children's / teenage fiction & true stories

"Charlie has a foolproof plan for the first day at her new middle school. Even though she's used to starting over as the new kid-thanks to her military family's constant moving-making friends has never been easy for her. But this time, her first impression needs to last, since this is where her family plans to settle for good. So she's hiding any interests that may seem 'babyish,' updating her look, and doing her best to leave her shyness behind her...but is erasing the real Charlie the best way to make friends? When not everything goes exactly to plan-like, AT ALL-Charlie is ready to give up on making new friendships. Then she meets the Curlfriends, a group of Black girls who couldn't be more different from each other, and learns that maybe there is a place for Charlie to be her true self after all"--Publisher.

It was all sinking in. I'd never had a crush on anyone. No boys, no girls, not a single person I had ever met. What did that mean? Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush - but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she's sure she'll find her person one day. As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia's ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her 'teenage dream' is in sight. But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her - asexual, aromantic - Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever. Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along? This wise, warm and witty story of identity and self-acceptance sees Alice Oseman on towering form as Georgia and her friends discover that true love isn't limited to romance. Includes guide to further resources on asexuality and aromanticism.