Staff Picks: Ace Stories

Sat, 11/04/2023 - 10:38am by nicole

Explore identities all across the asexual (or "ace" for short) spectrum, and check out these stories for teens and adults about the lives and relationships of ace people.

Let's Talk About Love, by Claire Kann | Request Now

In this young adult novel, Alice, afraid of explaining her asexuality, has given up on finding love until love finds her. Alice's last girlfriend, Margo, ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual. Now Alice is sure she's done with dating... and then she meets Takumi. She can't stop thinking about him or the rom-com-grade romance feelings she did not ask for. When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library-employee badge, Alice has to decide if she's willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated-- or understood.
 

 

 

 

Being Ace: an Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection, by Various Authors | Request Now

Discover the infinite realms of asexual love across sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary stories. From a wheelchair user racing to save her kidnapped girlfriend and a little mermaid who loves her sisters more than suitors, to a slayer whose virgin blood keeps attracting monsters, the stories of this anthology are anything but conventional. Whether adventuring through space, outsmarting a vengeful water spirit, or surviving haunted cemeteries, no two aces are the same in these 14 unique works that highlight asexual romance, aromantic love, and identities across the asexual spectrum.
 

 

 

 

Planning Perfect, by Haley Neil | Request Now

Felicity Becker loves watching an event come together, so when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off her skills. Felicity's long-distance friend Nancy offers up her family's apple orchard as a venue, but the more time Felicity and Nancy spend together dress shopping and hunting for just-right china, the more it starts to seem like there might be something besides friendship between them. Summer vacation quickly becomes complicated as Felicity tries to figure out her feelings for Nancy. As someone on the asexual spectrum, what would dating even look like for her? And would Nancy be open to dating when Felicity doesn't even know what she wants from a relationship?

 

 

How to be Ace: a Memoir of Growing up Asexual, by Rebecca Burgess | Request Now

Growing up, Rebecca assumes sex is just a scary new thing they will 'grow into' as they get older, but when they leave school, start working, and grow up, they start to wonder why they don't want to have sex with other people. In this brave, hilarious and empowering graphic memoir, we follow Rebecca as they navigate a culture obsessed with sex—from being bullied at school and trying to fit in with friends, to forcing themself into relationships and experiencing anxiety and OCD—before coming to understand and embrace their asexual identity. Readers should be aware this book mentions sexual assault.