Being Aro: A Collection of Aromantic Fiction About Love, Connection, and Empowerment

In the spirit of Being Ace, Dyer (These Bodies Ain’t Broken) and Thor (This Is How We Roll) gather 13 writers, including Isa Fiel, Laura Pohl, and Rukman Ragas, to present an impassioned anthology about aromantic teens that explores a range of experiences across varying genres. An introduction by Julie Sondra Decker suggests that the stories included are meant to push back against the notion that “romance is what makes stories interesting”: in some selections, characters confront societal pressures to conform, while others embrace their identities from the jump. “Kimberly Ma Meets Her Match” by Ann Zhao introduces a high school robotics student whose matchmaking survey goes awry when a classmate tries to opt out, landing her in everyone’s results as a 0% match. And Claudie Arseneault’s “Flying Solo” envisions a dystopian future in which a fighter pilot is grounded after refusing to telepathically pair with a partner to combat giant humanoid puppets. This unforgettable curation offers what Decker’s introduction calls “a gentle education on aspects of aromanticism we didn’t consciously understand,” as each story matter-of-factly approaches aromantic experiences and amplifies their importance as part of queer culture. Ages 14–up. Agent: (for Dyer) Amy Collins, Talcott Notch Literary. (May)