#asexualrep

What if feeling invisible at school… made you actually disappear?

Pre-Reading Thoughts

The premise hooked me immediately — social invisibility turned literal is SUCH a perfect metaphor for early teenhood. I was expecting awkwardness, feelings, maybe some magical realism shenanigans, and a lot of secondhand “oh no, not middle school” empathy.

Post-Reading

As I thought…

It absolutely nails that seventh-grade emotional chaos where everyone suddenly speaks Romance™ and you’re standing there like you missed a memo.

The friend dynamics feel painfully real — the drifting, the new crush obsessions, the way your people become strangers overnight.

Olivia’s internal voice is spot-on: observant, dry, a little defensive, very “I swear I’m fine actually” (she is not fine).

The asexual rep is handled with a lot of care and gentleness. It feels exploratory and uncertain in a very authentic way, not neat or preachy.

It surprised me by…

How hard the invisibility metaphor hits. Flickering out whenever romance comes up? That’s SUCH a sharp, clever device. It’s funny and then suddenly it’s devastating.

How emotionally raw it gets. This isn’t just “cute magical quirk” — it’s loneliness, isolation, that gut-punch feeling of everyone else got the handbook and you didn’t.

Not fully explaining the magic. Which… mildly annoyed me brain-wise, but emotionally? It kind of works. Middle school doesn’t explain itself either. Things just happen to you and you deal.

🎵 Music Pairing

Featured Song: “Liability” – Lorde Tender, isolated, very “I’m too much / not enough / both at once.”

Vibe Album: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish Whispery, anxious, bedroom-dark, big feelings in small spaces.

Artist Recommendation: Girl in Red – soft, messy, diary-entry honesty.

Vibe Check

Colour Palette: locker grey, notebook blue, highlighter yellow, disappearing pale

Soundtrack: hallway chatter, phone notifications, the fluorescent buzz of the library

Season: early autumn semester

Mood: lonely but hopeful, awkward, tender

Scent: pencil shavings + library books + cafeteria pizza

Tarot Pull

The Hermit immediately jumped out. This is such an inward, self-discovery story — stepping back, figuring yourself out while the world rushes past. Not isolation as punishment, but as reflection. Quiet truth-seeking.

For fans of

El Deafo

Rick