This is the book I needed when I first came to learn about asexuality! It's short, sweet, and simple. When I was first "coming out" to people, I wish I had had this guide to help me explain some of the misconceptions that I was still learning myself. Overall, I think this is a really valuable resource for everyone, ace or not!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4371186569?book_show_action=false

I am so beyond grateful to have been able to have been given a chance to review this book. I am asexual, and I have been so happy to see so many more books on asexuality or with ace characters. While there is a lot that I appreciate and even liked about this graphic novel, there are also several things I take issue with.

I will start with the positive. This book is exactly what it promises to be. A relatively short and easy guide to understanding the basics of asexuality. To an extent, I wish I had had something like this when I was younger and confused. It would've meant so much and helped me understand myself a lot earlier than I did. I like the way that asexuality was broken down and discussed. I also appreciated that it was written as if they were having a conversation with someone who was was willing to learn. They started with the very basic definition of what asexuality is and went from there to answers to the common questions we get asked, which allowed them to break down the differences between sexual attraction and sex drive/libido and how attraction does not equal action. I also liked the metaphor they used as well as how they broke down the difference between asexuality and aromanticism. I especially am grateful that they discussed the gray areas of asexuality since that is where I fall.

My favorite thing must be when they discussed how they learned they were asexual, and one person said they learned the term demisexual in fanfic and it just clicked for them. That is exactly what happened to me when I first came across the term, grey-asexual, in fanfiction two years ago.

Now onto what I did not care for. There was a lot missing about asexuality that could have been covered, but I do understand that this is meant to be the basics, and they provide sources in the back for further understanding. However, I did not like how unclear and unwell they handled the discussion of what the A in LGBTQIA+ stands for. They say it is unclear what exactly it can or should stand for and that some people consider it to mean Ally. I wish they would have shut that down because the A simply does not mean ally and it never has. Ally is not a queer identity and to disregard how important it is to acknowledge that can be incredibly harmful to questioning aces when they are trying to determine where they belong and if they fit in the queer community. I feel like it is also harmful to not acknowledge that we do inherently belong in the community. They tease around giving a straight forward declarative statement that the A stands for aces, aros, and agender and that we are queer enough to be in the community, This gives too many people room to doubt their belonging and other many other people room to try to use this as a way to gatekeep them from the community.

As much as I appreciate that they discuss the different ways to be ace, whether that is someone comfortable with sex or sex repulsed, etc, I do not feel like they talked enough about each since it is so focused on only the two contributors and their asexual expression.

While I feel like this is a great starter guide that is both easy and will answer a lot of the more immediate questions, it still feels like it leaves a lot of work up to us aces to still have to break down the ending that we are part of what the A stands for and that we are queer enough.

I feel like if you are willing to expend the effort to break down that stigma at the end, this can be a good guide for questioning aces or people wanting to learn more about asexuality. At the end of the day, this is just a starter guide, and if you want more resources on asexuality, they provide a list of them at the end, which could be very helpful.

In my experience, most books that discuss LGBTQA+ identities barely cover asexuality. It often feels like a footnote, but no longer. As a graphic novel, this was a quick and informative read about asexuality. Because it's a subject being taught, some moments felt a little cheesy, but they get the message across. Asexuality is a complex matter with a whole spectrum of different possibilities, but the explanations were made simply. I especially appreciate that the book acknowledges that they can't possibly cover everything about asexuality, as everyone's experience is different, and offers additional resources for exploration.

A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality is a graphic novel that goes over the basics of asexuality and common questions that come up. Both the author and illustrator are asexual.

Three words to describe this book: Informative. Straightforward. Articulate.

Cover: I love it! I especially love the use of the ace flag colors and many ace symbols.

Story: While this graphic novel does not have a traditional story, I felt that this guide transitioned from one topic to another seamlessly. I felt like the questions that came up for me were the questions that they answered in the next sections. Some of the topics covered included, the asexuality spectrum, dating while asexual, growing up ace, and ace stereotypes.

Illustrations: Beautiful black and gray illustrations. I also liked that they used a variety of panel sizes to fit the content from full page to ¼ page. This makes it interesting to the eye to move through the content.

Verdict: Highly recommend! In my first year of being queer and dating, I went on two dates with someone who was demisexual. I did not know what this meant at the time despite what Google told me. I wish I had this book at that time.

ARC was provided to me by Oni Press, in exchange for an honest review.

Great information, but it seemed to change audience at times. The best part of this was the cake metaphor, which works well in a non-fiction graphic novel.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoy this series, and being ace myself I love seeing myself represented! It explains things in a good way, and I felt like it brought up a lot of misconceptions and dealt with them! Would recommend this for everyone, and will 100% buy a physical copy once it gets out!

It was really easy to read and had a ton of amazingly simple points and guidelines on how to be a kinder person to people who come under the spectrum and who need some consideration.

The information in the book was written as a conversation that held my interest very well.

The art could have been a bit better but it showed diverse characters very well.

The art is okay but it could have been a bit colourful just for the sake of being lovely and the conversation bubbles could be more distributed.

I have nothing much to say because this was a very simple and easy graphic novel to read.

Thank you @netgalley for the review copy.

This is a really well thought-out and clear explanation of asexuality that would be appropriate for younger teens and up! It uses very accessible language and keeps things simple and appropriate for younger audiences. I wasn't a huge fan of the art style though, and thought it might be a bit dense for some younger readers.

What a fun book! This graphic novel provides exactly what is advertised, concisely covering a range of topics within the realm of asexuality. Definitely a good tool for any age, not just adult readers.

Interesting read for anyone wondering about all things Ace. Came to understand some friends’ self-proclaimed identities as well as my own better. Good start for anyone trying to understand themselves or others better. The creators did a great job of presenting the basics and providing further follow-up materials. Major guiding themes (self-acceptance and communication). Talking about these things with others can beco fusing and nerve wracking.or all involved. This resource can be a great starting point.

This started pretty well, though overly simplistic but it's a "quick and easy guide" so that was bound to happen. I wasn't mad at first. Then they started talking about asexuals in the LGBTQIAP+ community and somehow said that the A might mean ally and that asexuals didn't really have their place in the community. And that's fucked, there's no debate about what the A might mean. A never means Ally. It means Asexual, Agender and Aromantic. Saying anything else is wrong and damaging.
I am asexual and therefore I am Queer and have my place in the community.

A huge thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for letting me read the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I've always been curious about the ace orientation because, as it's pointed out in this Quick and Easy Guide, there's not a lot of information or representation out there. Though this graphic novel is short, it is packed with a lot of good information. I learned a lot by reading it! The formatting is great too. It's divided into several chapters or sections that cover specific general topics about being ace.

I think the biggest plus in this book is how affirming it is. The authors go out of their way to tell people who may be exploring asexuality as a part of their identity that they are normal and accepted. Their feelings are valid and they are not broken. This is a wonderful, positive tool perfect for those who want to learn more about asexuality.

A book that should probably be one of the suggested reads in high-school sex-education class. I think that could help a lot of wondering kids around. This is a very quick intro that helps everyone grasp the Asexuality term. I only discovered about it 2 years ago when I saw the LGBT term had grown quite a bit in recent years and I wondered what it now covered. I had the shock to realise there was a term to define how I had always felt, and now I identify as ace.
I think this could potentially help a lot of people feel less pressure to be "like everyone" and maybe give them a community, though this book seem to hesitantly suggest asexuals might find a place in the queer community. They leave it open, which surprised me as I discovered about asexuality only thanks to the queer acronym, so I'm very happy to have it there. And it's an unfortunate choice, because that might mean some asexuals could be denied a place in what should be a safe area for minority sexual orientations, when they feel alone. I do believe most schools now have some kind of support groups for queer students and I believe ace kids should be welcome there. Ace people are often alienated by the whole society just because sex is so prevalent and there is very little representation. Explaining a lack of something is very difficult in general.
Don't expect details here. This is really an intro that cannot cover such a large umbrella term, but it gives much needed basics. The cake analogy is there - similar to the tea analogy for explaining consent, making it a much clearer concept to explain to everyone.
We do only get a talking head type of comic here - it's got that education vibe, and something a little more dynamic would have been nice, especially when the authors talk about their personal experience (sadly demi-sexual / grey-sexual wasn't really explained, just mentioned really.)

I myself am an allosexual, which is a new word I learned from this book! It basically means I'm not asexual. I am however interested in understanding what asexuality and aromanticism are, and this book is, as the title says, a quick and easy start to more understanding. Not only are the very definitions of these terms explained clearly, there is a look at what asexual/aromantic life is like (not that different to allosexual life, you won't be surprised to read). The book disproves wrong preconceptions. and explains some difficulty surrounding acceptance in the queer community.

I have some issues with the art and structure. The art does the job, but it's also quite plain. I'm in two minds about these books - they're supposed to be easy to pick up and to get into, and the book certainly is that, but I'm not a fan of the 'talking heads' sort of presentation these books tend to fall back on. So you get two cartoon versions representing the author and artist, talking directly to the reader. Surely there could be something more artful that could be done, without losing any of the directness and clearity?

Title is very apt - this is a quick (i.e. short) and easy (i.e. simple) graphic guide to asexuality. It's written by two aces which is nice as it helped show how aces aren't a monolith. That the ace experience varies on an individual level and that's why it's an entire spectrum.

Unfortunately, I felt that this was lacking something. The conversational structure and simple art style will likely appeal to some readers but unfortunately they didn't work for me personally.

This is a very accessible introduction to asexuality but that's pretty much all it is - an introduction to a larger topic. If you're ace and looking for a relatable book to read, then there are better options out there. But for someone looking to understand what asexuality is and isn't on a basic level, this is a great place to start.

I simply live the Quick and Easy guide collection, this one is as good as the other one, it's mindfully and answer questions about the Asexuality spectrum in a very eloquant and accessible manner.
I feel my review for those guide always finisheses with the sentence "everyone need to read it, and it need to be in schools libraries".

3 stars. This book is a very quick and easy guide, as made obvious by the title. It did a good job of providing the basics of the conversation surrounding asexuality and provides a lot of educational information on the topic. It tackled the harmful stereotypes well and used effective metaphors to communicate how being asexual can be different to anyone. However it did not provide a nuanced view and the conversations surrounding where asexual people stand in LGBTQIA+ felt somewhat distanced and potentially hurtful to some. I understand that they didn’t want asexual people who don’t see them selves as LGBTQIA to be excluded from the book but by leaving an open answer to what the ‘A’ stands for and how people use it as the A for ally it excluded many asexual people who feel they are part of the LGBTQIA community even if they’re cisheteromantic. Overall this would be a good starting point for anyone who wanted to educate themselves.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

Really accessible and easy to understand introductory guide for Asexuality. I definitely think this would be beneficial in schools and libraries :)
I would have really liked to have had a simple guide like this when I first came out as Ace so the people around me could understand some of the confusion and isolation I felt, and also help me try and understand myself a little bit more.

I like how the authors said at the beginning that it wasn't going to be an in-depth guide to Asexuality and gave resources at the back of the novel for people to do their own research. So it definitely delivered on the quick and easy guide part.

my only irk was the comment about the A in LGBTQIA standing for Ally. but the A in LGBTQIA will always be for aro / ace and agender people, but it will never stand for Ally <3

The simplistic style of this book allows it to be a quick and easy read as the title suggests. However, this means it lacks a lot of details that are important for a full understanding of the topic. Despite this, it could be a useful introduction for Middle Grade or High School students.

This book covers what asexuality is, how different people identify with it, misconceptions, and representation in culture and society. It did this through a conversational style comic, which featured really lovely illustrations that were easy to read and follow!! This comic was extremely validating for all people to read, even if you’re not asexual. Highly recommend for everyone :)