Was this review helpful?

3 stars - I liked it

This is a very simple and easy to understand comic about what asexuality is and some common questions about it. This is a great beginners guide for those who don’t really understand what ace is and gets rid of some of the common misconceptions about them. But, don’t expect a lot of in depth information about the different types of asexuality.

Was this review helpful?

I thought this was a very informative book and I highly recommend checking this out, even if you aren’t asexual. It discusses asexuality on a very positive note and constantly reassures readers that their feelings are valid. I think this is a great beginner’s guide! The authors split the book into sections so they cover lots of different aspects of asexuality that I had never considered before. They also include a list of helpful resources at the end if you want more information and they also include a disclaimer at the beginning stating that they tried to cover everything and some things may be triggering. Overall a really good book.

4.5/5 Stars

Was this review helpful?

There just aren't that many books out there about asexuality so I jumped at the chance to review this one. It was a good decision! A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality is short but sweet and filled with lots of important information. First and foremost, it demystifies asexuality, responding to FAQs and dispelling myths (i.e. about asexuality, dating and sex). It flows very smoothly between different sections, from growing up ace, the difference between asexuality and aromanticism to media representations of asexuality. Muldoon and Hernandez fall on different points of the asexuality spectrum (demonstrating that there is a spectrum) and are very honest about their own experiences, even mentioning that publishing this book is a kind of coming-out experience, so kudos to them! That's brave!

They're also very kind and humorous throughout the guide and they make excellent points in a very simple, accessible way (it is a "Quick and Easy Guide", after all). A lot of the material they cover was already familiar to me, personally, but some terms were new, like "allosexual", "gray-a" and "split attraction model." I also didn't realize that demisexuality is on the ace spectrum? As a result, I'd recommend A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality to both readers who already know a bit about the subject and complete newbies. The wholesome writing and charming art style also make it suitable for a range of ages. It would be perfect for ace people, people questioning their sexuality and allies/friends/family members or anyone who wants to be better informed about the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. There's also a list of resources at the end for more in-depth information and online tools and forums for community-building and more direct support, like The Trevor Project, which I really appreciated.

My only caveat is that, due to their super upbeat approach, Muldoon and Hernandez are perhaps a little optimistic about ace inclusivity in queer spaces? They acknowledge that online LGBTQ+ spaces can be hostile, but assert that their real life experiences with the community have been universally positive. Given the history of the L and G of LGBT (but especially the white male "G", let's be real) dominating the conversation, I worry slightly that they may be setting up overly-optimistic expectations (see Queer: A Graphic History for more info). But, to be fair, the aforementioned extra resources they list may well tackle those issues in more depth. And there is definitely a need for purely affirming, encouraging educational literature for LGBTQIA+ (and especially ace) readers, It also feels a bit curmudgeonly to complain that they're too nice (perhaps I'm too cynical). Either way, this is a great, handy primer to asexuality. 5/5, would recommend.

Was this review helpful?

This is a great conversational graphic novel that covers the basics of what it means to be asexual. Asexuality is rarely discussed and it's great to make sure people are aware of what it means. The authors are the main characters and narrators in this title and they talk to their readers as equals and answer questions from confused characters in the book. The authors discuss their personal experiences and use metaphors to make sure the topic is easy to digest. I think this would be a great resource for anyone.

Was this review helpful?

A Quick Overview about what asexuality is not is not, this short book, drawn in little comics, is an easy introduction for those who want to know more about the asexuality spectrum. Whether for people discovering their asexuality, or for allies, friends & family who want to to support someone, but don't actually know much, this is a great start.
It focuses on demystifying the spectrum of asexuality, and dispelling the common tropes asexuality is surrounded with.

Was this review helpful?

A well-written and concise description of what it means to be Asexual. Great examples are included in the book to help with the understanding of the topics discussed. I personally enjoyed the illustration style and the presentation of the material. I found it extremely accessible. This book is a great way for members of the Ace community to find validation of themselves, and for the greater population to understand what Ace means and how to support people who identify as Ace.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I truly loved this book. I really liked the art style of the graphic novel. And just like the title said it is a quick and easy guide to asexuality, for everyone. All thought I understand that this is far from a complete guide to asexuality but I learned a lot. As an allosexual I learned a lot about something I only read about, like the term allosexual. This book helped me understand what asexuality means. It was explained on a very basic level and makes me want to research more about the topic.

Was this review helpful?

This book did a great job of explaining asexuality. As an orientation that is still, unfortunately, not well known, it’s nice to see that there are resources people can turn to when they are in need of answers. The art was simple but effective; the two main characters did a good job informing the reader what they needed to know about being ace, adding their experiences growing up, of feeling different and “broken.” I saw myself reflected in them and it made me emotional, remembering going through what they did and questioning whether there was something wrong with me.

The book only goes into the basics, touching on orientations related to asexuality—like being demi, gray-a, and aromantic—but not going into much detail with them, which would have been nice. I also wish we could have seen more positives related to being ace, like where and when the term originated, the great online community of ace people, and how we claimed our unofficial symbols like the black ring (which wasn’t mentioned at all, unfortunately), cake, and axolotls.

It’s a great book into the basics of being ace, for anyone who is questioning their identity and wants to know more about it, or for those who know someone that is or might be and they want to educate themselves so as not to get sucked into believing the harmful stereotypes we so often see from people who don’t know much about it. Though more detailed and in-depth answers might be best found elsewhere, this book is a good start.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

I think the fact that it's a "quick and easy" guide makes it a hit or miss for me. I did already know just about everything in this guide but I do think it would be an important book to have in libraries and classrooms. The art for the comic could've been more engaging and fun but nonetheless it worked for the purpose of the guide.

Side note: Some people mention how ambiguous the "A for Asexual" chapter is and I agree that chapter may confuse readers further since there's no clear answer given (and therefore no purpose for that chapter).

Was this review helpful?

Being a Asexual person myself I felt the need to read this book. I think the authors did an amazing job of explaining Asexuality. Little Asexual me would of found this book so useful awhile back. Definitely something that everyone can take something away from weather your an ally trying to familiarize yourself, a questioning asexual, a senior asexual, and everything in between. The drawings where very cute and I loved the way it was payed out as if the characters where talking to you. I just felt a lack of something which is why it didn’t get 5 stars from me. I felt a lot of the information was just repeated in different ways which is good for people learning but I felt like it was taken too far. But overall I loved this little graphic novel and I learned some new things. Definitely something I plan on recommending to others!

(Thanks Oni Press for giving me this arc though net gallery in exchange for an honest review)

Was this review helpful?

Working with my school’s GSA and also based on student requests, there is definitely interest and a need for more books related to various sexualities, relationships, and identity. Other than being included in more broad books, I don’t have any books specifically on asexuality and so this caught my eye. It’s a quick read but I think that it would definitely be helpful and high school appropriate. My own understanding is more clear after reading this. It helps with basic understanding and demystification.

Was this review helpful?