I loved the characters - snarky Phoebe, her cool godmother Kate, the crazy mix of people at the thrift shop, and even her love-struck best friend Polly. I enjoyed the diary format and the slightly more bitter "Georgia Nicholson" vibe. While there wasn't really a whole lot of romantic tension, and the LGBT romance seemed a little bleh, the humor and character growth kept the story going. Overall, a solid debut and I'll be keeping an eye out for future novels from this author.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I love this book so, so much. I couldn't put it down! It made me so happy.

As many other reviews have pointed out, Phoebe is a flawed character. Deeply flawed. But, that's part of what I love her. Her character arc is strong, moving from a girl that believes she is deeply unlovable (because her mother is off saving lives in Syria, leaving her to live with her godmother, Kate) to someone that opens up to the possibility of love and community. It's a great lesson for teens.

I loved the sex-positive nature of this book. Forty-year-old women fall in love with younger men. Young girls talk about orgasms in a way that does not make them shameful! LGBTQIA+ representation. Often, LGBTQIA+ characters are represented as one-dimensional. Brueggemann does a nice job giving all characters (even secondary ones) depth.

In short, I can't wait to read more by this author. I have already told my students to up it on their "to read" lists.

Phoebe is sick of being let down by love. After her mom leaves her behind to save those injured in war, a father who died before she was born, and a best friend who was head over heels with a boy who wouldn’t know how to locate a clitoris on a map, Phoebe is determined to devote her life to sologamy. Who needs a partner when there’s all of outer space to explore anyway?

When Phoebe accidentally lets one of her godmother’s designer cats into the street, she feels guilty enough pay back her godmother at the thrift shop she works at. There, in between GCSE exams, selling Easter cards at the last minute, and a signed Star Wars poster, Phoebe becomes more and more interested in fellow coworker named Emma. Who is Luke Skywalker in her instagram profile? Can Phoebe ever gain the courage to ask?

Love is for Losers is a hilarious book written in journal format. Phoebe’s teenage voice is strong within the text, making me laugh at multiple points which gained me looks from my coworkers when I read during a lunch break. It brings back the awkwardness of budding sexuality with the struggle of teenage hormones, important school exams, and absentee parents. Phoebe struggles to let people into her life but the reader sees her growth by the end of the novel. I’ve seen a few reviews that don’t like how grumpy and “edgy” Phoebe is, but I remember who I was at fifteen and thought it was spot on. The sex positivity from teenagers did not bother me, and while the discussion around a character with down syndrome was a little on the nose, I think it was handled well.

I do wish the plot didn’t take so long to get started, and there were so many names at first that I had to pause to remember who was who even when I was nearly fifty pages towards the end. I wish we could have a stronger resolution between Phoebe and her mom as well, but the relationship between Phoebe and her godmother drove the concept of a “chosen family” home, where Phoebe finds that it’s ok to let people who care about you in, even if they’re not blood related. Maybe love isn’t for losers after all.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of #loveisforlosers

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggeman is a cute story of Pheobe who is just a bit socially awkward. She does not like emotions and finds them repulsive mostly. The story begins with her falling out with Polly her best friend who has just started dating a guy very seriously. Pheobe just does not get it- why does Polly dating a guy have to change their friendship and why is Polly suddenly annoying with mentionistis constantly?

Pheobe has never had feelings for another person in the romantic sense and she never wants to. She is worried that when she turns sixteen she will turn into those love sick girls. Pheobe also lives with her godmother, Kate, while her mom is out saving the world with a group similar to Doctor's Without Borders. Pheobe ends up falling in love with her new friend Emma, and is trying everything she can think of and google to fall out of love. This story is fun and quirky, with tons of British phrases that are just adorable. Phoebe learns that more people care about her than she ever expected.

Love is For Losers by Wibke Brueggeman will be coming out In Feb of 2021. It will be a great addition to any romance collection and LGBTQ+ titles. http://kaitlynrcarpenter.weebly.com/blog/love-is-for-losers-by-wibke-brueggemann

I really enjoyed this book (though admittedly I'm a sucker for most things YA/coming of age)! Phoebe is a funny and relatable character, and the book hits a lot of themes and social issues. It gets heavy in moments, and occasionally inappropriate, so some readers may be turned off by the content. But I found it to be enjoyable and heartwarming overall.

Wibke Brueggerman’s Love is for Losers is a Young Adult novel about a modern teen’s reluctance to fall in love. Phoebe is the poster child for the typical angsty teenager. She considers love a disease, something that one should never wish to have.

And yet, Phoebe develops feelings for another girl.

She is part of the LGBTQ+ community, and the story provides her with supportive people which doesn’t make for a controversial central plot. Instead, we follow Phoebe as she deals with her newfound emotions.

The author utilizes a diary format which allows the reader to view Phoebe’s deepest thoughts and emotions. This format also allows for the raw and unfiltered discussion of what some may consider sensitive topics when it comes to teenagers. The book contains swearing, sexual education, relationships with age gaps, and LGBTQ+ relationships. The author uses these elements to depict the modern experience of some teens. This may make some squirm at the thought of teenagers talking about sex and the anatomy associated with it, but we can’t ignore its reality. I recommend this book for any teen confronted with love for the first time or anyone who enjoys reading stories of a failing love.

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggeman follows 15 year old Phoebe who begins the year writing in her journal/diary about her disappointment that her best friend Polly is now with a new boyfriend. Phoebe feels lonely and it only is exasperated by her mom leaving to work as a doctor in war torn Syria. While Phoebe stays with her Godmother and eventually begins working at a thrift shop, she complains about her every day going ons, explores her sexuality, and ultimately learns more about herself over the course of the year.

This novel was a quick read for me, but I didn't 100% enjoy it. I found Phoebe kind of annoying and ignorant about a lot of things. I felt that she wasn't really the greatest of friends to Polly, but still assumed that Polly would reciprocate those feelings that Phoebe needed in return. I also felt really bad for Phoebe's mother. It is obvious that Phoebe has a lot of pent up anger towards her mother's career choice and leaving her often to work in war torn areas across the world. I understand it, having been a 15 year old myself one time, but as an adult now, it was still difficult to read.

What I will say is that the author truly does encapsulate teenage thoughts and angst really well in this novel. It truly feels like the narrator is in fact the author, so I can see it being something that is easily relateable for the students in my classroom. I also enjoyed the fact that there were diverse characters and less than hetero-normal relationships. I think it is important to provide those opportunities for my students to learn and relate to voices that think and feel like they do.

All in all, I will definitely recommend this book to my students, but would not currently use it as a curriculum book because I don't know that I could stand reading Phoebe's voice much more than I already have.

I just could not finish this book. While this book may work for teens who can relate the writing style, as an adult, I found the main character to be whiney and annoying. The style of writing is expertly reflective of the way teens would write in a journal, but for me that was the biggest barrier. The story itself had funny moments and interesting tidbits but I simply couldn't get past the writing style to enjoy the story.

This book wasn’t my favorite. The main character was whiney. Her transformation just took a little too long for me to get interested in the book. I’m sure this would be appealing to teens but it just wasn’t my thing.

This is the type of YA I intentionally seek out, every year combing through every title promising humor and comedy. Judging by the fact that I usually find about 2 each year that perfectly fit my taste, my guess is, the pool of readers that are into this kind of writing isn't big.

Let me explain what I like:

1) diary format

2) biting humor that usually comes from British or Canadian writers

3) a flawed, often sarcastic or clueless narrator who isn't afraid to do or say some really dumb stuff.

Love Is for Losers checks all of these boxes. Phoebe is an antisocial, overly critical nihilist who loses her closest friend to a new boyfriend. Phoebe wows to never become such a fool and to never fall in love... but, of course, fate has other plans...

There are a lot of fun, sharp jokes here, but there is a lot of depth in this story too. I liked how themes of grief and abandonment were explored. There is a slow burn queer romance. There is a thrift store. And there are cats. Designer cats.

I hope Wibke Brueggemann gets to write more of these. I will definitely reread this one over and over again. This is totally my jam.

Love Is for Losers
by Wibke Brueggemann
Pub Date: 23 Feb 2021
Read courtesy of http://netgalley.com

DNF at 36%.

Ask anyone; I'm not a prude. I used to teach HIV/AIDS education to high schoolers and got them to shout 'penis' in their classrooms. But having a friend of one's mother (Kate) explain about a clitoris to a 15 year old (Phoebe), and then telling the 15 year old to explain that all to another 15 year old friend, so the friend will enjoy sex more, is beyond necessary in a YA book. As is the 40-something Kate publicly mooning over a 23-year old waiter.

The characters were flat and uninteresting. The main character, Phoebe, lived in a perpetual pity party; it quickly got old listening to her complain. None of the characters were described in enough detail to make me care about them. And there were only so many times I could listen to Phoebe describe Kate as a cat lady. I get it; Kate likes cats.

I initially enjoyed the snarky, sarcastic humor in the story, but it never was enough to overcome the poor writing style (diary-like with conversational grammar and spelling) that makes Phoebe come across as whiny instead of clever. The times that the author included actual life wisdoms instead of lecturing about sex were the only redeeming aspects of the story.

Quirky but lovable main character who is living with her godmother while the mom is out of the country (which happens often--& causes feelings of being unwanted) serving the disadvantaged. This novel is all about feeling accepted, loved, and included while trying to do the right things. This story reminded me of the Bridget Jones stories but from a young adult's perspective. YA-LGBTQ romance.

I love the snarky humor of the narrator. I found her both frustrating and endearing. I really enjoyed watching her relationship develop, and her experience of feeling left behind and forgotten when her best friend got her first boyfriend (which we've almost all experienced, the feeling of being left out when a friend is in the haze of first love).
Appreciated as well that this is a sex positive in the book for YA readers.

This book was delightful. Absolutely charming. Phoebe' s mom is a physician who works with Doctors without borders and travels to dangerous parts of the world to render her services to the most vulnerable. While she is gone, 15, soon to be 16 year old Pheobe goes to live with Kate, her mother's best friend, a thrift shop owner and a designer cat breeder. Phoebe is great with numbers but not so good with her people skills. Her best friend Polly is enamoured by a boy named Tristan and Pheobe feels forgotten. While helping Kate at her thrift store Phoebe meets a cast of characters Alex, Emma, Melanie, Bill, Pat and James. Each character somehow contributes to Phoebe's growth as a young adult and could there be some romance lurking in the offing in her life? Although she firmly believes love is for losers?

I loved this!! Highly recommend!! LGBTQ+ represented

Like many 15 year olds, this 15 year old girl believes the world is against her. With a mom who's gone most of the time on medical missions, she stays with her godmother to help out in a charity thrift store. Will she be able to come out of her shell and notice there's more in the world than just herself?

Mixed with many of life's challenges, this will have you laughing out loud!!

“Polly was like, and then I was like, and then Polly was like...” I kid you not, that is how this is written! It’s bad enough that people talk like this, but to write like this?! I almost DNF this book multiple times for that sole reason, BUT I don’t DNF books—ever. I ended up skimming most of it because I could not take the weird awful “dialogue in diary” style. This book could have actually been decent (I enjoyed the plot) had the author like omitted like all the “likes.” Overall, the writing style was not my cup of tea.

This book was adorable. I loved that Phoebe is a relatable narrator and the diary/journal format of the book was cool. I could see my students really enjoying that aspect. of the book. I also enjoyed how honest Phoebe was about her feelings. I think lots of students will be able to relate to her struggles with family, friends, and love. I'm always on the lookout for diverse books for my classroom and this is a great choice to make sure every student has a book with characters they can relate to.

"Fair enough, Shakepeare was popular and wrote a lot of plays, but Romeo and Juilet is actually a bit shit, isn't it? It's basically teenagers throwing a major tantrum."

Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann is a wry, witty, sensitive coming of age story. Fifteen year old Phoebe finds herself without a touchstone when her mom (once again) leaves her to help refugees for Medecins Internationale and her best friend, Polly, is solely focused on her new boyfriend. Fortunately, her mom's best friend, Kate, is always there to help guide her through the ups and downs of teen life and be her surrogate family. When Phoebe finds herself unexpectedly developing her first crush, she does everything in her power to fall out of love, but can she succeed before it's too late?

I loved everything about this book! I found the characters to be endearingly flawed and absolutely wanted the best outcome for Phoebe. The pacing was quick and I thought the diary entry style really allowed me to connect with Phoebe's mindset. This is a sweet story that channels all the angst and irritation of first love and redefines what it means to receive unconditional love.

Advanced readers' copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Available 2021.

It took me a bit to get used to the journal format, but I think that's because it was on my kindle, and it's not a fully edited proof. I do really like books in journal/diary format. I enjoyed this book about Phoebe, she is so quirky and funny. As she watches her friend Polly fall in love and become this other person, she decides she is not really keen on the whole thing. She is determined to not be that girl; that is her plan, at least. There is lots of humor and teenage angst throughout, but Phoebe makes it fun, it was a pretty quick read.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This book was okay — another one I wanted to love but unfortunately didn’t. None of the characters really had any personality besides Phoebe, the main character, and even she seemed flat as a character. By the end of the story it didn’t feel like she’d grown at all.

There were a few things that happen throughout the book that are supposed to be high stakes, but the pace and narration of the novel didn’t allow for the danger to resonate.

I felt that the story dragged a lot as well, which was strange, since so many things were going on at one. When I put the book down though I realized nothing much had happened to propel the plot forward.