By: Kylie Quigley
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann follows Alice, who is looking forward to spending her summer with her friends and working at the library. But after a bad breakup with her girlfriend, who ended things when Alice confessed that she is asexual, leaves Alice never wanting to date again. That is until Alice meets Takumi. The two become great friends, sharing their love of books, and Alice feels as though a rom-com romance awaits her. But Alice wonders if she is willing to risk their friendship for a romantic relationship, especially if Takumi might not accept her for who she is.
What I loved about this book was the lightheartedness. Alice’s personality and Takumi’s kindness added a jovial sense of youth and goodness. The representation of asexual characters was very well done, especially the honesty about what many asexual people may face in their lives. For those of you who do not know, asexuality is a spectrum upon which people may feel little to no sexual attraction to others. This does not mean that asexual people cannot have feelings and fall in love or want romantic relationships. The way Kann addressed the problems and fears that many asexual people may feel as they ponder relationships or their future was very well done. Overall, the relationship between Takumi and Alice was really cute and very well written. I would recommend this book for 15 and up as it does contain some racism, sexism, and sexual harrassment. These are not main topics of the book, but do come up in the events of the novel.