By Alexandra Berrocal

How to be Ace by Rebecca Burgess was published in 2021. They are a full-time illustrator, whose work has been featured in The Guardian. How to be Ace is their first book. This book is about how they found themselves, their place in the world and — eventually — love as an asexual person. 

“When I was in school, everyone got to a certain age where they became interested in talking about only one thing: boys, girls, and sex,” Burgess said. “Me, though? I was only interested in talking about comics.”

It also tackles what it is like to live with OCD. I think the book’s most important lesson is to just be yourself, no matter where life takes you. I know that sounds really, really, trivial — it might even sound a bit cringe. However, it’s a very important lesson. The world is filled with people who are trying to be someone they are not. Society sometimes tries to force people into being someone they are not, too. This doesn’t just happen among the LGBTQ population either, I think. Even within the LGBTQ population, sometimes people try to force us to act in ways that are contrary to who we are as people. 

This book, as well as being a decent introduction to asexuality, is also a great introduction to OCD and what it is like to live with it. As for an intro to asexuality, not everyone is the same as Burgess. Not everyone has the same issues. It would be a mistake for someone to read this and think, “Oh, all asexuals are like that,” because we’re not. We’re not a monolith. So, I don’t expect Burgess to accurately reflect us all. She can only reflect herself — she can only be herself. So, if we want representation, we should make more representation. 

Maybe one day, people will realize there are all kinds of asexuals. But for that day to come, we will need to work for it. In the meantime, thank you, Burgess, for reminding us to be ourselves and showing us how to do that.

“Life can never be perfect,” Burgess said. “But I’m glad that I’ve figured out how to be okay with that.”

Alexandra Berrocal is a self-published author who has written fifteen books. She likes to crochet and draw, as well as read and write. She is from Orange County. They are journalism major at Cal Poly Humboldt. They like dogs, and they sing alto in a choir. If you have an idea for a book she could review, email them at alexandraberrocal@gmail.com.