went on a deep dive to find some aspec rep for myself and this is some of what i came up with. again, not official recommendations since i haven't read them, but they exist and i've put some of them on my own TBR list. these are all books i haven't seen on other rec lists, and i did my best to confirm that the rep is aspec. if any of y'all have read these, feel free to share your thoughts
(organized alphabetically by title and separated by age demographic; mixed genres; subject to being updated)
updated 5.17.23
~Mod Q
A Pale Light in the Black by K.B. Wagers = adult, science fiction; asexual MC, various other rep, coast guard in space
Alchemy by Marie S. Crosswell = adult, mystery; asexual lesbian MC, genderbent Sherlock
All the Wrong Places by Ann Gallagher = adult, romance; asexual MC, m/m romance, identity discovery
An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows = adult, fantasy; allosexual aromantic MC in a poly relationship
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon = adult, science fiction; aro-spectrum queer MC, themes of oppression and racism
Blank Spaces & Finding Your Feet by Cass Lennox = adult, romance; both feature asexual MCs (second one features a trans LI)
The Bone People by Keri Hulme = adult, magical realism; aroace MC, themes of family and identity
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia = adult, fantasy; aroace nonbinary MC, queernormative world-building
Catch Lili Too by Sophie Whittemore = adult, fantasy; asexual non-human MC, paranormal murder mystery
The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong = adult, sci fi-fantasy; asexual MC and found family dynamic
City of Strife by Claudie Arseneault = adult, fantasy; various rep including aspec (author is acearospec)
Coffee Cake by Michaela Grey = adult, romance; asexual MC, m/m relationship, mystery elements
The Crows by C.M. Rosens = adult, horror; ace (and aro?) major character, fucked up eldritch horror
Cupid Calling by Viano Oniomoh = adult, romance; demisexual biromantic MC, m/m romance, dating show setting, super fluffy
The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz = adult, science fiction; sapphic ace MC with a robot LI
Devon's Island by Si Clarke = adult, science fiction; aroace POV character, queernormative worldbuilding, various other rep
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace = adult, science fiction; aroace MC, dystopia, focus on platonic relationships (author is aroace)
From the Dark We Came by J. Emery = adult, paranormal; demisexual MC in an m/m romance, vampires
How Not to Summon Your True Love by Sasha L. Miller = adult, romance; ace MC and ace LI, fantasy
Learning Curves by Ceillie Simkiss = adult, romance; asexual MC in an f/f relationship
Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky = adult, romance; demisexual MC, m/m relationship, mistakenly sent love confessions
Perfect Rhythm by Jae = adult, romance; rural lesbian romance with an asexual LI
Poisoned Primrose by Dahlia Donovan = adult, mystery; asexual autistic MC, middle-aged protagonist (author is autistic)
Rising from Ash by Jax Meyer = adult, romance; asexual MC in an f/f romance
The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann = adult, romance; asexual MC, fake-dating (author of Let's Talk About Love)
Soft on Soft by Mina Waheed = adult, romance; demisexual protagonist, f/f romance, pure fluff
Stake Sauce: The Secret Ingredient Is Love. No Really by RoAnna Sylver = adult, paranormal; gray-a MC, deals with trauma
That Kind of Guy by Talia Hibbert = adult, romance; demisexual MC, fake-dating, m/f age gap romance
Thaw by Elyse Springer = adult, romance; asexual MC, an f/f opposites-attract romance
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers = adult, science fiction; multiple ace characters, various other rep, space travel
Upside Down by N.R. Walker = adult, romance; an ace4ace m/m romance
We Go Forward by Alison Evans = adult, contemporary; aroace MC, centralized friendship
Werecockroach by Polenth Blake = adult, science fiction; aroace MC, deals with mental disability, also there are aliens
~
Common Bonds = anthology, speculative fiction; stories that highlight aromanticism and focus on platonic relationships
Goddess of the Hunt by Shelby Eileen = poetry, mythology; an exploration of Artemis being aroace
Queerly Loving = anthology, various genres; asexual and aromantic rep, various other rep including trans, polyamorous, and platonic relationships
~
A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell = young adult, paranormal; various rep including ace-spec, chosen family dynamic
Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt = young adult, thriller/mystery; several asexual characters
Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace = young adult, science fiction; aroace MC (according to author)
The Art of Saving the World by Corrine Duyvis = young adult, science fiction; asexual MC
Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp = young adult, mystery; asexual (and aro?) MC
Belle Revolte by Linsey Millery = young adult, fantasy; biromantic ace MC in an f/f romance
Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland = young adult, fantasy; asexual MC (demi-biromantic according to author)
Clariel by Garth Nix = young adult, fantasy; asexual MC, prequel to the Old Kingdom series
Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski = young adult, science fiction; asexual (and arospec?) MC
The Facts and Legends of Callie Catwell by Sophia DeRise = young adult, fantasy; asexual MC with lesbian LI
Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor = young adult, fantasy; several aspec characters
Forward March by Skye Quinlan = young adult, contemporary; asexual lesbian MC
Fourth World by Lyssa Chiavari = young adult, science fiction; demisexual MC and asexual MC (author is aroace)
From Under the Mountain by C.M. Spivey = young adult, fantasy; demisexual lesbian MC, aspec secondary characters
Good Angel by A.M. Blaushild = young adult, graphic novel; angel characters where asexual, aromantic, and agender are the assumed default but is explored with nuance
Help Wanted by J. Emery = young/new adult, fantasy; questioning aspec MC (and gender questioning)
Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie = young adult, science fiction; aroace MC, various other rep
Immoral Code by Lillian Clark = young adult, contemporary; asexual POV character, friendship dynamic with "fuck the rich" vibes
Island of Exiles by Erica Cameron = young adult, fantasy; asexual (secondary?) character, various other rep including intersex
The Last 8 by Laura Pohl = young adult, science fiction; aromantic MC, alien invasion apocalypse
Little Black Bird by Anna Kirchner = young adult, fantasy; questioning aspec character
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee = young adult, romance; trans male MC with asexual LI, m/m romance, fake dating
Meet You By Hachiko by Loren Greene = young adult, contemporary; aroace-spec MC, focus on friendship
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko = young adult, fantasy; asexual MC, centralized platonic relationship
The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath = young adult, historical; ace MC, emphasized friendship, all main characters are also disabled
The Rhythm of My Soul by Elin Dyer = young adult, mystery; aroace MC, ballet academy setting
Running with the Pack by A.M. Burns and Caitlin Ricci = young adult, contemporary; ace LI, polyamorous romance
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand = young adult, horror; ace POV character (all MCs are also sapphic), themes of grief, paranormal
Sea Foam and Silence & The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by S.L. Dove Cooper = young adult, fairy tale; queerplatonic retellings in verse
Second Chance by Chelsea M. Cameron = young/new adult, romance; demi bi MC in an f/f relationship, exes-to-lovers
The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow = young adult, science fiction; demisexual (biromantic) MC, post-alien invasion dystopian setting
Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman = young adult, contemporary; asexual (and aro?) MC, deals with family death
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson = young adult, contemporary; ace MC, themes of family trauma and multiracial identity
Switchback by Danika Stone = young adult, thriller; aroace MC, survivalist situations
Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor = young adult, steampunk; aroace MC, various other rep, cat-and-mouse game
That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger = young adult, contemporary; asexual MC, deals with the aftermath of a school shooting
This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria = young adult, fantasy; aroace MC (author is aroace)
The Trouble by Daria Defore = young/new adult, romance?; gay aromantic MC, college setting
Vanilla by Billy Merrell = young adult, contemporary; asexual MC, m/m relationship, coming-of-age
What We Devour by Linsey Miller = young adult, fantasy; asexual MC (biromantic according to author)
~
A-Okay by Jarad Greene = middle grade, graphic novel; asexual MC, deals with self-discovery and body image
Come Drink With Me, Gold and Jasper, East Flows the River by Michelle Kan = all ages?; described as aromantic chinese fairy tales
The Dragon of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen = all ages, fairy tale; aroace MC (author is aroace)
Hazel's Theory of Everything by Lisa Jenn Bigelow = middle grade, contemporary; questioning aroace MC, themes of self-discovery
The Faerie Godmother's Apprentice Wore Green by Nicky Kyle = all ages?, fairy tale; major aroace character, focus on friendship
I want this in every library, everywhere. After all, some kids won’t even google this stuff because they don’t want parents/siblings checking their browser history.
This is really awesome. And if you’re not familiar with how the Dewey Decimal system works - the numbers subject-based, which means these numbers are applicable in EVERY library. So if you see something you want to research on this list - look for those same numbers in any of your local libraries.
I love how in The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, Lucie is completely clueless that Mrs. Tiggy-winkle is a hedgehog until the very end when she doesn’t have clothes on and is running on all fours.
This lovely little lady joined my Beatrix Potter collection today. She has a darling little smile on her face and, like Jeremy Fisher, she reminds me of the old animations.
This book has been sat on my shelf for three years. Thought it was about time I got around to reading some of it, and what better time of year to read Poe thsn during the spookiest month of the year?
First update in a while - work is crazy and I’ve been listening to podcasts more than I’ve been reading - but I added a Jeremy Fisher (c. 1950) to my Beatrix Potter collection today.
Was very tempted by a lovely Mrs Tiggywinkle and a Tommy Brock, but Jeremy Fisher reminds me of the old animations and was just too lovely to leave behind.