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Asexuality and Asexual Characters in Books & Comics - a Collection


CosineTheCat

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TJ Klune has two works with asexual characters that I've read so far (indeed he has recently come out as asexual himself so there may be more in his works:D).

How to be a Normal Person - A romantic book he has coming out about a asexual relationship

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25548442-how-to-be-a-normal-person

The Lightning-Struck Heart - The mentor wizard Morgan

Just finished The Lightning Struck Heart. Loved it, but I would put a warning up for folks who are very sex (and foul language) repulsed! :)

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The Poison Tree's Gardener by Emily Johns has one of the main characters as an asexual, although the term isn't used outright, since it's set in a fantasy world different from our own, but I think it could be a good read for anyone in the mood for some light fantasy.

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There are officially two ace characters in the Sidewinder series by Abigail Roux. :wub: One of the main characters is demi and a side-characters is asexual. Both things are casually mentioned in book 3 - "Part & Parcel".

Both characters also appear in the Cut & Run series by the same author.

About the characters:

Kelly id's as (biromantic) demisexual and Digger as (heteroromantic) asexual.

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sassyintheshire

I just finished reading an advance copy of a YA realistic fiction novel with an asexual/aromantic main character. The character doesn't specifically identify as ace/aro, but it is very clear to anyone with an understanding of the sexuality.

Seven Ways We Lie (Riley Redgate)

Just a heads up for anyone averse, there's a fair amount of sex mentions as well as a make-out scene.

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The Alpha and His Ace by Ana J. Phoenix is a short gay romance with an asexual main character. There are some sexual situations, so beware if that repulses you. (Can be read for free, though)

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Thank you so much for this list!

I will peruse it at length when I have more time :)

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A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara has an ace main character. He went through a lot of sexual abuse as a child though, so perhaps not the best example of asexuality..? Still, it was interesting to read about how his attitude toward sex played a role in his later life and relationships. (It's also one of the best books I've ever read, but just a warning, it's really dark and depressing.)

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Éadweard

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara has an ace main character. He went through a lot of sexual abuse as a child though, so perhaps not the best example of asexuality..? Still, it was interesting to read about how his attitude toward sex played a role in his later life and relationships. (It's also one of the best books I've ever read, but just a warning, it's really dark and depressing.)

I completely LOVED this book, but it was so emotional for me to read. I agree that the main character could be read as asexual, and in fact at one point when his friends are talking about him one of them suggests he may be asexual and actually uses that word, and it's the only time the word is used. But this book is about so much more than that.

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The Invisible Orientation is a good book-I am currently reading it now. It goes deeply into what asexuality is/can be and perhaps just as importantly what its not/doesn't have to be. It looks at asexuality from many different angles.

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I've always felt that the character of Dr Tony Hill in the Wire in the Blood UK TV series is an ace.
I'm told by friends that he's very different in the original books by Val McDermid, so I might pick one up on KIndle.

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Luftschlosseule

The Change Series by Brown and Smith has an ace girl in it.
It is set in a postapokalyptic town in south USA or nothern Mexiko, and people may get a "change" which gives them special abilities. One point of view is from the ace girl, who falls in love.

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Luftschlosseule

Oh, another one! In Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami the protagonist has a kind of date, and then guy leaves her, embarassed, telling her that he doesn't do this sex stuff.

Edit: Sorry, ignore me, he's demi.

Edited by Luftschlosseule
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Can you please add this one to the non-fiction section? The Lonely Ace of Hearts.

It's free for Kindle subscribers, and I'm hoping for more feedback before I revise to put it in the iTunes book store too!

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Can you please add this one to the non-fiction section? The Lonely Ace of Hearts.

It's free for Kindle subscribers, and I'm hoping for more feedback before I revise to put it in the iTunes book store too!

Description: The Lonely Ace of Hearts begins with a general introduction about asexuality as an orientation, debunking the most common myths, and then guides readers through the most common struggles. Defining and Understanding Your Identity. Achieving Self-Acceptance. Coming Out to Friends & Family. (Or, not.) Dealing with Loneliness. Then (and only then) can we work on the struggles with Love, Dating, Sex, and Relationships.

This book is not about "dealing with life as an asexual"... it's is about (ultimately) Embracing the Asexual Identity.

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Éadweard

The new novel NICOTINE by Nell Zink has an asexual character.

Update: scrap that. Later in the book he says he's lying because his penis is small and then is up for sex with some nudging.

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cavalier080854

Most of the non-fiction books are unavailable in the UK, though I do have JSDeckers book.

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Clariel by Garth Nix has a canonically asexual main character (and at least one mentioned ace background character, too). It's Fantasy.

Oh, and if we're counting webcomics, Always Human has an ace character too (the roommate of one of the protagonists). It's Romance/SciFi.

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My campus' LGBTQIA+ group posted this helpful link of books featuring aromantic/asexual characters that have been confirmed by authors.  By no means is it complete, but it has some cool search features/extra information such as how the character is portrayed, how much of a role they have in the story, and a sort by character gender (many NB) or genre:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12HOVSEmZOx-vSRWu3HIGLdYXNsa95et3Dh_wrPd_E5E/edit#gid=664353285

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scarletlatitude
On 2/14/2017 at 7:50 PM, Heart of Darkness said:

My campus' LGBTQIA+ group posted this helpful link of books featuring aromantic/asexual characters that have been confirmed by authors.  By no means is it complete, but it has some cool search features/extra information such as how the character is portrayed, how much of a role they have in the story, and a sort by character gender (many NB) or genre:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12HOVSEmZOx-vSRWu3HIGLdYXNsa95et3Dh_wrPd_E5E/edit#gid=664353285

:o Thank you for the link! This is an awesome list!

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I am unsure of a character, jamalee merridew in tomato red by Daniel woodrell.

 

She could either be asexual or could be repulsed (because of her mother being a prostitute)

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Crazy Cat Lady

Just posting here to make it easier to keep an eye on the thread.

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How to be a normal person by TJ Klune is THE BEST ... I laughed so hard when I read it ... I like it because it actually explain asexuality really well without it being the main topic 

For those who have doubt it's absolutly not the asexual character that tries to be normal ;)

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It's not stated, but I interpret the main character, June, in Carol Rifka Brunt's Tell the Wolves I'm Home as being asexual... it's a great novel set in the 80s about a teenager's response to her uncle's death from AIDS, and there's a particularly gorgeous couple of paragraphs about how you don't need sex to feel close to someone.

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On 26.8.2016 at 4:15 AM, Asexual Aqua said:

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire. Asexual protagonist!

Every Heart a Doorway is my favourite book except for Harry Potter, but that doesn't count 

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