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Being Aro
Not yet published
Expected 26 May 26These twelve stories showcase aromantic people breaking generational curses, finding acceptance, and protecting the vulnerable while highlighting the infinite ways people find connection and love without romance.
A high school matchmaker learns a lesson about love. A rebellious spaceship pilot defies his culture’s compulsory coupling. A boy magically transforms banned romance novels into living dragons. A teen immune to romance, and the zombie virus, fights to survive the apocalypse. Being Aro is full of stories throughout real and imagined worlds that cross genres and disrupt the status quo.
Contributors include a mixture of established and emerging YA writers, such as Lammy Award-finalist Madeline Dyer, Lammy Award-nominated Rosiee Thor, USA Today bestselling Kemi Ashing-Giwa, and NYT bestselling authors Kalyn Josephson and Laura Pohl.
A high school matchmaker learns a lesson about love. A rebellious spaceship pilot defies his culture’s compulsory coupling. A boy magically transforms banned romance novels into living dragons. A teen immune to romance, and the zombie virus, fights to survive the apocalypse. Being Aro is full of stories throughout real and imagined worlds that cross genres and disrupt the status quo.
Contributors include a mixture of established and emerging YA writers, such as Lammy Award-finalist Madeline Dyer, Lammy Award-nominated Rosiee Thor, USA Today bestselling Kemi Ashing-Giwa, and NYT bestselling authors Kalyn Josephson and Laura Pohl.
Unknown Binding
Expected publication May 26, 2026
3 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Madeline Dyer
30 books268 followersMadeline Dyer is a Lambda Literary Award finalist. A novelist, poet, and anthologist, she is drawn to all things dark, spooky, and scary.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Want to read
February 20, 2026I’m so excited to read this soon! It’s one of my most anticipated reads of 2026
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Page Street YA for the free e-ARC. (I received this ARC two days into Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, so the timing was perfect.)
Giving this anthology, overall, 4 stars. It's a collection of short stories by different authors, so of course there are some stories I enjoyed more than others. But generally I thought the quality was high, and it's always a delight to read more aro stories.
To my surprise, my favorite of the short stories is Lovesick by Taka Owen, which is the zombie apocalypse one. I don't generally read a lot of zombie/dystopian stuff, but something about this one hit hard. I even highlighted a line (something I NEVER do): "How he'd never understand how devastating this was - for anyone, but especially for me, knowing that I would always come second to someone else's more important relationship." As you might guess, this is not one of the happy stories, and the tragedy makes it all the more poignant.
If I had to pick a few other favorites, I'd probably say: Swordmaiden by Kalyn Josephson, Flying Solo by Claudie Arseneault, and Do You See Me? by Isa Fiel.
Overall, this is a solid collection of short stories. More importantly, it's a rare example of centering and exploring aro experiences. Whether you're aro yourself, or just an ally, definitely give this a try.
Giving this anthology, overall, 4 stars. It's a collection of short stories by different authors, so of course there are some stories I enjoyed more than others. But generally I thought the quality was high, and it's always a delight to read more aro stories.
To my surprise, my favorite of the short stories is Lovesick by Taka Owen, which is the zombie apocalypse one. I don't generally read a lot of zombie/dystopian stuff, but something about this one hit hard. I even highlighted a line (something I NEVER do): "How he'd never understand how devastating this was - for anyone, but especially for me, knowing that I would always come second to someone else's more important relationship." As you might guess, this is not one of the happy stories, and the tragedy makes it all the more poignant.
If I had to pick a few other favorites, I'd probably say: Swordmaiden by Kalyn Josephson, Flying Solo by Claudie Arseneault, and Do You See Me? by Isa Fiel.
Overall, this is a solid collection of short stories. More importantly, it's a rare example of centering and exploring aro experiences. Whether you're aro yourself, or just an ally, definitely give this a try.
November 1, 2025
i wish this book existed when i was an aroace teen but i suppose i’ll have to settle for contributing to it as an aroace adult
seriously though i’m so excited for this to come out and i can’t wait for you to meet kimberly ma and all the other lovely characters in the lovely stories in this collection!!
seriously though i’m so excited for this to come out and i can’t wait for you to meet kimberly ma and all the other lovely characters in the lovely stories in this collection!!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews