Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann, is a coming of age, slice of life type YA story. There are heartwarming moments, there are heartbreaking moments and seemingly everything in between. The characters on the page all have such unique personalities that even with the large cast of characters you are never confused about who the main girl, Phoebe, is talking to or about. Since the book is told in Phoebe’s perspective in the form of diary entries, we spend a lot of time seeing these characters how she sees them which is an interesting insight as Phoebe is a 15 year old girl going through some things.

The main issue I had with the book though was Phoebe, she very much suffers as a character. She is for the majority of the book 15 years old and she is having issues dealing with or asking for help with the circumstances of her life. Her mother is a traveling doctor and often leaves Pheobe behind with her godmother while she travels to warzones to help out citizens and people affected by the war. This greatly affects Phoebe’s relationship with her mother and thus also other people around her but nothing ever really happens with it she just stays mad the whole time. Phoebe’s best friend Polly has fallen in love for the first time and Phoebe is of course jealous of the time Polly is spending with her new boyfriend. But even when Polly reaches out Phoebe spends most of the book either ignoring the attempts or just being angry about it. It isn’t until they have a huge fight over it that they ever even touch on the fact that their friendship is in a bad place because they don’t want to communicate.
Pheobe spends the whole book not wanting to communicate with people because she finds that it is easier to ignore all of her problems and have them manifest in a psychosomatic stomachache then it would to let someone know that she is hurt despite people constantly reaching out. Fifteen is a difficult age though and it makes sense that not everyone at that age would feel comfortable talking to people about what is wrong. The issue is that she NEVER talks things over with people so there is little to no growth within her character since she has no way to grow in a way that will impact within the book.
The one way that Pheobe does grow is that she does change her ideals that falling in love is worthwhile. She does that when she meets Emma and her Godmother’s thrift shop and spends the majority of the book trying to find a way to not be in love with her. This love plotline between Pheobe and Emma is by far the best part of the book. There relationship is fun to watch expand and take form throughout the book.
Overall this book isn’t the worst, it suffers from a lack of character growth and gets frustrating because of that. But if you are looking for a book that will appeal to a young girl who thinks she is “not like the other girls” and is going through some things this might appeal to that reader. Unfortunately I just don’t think I could ever recommend it to any of the young readers that I know.

This book is perfectly paced, filled with great characters, extremely witty dialogue and hilariously salty observations about life but most importantly it has a beautiful love story that slowly creeps up on the main character that makes this a thoroughly memorable YA read.

This is a cute book that was fun to read. I love the teen angst and bitterness in the book. There is a lot of character development which I really enjoyed. Definitely a solid read and one I recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was expecting this to be lighter and have more romance in it but I appreciate that it was more focused on Phoebe’s inner thoughts. There is definitely dry British humor at times but I still had moments that I laughed because Phoebe is such an introverted, relatable character. My favorite aspect was Phoebe’s moment of gay panic, it felt very realistic and I felt the author’s words in my gut when Phoebe was in crisis. If you’re looking for something more character/slice of life focused, I would suggest this title!

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

A sweet and refreshing LGBTQ+ YA that's reminiscent of "The Princess Diaries" and "Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging". It's full of realistic moments of growing pain and you'll both love the main character and feel exasperated with her (in a good way). This was a fantastic approach to a young love story.

I received a digital arc from netgalley in exchange for a review. I found the novel very fun and enjoyable

I loved the vibes in this book, felt very indie and vintage! I loved the themes of feminism and coming of age!

Phoebe is 15. She’s living with her godmother in Wimbledon, England, because her mother is away in yet another war-torn country helping others with an organization that send medical professionals where they’re needed most. She never knew her father, who was killed before she was born. So she lives with her godmother Kate and 2 designer cats that Kate is going to breed.

Phoebe has basically lost her best friend, since Polly can’t talk about anything but Tristan since they started dating, and Phoebe thinks he’s an idiot. She’s working towards her GCSEs because maybe she wants to work for NASA and go to Mars. There are no stupid people on Mars. Phoebe thinks that sounds great, as she has a low tolerance for stupid people. Well, for most people, really. Like Pat, who works at the charity shop with Kate and doesn’t like Phoebe very much. But Alex, the new cashier with Down Syndrome and a talent for baking, and Emma, who is the same age as Phoebe but goes to a different school and helps out at the shop? Phoebe likes them very much.

But love? Phoebe doesn’t think that’s for her. She doesn’t get all melty when she talks to a boy. She doesn’t abandon her friends just to spend time with some guy. She doesn’t get a case of “mentionitis,” where she has to say someone’s name over and over in every conversation. Just because Phoebe has more fun working at the charity shop when Emma’s there doesn’t mean anything. They’re friends. Sure, Phoebe spends time looking at Emma’s Instagram, but that’s what friends do, to find out more about each other. And she only called Emma when one of the cats went into labor because she couldn’t get ahold of Kate. It doesn’t mean anything.

Or does it?

As Phoebe tries to understand her feelings about her friendship with Polly taking a back seat to that of Polly’s new boyfriend, about her mother being away for so long and in such a dangerous place, and about her place in the world, Phoebe also takes a look at her feelings for Emma and realizes that maybe she’s not immune to falling in love.

But even so, there has to be something she can do about that. Google can tell her how to fall back out of love, right? That’s what it’s there for. I mean, it’s not like Emma would have those same feelings for her. So she might as well fall back out of love with Emma and move on with her life. She’ll just focus on her GCSEs and on becoming an astronaut.

That’s what she’ll do. She won’t think about Emma. Or talk about Emma. Or spend time around Emma. And she definitely won’t kiss Emma. Right?

Love Is for Losers is Wibke Brueggemann’s darkly funny young adult debut novel about first love, turning 16, and everything else that comes along with teenage life. Phoebe is a straight-shooter, telling it like it is—and how it should be—while learning how to deal with difficult and complex emotional situations. She is strong and independent, fiercely loyal, smart, funny, and has no patience for anyone’s drama. And I absolutely adore her.

I has so much fun with Love Is for Losers! I’ve heard this book described as Bridget Jones’ Diary, but written by Bridget’s daughter. I could see that, especially if Bridget had an affair with Deadpool, because Phoebe has a lot of that biting, sharply intelligent snark to her. That is a character I can get behind.

Egalleys for Love Is for Losers were provided by Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This is the teen LGBTQ+ book about a thrift store romance that I didn’t know I needed! The main character Phoebe doesn’t understand love or intimacy, she’s witty and sassy and sarcastic (but using those charming personality traits to cover up some pain), she’s cynical about life, and she’s smart but still a typical clueless teenager!

I love the easy diary-style format and and how you’re thrown right into Phoebe’s life and drama. This book is so funny and the romance is so adorable and yet very realistic.

It’s not mentioned in the synopsis, but to me it felt like Phoebe might be asexual. It’s never explicitly stated though, so I could be totally wrong. Despite her aversion to everything physical, I love that this book is so sex-positive and doesn’t shy away from real life and real talk.

*Thanks @netgalley for the advanced copy.

I almost gave this book 2.4 stars because of the part where the main character was being rude to Alex because of his habits as a down syndrome individual.

However the mc decided to learn and grow for Alex and I was glad that happened.

The main character is a really funny individual. I was laughing with each journal entry she made. Her mom being away or as she said chosing to be away from her really affected her even if she said she didn't care.

This was a really funny and cool book to read.

This book has down syndrome representation in it. The character Alex has down syndrome. He works in a thrift shop and he loves cooking. He is also studying to become a professional chief.

There was a link to learning more information about down syndrome in the book which I thought was really nice to include.

I received an advanced copy of Love is for Losers from the Publisher so I could share my review with you!

Phoebe doesn’t want to fall in love. It seems like such a degrading thing to do, and Phoebe won’t have anything to do with it. She’s got priorities, and falling in love is very much not on the list. But, when she finds herself volunteering at a local thrift shop, she meets a girl who changes her perspective on love. Maybe, Phoebe will realize that love isn’t for losers after all.

You can get your copy of Love is for Losers on February 23rd from Farrar, Straus and Giroux!

I wish desperately that I could have read Love is for Losers when I was a fifteen-year-old struggling to figure out my own identity and what it means to be a young queer teen. There aren’t nearly enough books about young queer individuals out in the world, so I am thrilled to see Love is for Losers being published! Wibke Brueggemann will be an author to watch for readers who love quick-witted humor. This story was full of joy and humor that made me laugh out loud more than once.

My Recommendation-
If you, like me, are a fan of hilarious stories about queer love, you need to pick up a copy of Love is for Losers! This book would be perfect for fans of Netflix’s Sex Education!

This was a super quick, super fun young adult book about falling in love for the first time. While Phoebe would have something snarky to say about me calling the book fun, I enjoyed this book. After moving in with her godmother, Kate, Phoebe starts volunteering at the thrift shop Kate runs and meets Emma and Alex. Realizing she is falling for Emma, Phoebe is determined not to fall in love. Told through journal entries, Love is For Losers is a fun young adult novel.

this was a good read. it took a little bit to empathize with the mc, but after a while i could see where she was coming from and stop rolling my eyes at her. i loved the relationship between phoebe and her godmother kate. i thought that the anxiety and insecurity that phoebe felt about falling in love was really relatable as well. the formate was fun and felt like reading text messages from a friend.

This is one of those "it's not you, it's me" ratings because, well, me reading YA contemporary when I normally do not read YA contemporary. The love story was adorable, and Phoebe was super relatable in her awkwardness and people-hating. The chapters were short and compulsive and the play-like dialogue structure really worked for pacing.

However, the plot kind of dragged. I get we were supposed to see, like, every single day - but many were repetitive or not particularly noteworthy. It took a ridiculously long time to really bring Polly into the fold and the actual reason/catalyst for that is still a bit of a mystery. I also am not sure how much Phoebe actually "grew" through the story; like - yay she has friends at the end, but she herself hasn't seemed to do much.

Also, I am once again reminded how little I know about the British education system.

I really enjoyed how this story was formatted and the overall plot of this, but the humor did not always land for me.

I don't DNF books very often because I really believe you can't make judgements about books without reading all of it. However, there are some books where it really just isn't worth it for me, and this is one of them. Now, I do wanna make some clarifications- I recognize that it is a lot harder to judge YA books as an adult because they are obviously going to seem immature to me, as they are supposed to, but Phoebe was so immature and self-centered that I couldn't get past it. She's going through a typical angsty teen period, but she is so incredibly dramatic. It's understandable that she is upset that her bff has a boyfriend, but-as far as I got at least- she doesn't even give her friend a chance to fix it. She doesn't talk to her about being upset, she just starts avoiding her. The same thing goes with her mom, who is a travel doctor. When her mom tells her she is going to Syria for 6 months, which is understandably upsetting, she doesn't even talk to her about how she is feeling and just shuts her out completely. Then, she is also rude to her mom's friend whom she is staying with. Basically, I only got about 30 pages in before I had to put it down and decide to DNF.

But- I don't want to say that this book isn't good for teenagers, which is why I'm still giving it 2 stars! They might totally relate and love it. Which is great, since they are the target audience! It also kind of reminds me of Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging so this would be good for fans of that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book but definitely a case of 'not for me.' The voice was funny, witty, and relatable but I just didn't find myself invested in the characters or story. I ultimately did not finish this one, but I still plan to purchase the book for my library's collection and will definitely continue to recommend it to teen readers.

I'll be recommending Love is for Losers to fans of the Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging series, as well as readers who enjoyed Dear Rachel Maddow or It Sounded Better In My Head. I think this will be a fun book to recommend to younger teens who are new to YA.

This book is definitely my favourite read of the year so far and I am SO excited to share my review today, a week before it’s book birthday!! I was absolutely sold by the premise and then it went above and beyond my expectations. 

I went into this book thinking it would probably be pretty funny and it certainly didn’t disappoint, but I was surprised at how the humorous parts were then mixed in so craftily with powerful, moving scenes. This book was an exploration of so many aspects of teenage life: loss, sexuality, love, parental relationships, and academic life. I read this book so fast that I was really sad when it was over. Phoebe had such a vibrant voice on the page and I adored the way her diary entries were written. I’ve always loved books written in a diary format and this one really did it justice. The plot never felt slow despite this style and it was just so bingeable!! The witty commentary? So cute! The kittens? Even cuter! The romance? The cutest thing of all!! 

I don’t know if that paragraph was too ranty, but the bottom line is: This author totally won me over with Phoebe's heartwarming and relatable story and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a sweet, fun contemporary novel!

LOVE IS FOR LOSERS is pretty cute, if a bit slow-paced for my taste. While the book itself takes place over the course of seven months, there isn't a lot of actual events happening. However, a romantic journey is a journey nonetheless, and I enjoyed seeing the romantic development of Phoebe as she goes through life.