Shapes of Love / L.V. Peñalba / Book Review

SHAPES OF LOVE

The world's obsessed with Sassy, the Internet-star-turned-pop sensation known for her lyrical love songs. Everyone wants to know about the guy who inspired her songs. Was he her first love? What happened to him? Are they still together, or were they never meant to be? Every new song she releases adds to the buzz, which only makes her label happier.

There's just one problem. Sassy might have the world obsessed with her love ballads, but Sasha, the 19-year-old girl behind this pop sensation, has never been in love. She's aroace-spec (aromantic, asexual), and her love songs have been inspired by her favorite books, TV shows, and fandom ships. And she's afraid that if the world finds out there is no boy behind the ballads, they'll feel betrayed by the pop star they've come to know and love.

Enter Kai, Sasha's estranged ex-best friend and former boyfriend (whose heart she broke when she came out to him as aroace). They haven't spoken in years, but when they run into each other and decide to catch up, an anonymous photographer snaps a few pictures. When these photos leak, everyone assumes that Kai is Sassy's muse, her long-lost love rekindled. Sasha doesn't want to feed into the lie, but her manager thinks it's a good idea. And with her career just starting, she isn't sure quite how far she can push her luck...

THOUGHTS

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. It perfectly captures that nostalgic feeling of end-of-high-school and/or beginning-of-college hangouts: growing up, growing apart, and making the kinds of memories you want to come back to again and again. It's the angst of growing pains, of finding yourself and finding the courage to come out (in your own way and at your own time). It's an excellent read!

PROS

Autism Rep	This isn't a book about being autistic. This is just a book where the main character is on the spectrum. She recognizes that she (probably) is. She has had professionals indicate that she (probably) is, and she exhibits signs and symptoms of autistic burnout throughout the book. But this isn't a book about that. This isn't a book where autism is her struggle in any way, shape, or form. It's just a part of who she is and how she lives her life, and I love that. It's such casual representation, and it is really nice to see.
Aspec Rep	Every year, when I've put together a Pride display of YA books, I've had a hard time pulling together enough aro/ace books to fill out a shelf, so anything that highlights this identity is very much appreciated! This book fills a gap, but that isn't the only thing that makes it great. It also asks the hard questions, the questions anyone on this spectrum might be asking. Questions like, Does being asexual mean I am going to end up alone? Sasha wrestles with this question, with her desire to be loved (non-romantically) and to have companionship and community while also thinking, because of who she is, that she might not deserve it because she can't give what others expect back to them. These are messy and complicated feelings, and it is so nice to find a book that takes those feelings seriously, that dives into those hard places without resorting to neat and easy answers to wrap it all up in the end.
Best Friends	Sasha's best friend in this book is frustrating, but she is frustrating in a good way. Her path and Sasha's have diverged quite severely since they graduated high school. Their lives, right down to their hopes and desires, look nothing alike. Yet they're still friends, even if they're experiencing the friction of growing pains, and there are a lot of great (if difficult) conversations that these girls have. Conversations about loneliness, about the desire not to be alone (even if that means something different for both of them), about being so alone while surrounded by so many people (like when you're a popstar on a stage or when you're a college freshman without a friend group yet). It's real, honest, and difficult between these girls as they grow up, grow apart, and learn how to reconcile, and I liked it a lot.

CONS

I think that L.V. Peñalba does an excellent job of rendering these characters, each unique and different and fully alive, so Sasha's little sister really stuck out in this regard. Did I like this sassy, anti-consumerist little girl? Absolutely. But the problem was that she didn't read like a little girl, and in a book where the other characters are far from caricatures, this really stood out as being not-quite-right. This was the only thing that really pulled me out of the story.	Mischaracterization
I like a queer found-family book a lot, as I'm sure this blog can attest. But at a certain point, there have to be some straight people, okay? Especially in a book that wrestles with coming out because it might not be safe, personally, or safe, professionally. Having every single person be part of the community... kind of doesn't reflect reality or reflect the struggles Sasha is wrestling with in this book. The haters (or would-be haters) are faceless online entities only, which is fine but perhaps not as effective at communicating the real struggle at the core of this book.	The Mafia
The live, in-person (i.e. not-Internet) villains of this book are also a little... flat. Don't get me wrong. They do reflect some very real situations and people that exist, and there are some good social commentaries and societal barbs when it comes to these characters. So they're not ineffective. They're not purely cardboard cutouts. But they do, at a certain point, lack a little nuance for what the rest of the book has going on. For a book so versed in shades of gray, it feels odd to see some people who are so clearly black-and-white.	Too Simple

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
10/10

Those who loved the music-infused coming-of-age story in Cale Plett's Wavelength will adore this new queer popstar and her coming-out story. Anyone who loved the difficult questions and growing pains of Jake Maia Arlow's Leaving the Station will love this story of growing up, growing apart, and growing back together again (albeit in new shapes).

Details Publisher: Wednesday Books Date: May 19, 2026 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.