Ace Review: We Go Forward
We Go Forward by Alison Evans
2016 by Less Than Three Press
Christie travels to run, to forget. She has no place to call home, but desperately wishes she did.
Roslyn has never been overseas and fears getting stuck in one place. If she’s never left Melbourne, how does she know that’s home?
A crossing of paths in Berlin, wine, and wifi leads to the two traveling together, and as they travel the two find some things they were looking for, and maybe something they weren't…
I had other books I was planning to read first, but I happened to get my hands on We Go Forward and well, I admit I am easily distracted by new and shiny reads. I was also excited about reading a story set in the here and now. I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy recently and while fantasy is always favorite of mine, one of the draws of reading ace characters is reading about characters who face real world circumstances like I do.
I did not regret it at all. I adored this quick read about epic road trip friendship. It’s fluffy but well grounded. Roslyn and Christie both jumped off the page with distinct voices; there’s no getting confused about who is talking here. The descriptions of the places they traveled were vivid and really set the stage of Eastern Europe in winter. It felt like the author had been there themself, but they didn’t bog the reader down in details either. I loved the history that they encountered, especially the Berlin Wall and Dachau, adding a layer of seriousness to a pretty sweet story. And while it was clear that nothing terrible was going to befall them on their travels, the journey wasn’t entirely smooth either. They dealt with the usual travel problems of plans falling through and disagreements while stuck in a small space and also made it clear that their emotional baggage (which deals with some serious issues) could not be left behind at the airport gate. And then just as the parade of hostels and museums was getting tiresome, the story wrapped up, keeping it short and sweet. In length it’s either a long novella or a short novel, either way it reads just the right amount.
I loved the lovely friendship between Christie and Roslyn. It’s rare to see a story for adults where the primary relationship is not a romantic one and this story shows what we’re missing. I also really appreciated that Roslyn (not even the aro ace character!) is mourning a friend break-up. I’ve been through a bad one of those myself and not only was the depth of the loss unexpected to me, but there was little to no social support for mourning such a loss, like there would have been for a romantic split. Christie and Roslyn become great friends and I enjoyed traveling along as they have fun and open up to each other.
Christie is explicitly asexual and aromantic. She tells Roslyn this the second time they meet and Roslyn has heard of it and has no problem with it. Christie points out how unusual it is that she doesn’t have to explain.
“I’m not into anyone.” I shrug. “I’m asexual, and aromantic.”
“Ohhhh” she laughs once at herself. “Sorry, my bad. I’m not very good at reading situations.”
“S'fine. I’m actually surprised that I don’t have to explain it to you?”
Usually me coming out is followed by a barrage of weird questions and me leaving, or kicking people out. And the same things repeated: Maybe you just haven’t found the right blah blah blah.
This is a good coming out scene! It’s casual and not preachy but shows by context what asexual and aromantic mean (to Christie - “I’m not into anyone.”), so a reader who’s never heard of asexuality could still figure it out even if they don’t know Latin prefixes. And then it continues by letting the reader know what not to do if someone tells you they’re ace. I don’t know for sure if the author identifies as ace-spec, but this feels like the difference between reading someone throwing asexuality in for diversity and someone who has actually experienced it. (I was probably way too amused at the aromantic/aromatic joke.) This author clearly knows their stuff because it felt natural. Orientation can be explicit without sounding out of place or becoming a lecture.
I’m having trouble thinking of anything to critique. I suspect it might sound dated fairly quickly with the massive amount of social media references Roslyn uses. Clearly both girls are quite privileged to have the time and money and ability to travel freely around Europe; for the most part they seem to recognize this. However I do love their lack of fear in traveling by themselves, in contradiction to what many girls have drummed into their heads. My biggest nitpick might be the encounter with another ace right near the end of the story. It felt a bit gratuitous, like the author wanted to make a point about discovering asexuality, or maybe unnecessary and a bit manipulative, like the author was afraid the story wasn’t feel-good enough and wanted to create more feels. It felt unneeded and it was a little strange to have that be one of the only significant encounters they have with a native.
If you love road trips, traveling, female friendships, vivid characters and an aro ace main character who is well written, this is for you. I’m not objective at all as this hit lots of my personal buttons. But it’s a sweet fun story and I highly recommend it.
PS There is a giveaway for it on Goodreads going on right now! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18028528-giveaway—we-go-forward-by-alison-evans
