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We Go Forward
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...
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...
126 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 23, 2016
2 people are currently reading
774 people want to read
About the author
Alison Evans
10 books188 followersAlison Evans is the author of Ida, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2017.
Their second novel, Highway Bodies, was published earlier this year and they are a contributor to new anthology, Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories.
They are based in Melbourne.
You can find out more at alisonwritesthings.com
Their second novel, Highway Bodies, was published earlier this year and they are a contributor to new anthology, Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories.
They are based in Melbourne.
You can find out more at alisonwritesthings.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 8, 2017
You don't realise how much it means to see yourself reflected in stories until you finally see it.
January 31, 2019
This was cute. Rather light on plot, but still a nice read. There's no romance at all here, which I actually liked. It's so rare to find a book that features a friendship at the heart of it. It's as it as a society we're saying that friendships are less important than romantic love, and that's nonsense. Especially for those of us who have never had, nor want to have, romantic love.
This is the story of two women from Australia who meet up in Germany. They're there for different reasons, but both just needed to get away for awhile. Christie is ace aro and embraces it. She's also plus-sized and makes zero deals about it. Roslyn is bisexual but after a bad breakup is not looking for another relationship. They meet shortly after Roslyn touches down in Germany and has no clue what she's doing. Christie helps her out, and they quickly become friends, and over the course of the book they become best friends as they tour Germany, Belgium and Austria. Along the way they meet up with another pair of girl friends (it's not defined if they're romantically involved or not) and really, when was the last time you read a book or saw a movie about girls on a road trip? Boys, yes. Girls and boys, yes. But just girls? I honestly can't think of one.
I did get a bit annoyed at Roslyn's constant tweeting and going into fits when she has no internet connection. The constant tweets to her sibling Jalen, who is genderqueer and uses the pronouns they/them (which just confuses the hell out of me; I'm used to "they" being plural), but since we never meet Jalen those interactions - if you can call them that - doesn't resonate much.
This also needed another pass by an editor. Words were either missing or were misused a bit more than I can overlook, though it's not overwhelming. A good example is when one of the MCs is trying to have a conversation in German and not understanding anything, she says the other person notices their "incomprehensible faces." Erm, that should be "uncomprehending." I'm not sure what it would take for a face to be incomprehensible. Nose upside down? Mouth where the ears should be?
Overall, a fun little story. I got a good chuckle at some of their TSTL antics (few and far between). I did wish it had a bit more depth, but for a light read it worked.
This is the story of two women from Australia who meet up in Germany. They're there for different reasons, but both just needed to get away for awhile. Christie is ace aro and embraces it. She's also plus-sized and makes zero deals about it. Roslyn is bisexual but after a bad breakup is not looking for another relationship. They meet shortly after Roslyn touches down in Germany and has no clue what she's doing. Christie helps her out, and they quickly become friends, and over the course of the book they become best friends as they tour Germany, Belgium and Austria. Along the way they meet up with another pair of girl friends (it's not defined if they're romantically involved or not) and really, when was the last time you read a book or saw a movie about girls on a road trip? Boys, yes. Girls and boys, yes. But just girls? I honestly can't think of one.
I did get a bit annoyed at Roslyn's constant tweeting and going into fits when she has no internet connection. The constant tweets to her sibling Jalen, who is genderqueer and uses the pronouns they/them (which just confuses the hell out of me; I'm used to "they" being plural), but since we never meet Jalen those interactions - if you can call them that - doesn't resonate much.
This also needed another pass by an editor. Words were either missing or were misused a bit more than I can overlook, though it's not overwhelming. A good example is when one of the MCs is trying to have a conversation in German and not understanding anything, she says the other person notices their "incomprehensible faces." Erm, that should be "uncomprehending." I'm not sure what it would take for a face to be incomprehensible. Nose upside down? Mouth where the ears should be?
Overall, a fun little story. I got a good chuckle at some of their TSTL antics (few and far between). I did wish it had a bit more depth, but for a light read it worked.
February 5, 2017
This book is basically about two girls from Melbourne, Australia, who are both traveling for different reasons and meet in Berlin. They end up traveling on together and form this awesome friendship.
The representation in this book is amazing!!! One of the protagonists, Roslyn is a bisexual gal who's a poc. The other protagonist is Christie, who's asexual AND aromantic!! Plus Roslyn has a twin, who we never actually see, but they identify as non-binary, which is awesome. This book is just a little queer gem with two humorous and likable narrators and entertaining traveling experiences. Give this one a try, guys.
The representation in this book is amazing!!! One of the protagonists, Roslyn is a bisexual gal who's a poc. The other protagonist is Christie, who's asexual AND aromantic!! Plus Roslyn has a twin, who we never actually see, but they identify as non-binary, which is awesome. This book is just a little queer gem with two humorous and likable narrators and entertaining traveling experiences. Give this one a try, guys.
June 26, 2018
Two sad queer girls roadtrip around Europe (Germany, Austria and a little of Prague) while developing a deep and supportive friendship. Roslyn is bisexual and left on a whim in the aftermath of a broken friendship, Christie is aroace and struggles with depression. This was fun and engaging, sad at times in a soft and tranquil way, and I really enjoyed it.
August 29, 2017
I’ve heard lots of good things about this book, so I went in expecting, or at least hoping, to love it. But, sadly, I didn’t, and my disappointment has inspired me to write a very long review about what I disliked. (Spoilers ahead, I guess, although I feel like this is a book where the idea of spoilers doesn’t really apply.)
First, what I did like: The traveling in Europe aspect was one of the strongest points for me; it felt like the author has actually traveled themself and been to these specific places. Sharing rooms with strangers at hostels, falling in love with new cities, randomly stopping to see a castle because castles are just around—all things that happened to Roslyn and Christie that have also happened to me on my Europe travels, and enjoyable to read about.
The other aspect that was the strongest for me was Christie being aro-ace. There were some small moments that felt really authentic, showing me that the author is familiar with the ace community, even though they’re not ace (Christie feeling happy to be included in “queer”, an aromantic/aromatic joke). Also, at one point Christie says she likes making out with strangers sometimes, and since most ace characters I know of are either sex-/kissing-repulsed or would only want to kiss their romantic partner, that was cool—yay for ace character variety!
Two things I didn’t like about the aro/ace rep, though: One, Christie defends a guy who pressured her to date him, telling Roslyn “he’s a good person apart from that”. Roslyn does convince her that’s actually not the case, but I didn’t like that she had to be convinced; it just didn’t seem realistic for an aro-ace to be defending someone who completely ignored her orientation and tried to make her do something she didn’t want to do. Two, Christie explains asexuality to somebody like this: “there are other people who don’t want sex, but still want a romantic relationship. It’s called, in English, being asexual.” And like… being asexual doesn’t mean wanting a romantic relationship! I think this was just a case of poor wording, because obviously the author/Christie know aro-aces exist, but it sounds like Christie is giving the definition of asexuality, and it’s definitely a wrong one. Besides the romance thing, asexuality doesn’t mean not wanting sex! After overall liking the aro/ace rep in the book up to that point, encountering that line at the end was really disappointing. :(
Anyway, on to the rest of my complaints! First, as I’m coming to expect with LT3 Press books, the editing was poor. There were multiple obvious errors—several typos, one girl being called the other’s name, word misuse, and contradiction (like, Christie puts a stamp on her postcard, then a little later says it doesn’t have a stamp). There was also some repetition that wasn’t an error, but was just a result of awkward writing, which I would have expected an editor to notice (for example, at the beginning, Roslyn repeatedly goes to tweet and then remembering she doesn’t have internet access, and we hear over and over how she needs gloves because her hands are cold).
Kind of going along with that, the present tense meant a lot of mundane, unnecessary moments were narrated, like “I do X, then I do Y, then I do Z.” For example:
“I turn left when I leave the hauptbahnhof and avoid the pedestrians and pigeons. As I keep walking, there are fewer pedestrians than where we've been in Munich so far. I take it slow, only occasionally having to move over to avoid other walkers or cyclists. Across the road, after about ten or fifteen minutes walking, there's a tiny café that looks open, but also empty. I cross the road and grab a table.”
Like, we’re not getting any descriptions of Christie’s feelings as she walks, or any level of detail about what she’s seeing/hearing/smelling, etc., just a list of her actions. And there were a lot of passages like that.
And then on to my more majors issues with the characters/plot: While we get little hints about relationships and incidents from each of their pasts that have impacted Roslyn and Christie, we never get any more than that. For instance, Roslyn went through a friend breakup recentlyish, and she mentions that friend a few times, but we never get the story of what actually happened. And I really don’t get the point of leaving things like that out; it kept me at a distance from the characters, and made me frustrated that I wasn’t getting the whole picture. We never learned things like why Roslyn chose not to go to university or what she was doing with her life before she went on this trip. And Christie’s been traveling around Europe getting different jobs, but we never learn what kind of jobs, and while we find out that she was relieved when her dad died a few years ago because he was a bad person, that isn’t explored in any more depth.
I also didn’t feel the relationship build-up—we were told R and C were getting close and meant a lot to each other, but I didn’t feel that. It seemed like they went from strangers to really close super quickly, and I didn’t see what was bonding them so much. They didn’t talk about their past experiences (as I said, very little backstory was given at all), not even the fact that they’re both from Melbourne (except just to acknowledge it). I know that sometimes people just immediately click, but I didn’t why in this case.
Really, it felt like we just followed them around as random stuff happened, not all of which was actually meaningful. It was very slice-of-life, and while I like contemporary stories, I want them to have more of an overall arc/drive. I felt like Christie’s emotional arc only really started toward the end (like 75% in), and I never got much of an arc from Roslyn at all. Again, if we’d had more backstory, that would have helped a lot with this issue. Without backstory, we were just left with their relationship being the main focus, and so the middle especially—after they’d already met and started traveling together, and before the end of Roslyn’s time in Europe was approaching—felt very aimless; the relationship didn’t really develop further during that part, since they got close so quickly. Instead, we just watched them do random things/go random places together.
Now for my last few random complaints: Christie tells us at one point that Roslyn has brown skin, but we learn nothing about her race/ethnicity beyond that, so it felt like an attempt to diversify without any effort to make it realistic/meaningful. A POC character’s race doesn’t have to be a big deal in a story, of course, but it’s also not accurate that it would have no effect on their life.
Roslyn’s Twitter handle is “@roslyn”. While her use of Twitter is realistic, that… wasn’t.
There were several incidents where Christie felt very much like an obnoxious teen—she steals wine once, and later sneaks into a place she isn’t supposed to be. And that didn’t seem to go with her character at all; I didn’t get where that was coming from or what motivated it.
Also, the alternating POV didn’t do much for me; there were times when I forgot whose I was reading, and I didn’t understand why certain moments happened in one POV vs. the other. Like, when Christie has both her rule-breaking moments, we’re in Roslyn’s POV, so we have no insight into what’s motivating Christie. And again, Roslyn didn’t have much of an arc, so I found her chapters especially just felt like following her around as she did/saw random stuff.
So basically, I really like the premise of this book, and I feel like it could have been really good, but as it is it just didn’t really work for me. :(
First, what I did like: The traveling in Europe aspect was one of the strongest points for me; it felt like the author has actually traveled themself and been to these specific places. Sharing rooms with strangers at hostels, falling in love with new cities, randomly stopping to see a castle because castles are just around—all things that happened to Roslyn and Christie that have also happened to me on my Europe travels, and enjoyable to read about.
The other aspect that was the strongest for me was Christie being aro-ace. There were some small moments that felt really authentic, showing me that the author is familiar with the ace community, even though they’re not ace (Christie feeling happy to be included in “queer”, an aromantic/aromatic joke). Also, at one point Christie says she likes making out with strangers sometimes, and since most ace characters I know of are either sex-/kissing-repulsed or would only want to kiss their romantic partner, that was cool—yay for ace character variety!
Two things I didn’t like about the aro/ace rep, though: One, Christie defends a guy who pressured her to date him, telling Roslyn “he’s a good person apart from that”. Roslyn does convince her that’s actually not the case, but I didn’t like that she had to be convinced; it just didn’t seem realistic for an aro-ace to be defending someone who completely ignored her orientation and tried to make her do something she didn’t want to do. Two, Christie explains asexuality to somebody like this: “there are other people who don’t want sex, but still want a romantic relationship. It’s called, in English, being asexual.” And like… being asexual doesn’t mean wanting a romantic relationship! I think this was just a case of poor wording, because obviously the author/Christie know aro-aces exist, but it sounds like Christie is giving the definition of asexuality, and it’s definitely a wrong one. Besides the romance thing, asexuality doesn’t mean not wanting sex! After overall liking the aro/ace rep in the book up to that point, encountering that line at the end was really disappointing. :(
Anyway, on to the rest of my complaints! First, as I’m coming to expect with LT3 Press books, the editing was poor. There were multiple obvious errors—several typos, one girl being called the other’s name, word misuse, and contradiction (like, Christie puts a stamp on her postcard, then a little later says it doesn’t have a stamp). There was also some repetition that wasn’t an error, but was just a result of awkward writing, which I would have expected an editor to notice (for example, at the beginning, Roslyn repeatedly goes to tweet and then remembering she doesn’t have internet access, and we hear over and over how she needs gloves because her hands are cold).
Kind of going along with that, the present tense meant a lot of mundane, unnecessary moments were narrated, like “I do X, then I do Y, then I do Z.” For example:
“I turn left when I leave the hauptbahnhof and avoid the pedestrians and pigeons. As I keep walking, there are fewer pedestrians than where we've been in Munich so far. I take it slow, only occasionally having to move over to avoid other walkers or cyclists. Across the road, after about ten or fifteen minutes walking, there's a tiny café that looks open, but also empty. I cross the road and grab a table.”
Like, we’re not getting any descriptions of Christie’s feelings as she walks, or any level of detail about what she’s seeing/hearing/smelling, etc., just a list of her actions. And there were a lot of passages like that.
And then on to my more majors issues with the characters/plot: While we get little hints about relationships and incidents from each of their pasts that have impacted Roslyn and Christie, we never get any more than that. For instance, Roslyn went through a friend breakup recentlyish, and she mentions that friend a few times, but we never get the story of what actually happened. And I really don’t get the point of leaving things like that out; it kept me at a distance from the characters, and made me frustrated that I wasn’t getting the whole picture. We never learned things like why Roslyn chose not to go to university or what she was doing with her life before she went on this trip. And Christie’s been traveling around Europe getting different jobs, but we never learn what kind of jobs, and while we find out that she was relieved when her dad died a few years ago because he was a bad person, that isn’t explored in any more depth.
I also didn’t feel the relationship build-up—we were told R and C were getting close and meant a lot to each other, but I didn’t feel that. It seemed like they went from strangers to really close super quickly, and I didn’t see what was bonding them so much. They didn’t talk about their past experiences (as I said, very little backstory was given at all), not even the fact that they’re both from Melbourne (except just to acknowledge it). I know that sometimes people just immediately click, but I didn’t why in this case.
Really, it felt like we just followed them around as random stuff happened, not all of which was actually meaningful. It was very slice-of-life, and while I like contemporary stories, I want them to have more of an overall arc/drive. I felt like Christie’s emotional arc only really started toward the end (like 75% in), and I never got much of an arc from Roslyn at all. Again, if we’d had more backstory, that would have helped a lot with this issue. Without backstory, we were just left with their relationship being the main focus, and so the middle especially—after they’d already met and started traveling together, and before the end of Roslyn’s time in Europe was approaching—felt very aimless; the relationship didn’t really develop further during that part, since they got close so quickly. Instead, we just watched them do random things/go random places together.
Now for my last few random complaints: Christie tells us at one point that Roslyn has brown skin, but we learn nothing about her race/ethnicity beyond that, so it felt like an attempt to diversify without any effort to make it realistic/meaningful. A POC character’s race doesn’t have to be a big deal in a story, of course, but it’s also not accurate that it would have no effect on their life.
Roslyn’s Twitter handle is “@roslyn”. While her use of Twitter is realistic, that… wasn’t.
There were several incidents where Christie felt very much like an obnoxious teen—she steals wine once, and later sneaks into a place she isn’t supposed to be. And that didn’t seem to go with her character at all; I didn’t get where that was coming from or what motivated it.
Also, the alternating POV didn’t do much for me; there were times when I forgot whose I was reading, and I didn’t understand why certain moments happened in one POV vs. the other. Like, when Christie has both her rule-breaking moments, we’re in Roslyn’s POV, so we have no insight into what’s motivating Christie. And again, Roslyn didn’t have much of an arc, so I found her chapters especially just felt like following her around as she did/saw random stuff.
So basically, I really like the premise of this book, and I feel like it could have been really good, but as it is it just didn’t really work for me. :(
February 13, 2017
Possibly I am biased but this book is gr9 and everyone should go read it. (PSA: it's not a romance!! pls see aromanticism)
The lineup:
- One protagonist is a bisexual lady of colour (she has brown skin but ethnicity is never explicitly stated and I could've asked Alison but that seemed rude, because I wouldn't ask a real person what their ethnicity was, you know) and also her twin who is not physically in the story but is mentioned a lot is genderqueer (fun fact! said twin has a book of their own: Long Macchiatos and Monsters)
- The other protagonist is aro ace
- Two side characters are a gay dude couple, and one is of Vietnamese descent
- Two other side characters may be a gay lady couple...?
The lineup:
- One protagonist is a bisexual lady of colour (she has brown skin but ethnicity is never explicitly stated and I could've asked Alison but that seemed rude, because I wouldn't ask a real person what their ethnicity was, you know) and also her twin who is not physically in the story but is mentioned a lot is genderqueer (fun fact! said twin has a book of their own: Long Macchiatos and Monsters)
- The other protagonist is aro ace
- Two side characters are a gay dude couple, and one is of Vietnamese descent
- Two other side characters may be a gay lady couple...?
April 16, 2019
I didn't realize I had read so much and then suddenly it was over. I really loved it but I think it could do with an ending that's a bit longer, maybe with an epilogue.
I'll write down some more thoughts tomorrow.
I'll write down some more thoughts tomorrow.
July 11, 2022
2.5 / 5 Stars
I'v wanted to read this book since forever, but feared I'd be never able to, since the publisher dissolved and took all the books with them.
BUT!
The author was kind enough to give some free pdf documents away, so for anyone out there that's still interested in reading this book: You can.
I personally wouldn't read it again, but please, don't let my subjective opinion stop you. If you feel like you wanna give this a go, then do. :3
But yeah, this book, even though I was so hyped and ready and happy to finally read it, didn't manage to win me over.
I guess, one could say, that one small reason for that is due to my expectations.
I was ready for contemporary travel fictions, but I was not ready for ... no story, no developement nothing contemporary travel fiction.
The book does a great job in its depictions of e.g. Germany. Just ... just one small thing, because it gets brought up more than once and it bothered me. It's spelled Bäcker, not Backer. The dots are important. You'd pronounce it differently if those weren't there. It means backery.
Since I'm german, I had a lot of fun reading about the part of the book we spend there. It almost feels like the author's been there herself. And if she hasn't, then, I've got to compliment their research. The scene where that one dude is trying to babtize the MC in the train was funny, especially since you could only see something like that in Baveria. Bavarian's are a very special sort of german : P
All the other countrys, places and sights were written really nicely as well. I guess, if you want to experience a little europe and are here for the travel experience, then you'd end up having a good time.
The problem the book has, is of different nature: The characters.
You could literally replace them with anyone else, anything else, and nothing would change. One of our girls has depression, but besides one sentence that made me go "!" we don't really see a lot of it. It does get brought up a few pages before the book ends, but that's personally not enough for me. You can't just turn your depression on and back off again. I didn't need her to get better, but I did need to see her struggle. Have it have an actual impact on her life. I mean, yeah, she's traveling trough europe, but besides the fact that she finds a friend: nothing changes. Why is she suddenly ready to go back? Did I miss something? Because I don't think so.
I also didn’t feel the relationship build-up—we were told R and C were getting close and meant a lot to each other, but I didn’t feel that. It seemed like they went from strangers to bffs quickly, and I didn’t see what was causing them to bond. They didn’t talk about their past experiences, about their hobbies, their interests, anything really. I know that sometimes people just immediately click, but I didn’t get why in this case. I didn't feel any kind of spark between them, which is kind of not that great, when they and their relationship should be the main driving point of the story. If I wanted a simple travel guild, I could just buy a travel book after all.
The book is clearly trying to say something, but since the characters stay static and don't move back or forward - which is ironic given the title - they just end up feeling impcomplete. Why are they doing what they are doing? What drives them? Their motives? Their wants? Their needs? We get nothing. I was waiting for it for the whole book, but nothing. It wouldn't have needed much, but it would have needed something.
The ace/aro rep was ... fine? It's not the main focus of the story. It does get brought up and when it does it's great, but it's more of a warm feeling of contempt than anything really story related. Which, I didn't mind. Just know what you're getting into and what to expect.
To summ this book up: I was hoping it would be more than it ended up being.
I'v wanted to read this book since forever, but feared I'd be never able to, since the publisher dissolved and took all the books with them.
BUT!
The author was kind enough to give some free pdf documents away, so for anyone out there that's still interested in reading this book: You can.
I personally wouldn't read it again, but please, don't let my subjective opinion stop you. If you feel like you wanna give this a go, then do. :3
But yeah, this book, even though I was so hyped and ready and happy to finally read it, didn't manage to win me over.
I guess, one could say, that one small reason for that is due to my expectations.
I was ready for contemporary travel fictions, but I was not ready for ... no story, no developement nothing contemporary travel fiction.
The book does a great job in its depictions of e.g. Germany. Just ... just one small thing, because it gets brought up more than once and it bothered me. It's spelled Bäcker, not Backer. The dots are important. You'd pronounce it differently if those weren't there. It means backery.
Since I'm german, I had a lot of fun reading about the part of the book we spend there. It almost feels like the author's been there herself. And if she hasn't, then, I've got to compliment their research. The scene where that one dude is trying to babtize the MC in the train was funny, especially since you could only see something like that in Baveria. Bavarian's are a very special sort of german : P
All the other countrys, places and sights were written really nicely as well. I guess, if you want to experience a little europe and are here for the travel experience, then you'd end up having a good time.
The problem the book has, is of different nature: The characters.
You could literally replace them with anyone else, anything else, and nothing would change. One of our girls has depression, but besides one sentence that made me go "!" we don't really see a lot of it. It does get brought up a few pages before the book ends, but that's personally not enough for me. You can't just turn your depression on and back off again. I didn't need her to get better, but I did need to see her struggle. Have it have an actual impact on her life. I mean, yeah, she's traveling trough europe, but besides the fact that she finds a friend: nothing changes. Why is she suddenly ready to go back? Did I miss something? Because I don't think so.
I also didn’t feel the relationship build-up—we were told R and C were getting close and meant a lot to each other, but I didn’t feel that. It seemed like they went from strangers to bffs quickly, and I didn’t see what was causing them to bond. They didn’t talk about their past experiences, about their hobbies, their interests, anything really. I know that sometimes people just immediately click, but I didn’t get why in this case. I didn't feel any kind of spark between them, which is kind of not that great, when they and their relationship should be the main driving point of the story. If I wanted a simple travel guild, I could just buy a travel book after all.
The book is clearly trying to say something, but since the characters stay static and don't move back or forward - which is ironic given the title - they just end up feeling impcomplete. Why are they doing what they are doing? What drives them? Their motives? Their wants? Their needs? We get nothing. I was waiting for it for the whole book, but nothing. It wouldn't have needed much, but it would have needed something.
The ace/aro rep was ... fine? It's not the main focus of the story. It does get brought up and when it does it's great, but it's more of a warm feeling of contempt than anything really story related. Which, I didn't mind. Just know what you're getting into and what to expect.
To summ this book up: I was hoping it would be more than it ended up being.
March 24, 2016
3.5 stars
I received a copy of this book from Inked Rainbow Reads in return for an honest review.
I'm kind of neutral about this story. The writing itself was good. The book was interesting enough for me not to get bogged down in it. But it seemed a bit long for the point I got out of it. First, I'll say that this is probably only the third asexual story I've read, and the first where there was a combination of asexual and aromantic. So the basic connection in this book is more friendship than anything else, and that brings up some interesting questions to consider. Are books about friendship successful? Is there a big enough market for them? What else would be important to a novel about friendship to make it successful? I'm pretty sure I don't have any answers to these questions. I'm not even sure these are questions that need to be asked. However, most novels about friendship don't necessarily make a point of stating that one of the main characters is aro ace (short for aromantic asexual). That seems to be important to the author, but I'm not quite sure why unless it's about exposure for a sexuality that is most likely underrepresented and misunderstood.
The story itself is ok. Two Australians meet by chance in Berlin, and become friends. They decide to travel together for a while. Christie has been running from her life and who she is for quite some time when she meets Roslyn, who's traveling because she's afraid that if she didn't go then that she would always be stuck in one place. The two find acceptance in each other and a connection that makes them the best of friends. We start out the story with Roslyn, and I thought the story was going to be about her facing her fears. But the book ends with Christie finally finding something or someone she can call home. The journey in between was sometimes humorous, sometimes comfortable, and sometimes a bit tedious. I'm not sure that as short as the story is that it should have taken so long. Although I do like the slow progression of their friendship, the trip itself seemed to drag on a bit.
In the end, I don't think the book was for me, but I don't regret spending the time to read it. I liked hearing about Christie's sexuality and understanding a bit more about what kinds of issues she faced. Roslyn's sexuality was mentioned but didn't seem to be a focal point of the story, other than to explain her open-minded acceptance of Christie. The book made me think, which is a good thing, but in the end I kept thinking something was missing.
I received a copy of this book from Inked Rainbow Reads in return for an honest review.
I'm kind of neutral about this story. The writing itself was good. The book was interesting enough for me not to get bogged down in it. But it seemed a bit long for the point I got out of it. First, I'll say that this is probably only the third asexual story I've read, and the first where there was a combination of asexual and aromantic. So the basic connection in this book is more friendship than anything else, and that brings up some interesting questions to consider. Are books about friendship successful? Is there a big enough market for them? What else would be important to a novel about friendship to make it successful? I'm pretty sure I don't have any answers to these questions. I'm not even sure these are questions that need to be asked. However, most novels about friendship don't necessarily make a point of stating that one of the main characters is aro ace (short for aromantic asexual). That seems to be important to the author, but I'm not quite sure why unless it's about exposure for a sexuality that is most likely underrepresented and misunderstood.
The story itself is ok. Two Australians meet by chance in Berlin, and become friends. They decide to travel together for a while. Christie has been running from her life and who she is for quite some time when she meets Roslyn, who's traveling because she's afraid that if she didn't go then that she would always be stuck in one place. The two find acceptance in each other and a connection that makes them the best of friends. We start out the story with Roslyn, and I thought the story was going to be about her facing her fears. But the book ends with Christie finally finding something or someone she can call home. The journey in between was sometimes humorous, sometimes comfortable, and sometimes a bit tedious. I'm not sure that as short as the story is that it should have taken so long. Although I do like the slow progression of their friendship, the trip itself seemed to drag on a bit.
In the end, I don't think the book was for me, but I don't regret spending the time to read it. I liked hearing about Christie's sexuality and understanding a bit more about what kinds of issues she faced. Roslyn's sexuality was mentioned but didn't seem to be a focal point of the story, other than to explain her open-minded acceptance of Christie. The book made me think, which is a good thing, but in the end I kept thinking something was missing.
September 17, 2017
This book gave me so much joy, hope and quiet content feelings.
Two girls, one bi and lost, the other aro, ace and running - try to find their way by traveling through Europe. I loved the idea, the execution was beautiful (I wish everyone would write rep like Alison Evan does) and it just... made me happy. Sad sometimes, achy and lonely too - but mostly happy in the end.
Definitely recommended to everyone.
Two girls, one bi and lost, the other aro, ace and running - try to find their way by traveling through Europe. I loved the idea, the execution was beautiful (I wish everyone would write rep like Alison Evan does) and it just... made me happy. Sad sometimes, achy and lonely too - but mostly happy in the end.
Definitely recommended to everyone.
September 30, 2024
not really sure how i feel about this. i liked the friendship aspect, but i wish it hadn’t been outweighed by the travel aspect. also, asexual and aromantic are inaccurately reduced to not wanting sex and not wanting relationships, respectively.
content/trigger warnings; alcohol consumption, suicide mentioned, death of father mentioned, hitler/nazi mentioned, ableism, racism mentioned, fatphobia,
rep; roslyn (mc) is bisexual. christie (mc) fat, aromantic, and asexual.
content/trigger warnings; alcohol consumption, suicide mentioned, death of father mentioned, hitler/nazi mentioned, ableism, racism mentioned, fatphobia,
rep; roslyn (mc) is bisexual. christie (mc) fat, aromantic, and asexual.
Read
July 31, 2022I loved the characters and their relationship, I didn't love the Australians-roadtripping-Europe thing (especially as they did so many horrible things, like stealing). Also I really missed any sort of plot.
April 22, 2016
2.5 stars
This story is told in first person and from the point-of-view of both main characters – chapter by chapter. I enjoy getting into more than one head while reading so the dual POV worked for me.
The plot is well written and true to the blurb it takes the reader on a trip through Berlin and the surrounding areas, with some insight into the history of the Berlin Wall, David Bowie, and some other interesting historical tidbits.
Christie, by her own admission, is a fat-chick. She’s also Asexual and Aromantic. There’s very little dialogue to explain what it means for her living life with no interest in a sexual or romantic relationship. I think if this book had been a little longer and explained more about being in a relationship that is Asexual and Aromantic I would have understood it better and gotten more out of the story.
Roslyn was a mixed bag for me. I don’t mind the f-word but her potty mouth started to grate on my nerves. And she complained so frequently about the cold I almost needed to put warm gloves on before picking up my kindle to continue reading.
Somehow her and Christie hit it off, and I’m pleased they formed such a close friendship, accepting each other for who they were. The road trip with Sam & Julie was fun but short-lived.
Well into the story, Roslyn drops in somewhere that she is bisexual. Her passing comment was so brief I almost got whiplash! I’ve since seen the story is tagged as bisexual, but readers should be aware there is no sex or romance in this story.
If the idea of a trip through Berlin via the eyes of Roslyn and Christie appeals to you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy their story.
Copy provided in exchange for an honest review
This story is told in first person and from the point-of-view of both main characters – chapter by chapter. I enjoy getting into more than one head while reading so the dual POV worked for me.
The plot is well written and true to the blurb it takes the reader on a trip through Berlin and the surrounding areas, with some insight into the history of the Berlin Wall, David Bowie, and some other interesting historical tidbits.
Christie, by her own admission, is a fat-chick. She’s also Asexual and Aromantic. There’s very little dialogue to explain what it means for her living life with no interest in a sexual or romantic relationship. I think if this book had been a little longer and explained more about being in a relationship that is Asexual and Aromantic I would have understood it better and gotten more out of the story.
Roslyn was a mixed bag for me. I don’t mind the f-word but her potty mouth started to grate on my nerves. And she complained so frequently about the cold I almost needed to put warm gloves on before picking up my kindle to continue reading.
Somehow her and Christie hit it off, and I’m pleased they formed such a close friendship, accepting each other for who they were. The road trip with Sam & Julie was fun but short-lived.
Well into the story, Roslyn drops in somewhere that she is bisexual. Her passing comment was so brief I almost got whiplash! I’ve since seen the story is tagged as bisexual, but readers should be aware there is no sex or romance in this story.
If the idea of a trip through Berlin via the eyes of Roslyn and Christie appeals to you, I’m sure you’ll enjoy their story.
Copy provided in exchange for an honest review
September 24, 2016
An honest review thanks to Netgalley. This was a good read, very well written. I just had some problems connecting to the characters. I wanted to know more about them then what I was given. We get a little background of why they are both traveling, but I needed more to be able to connect fully. Without the connection between the reader and the characters the story cant go higher than good, there is no pull making you unable to stop reading and remember the book for years to come. Some others might have more of a connection to the characters, but the lack of a background made this book just a good read.
April 23, 2016
After reading this I REALLY want to travel, and I also have a new sense of appreciation for Melbourne coffee (it's the best). I also haven't read anything at all with an ace/aro character in it and I found the representation in this book amazing - I didn't realise how truly starved of it I was until I read this! Also, Roslyn's & Christie's voices were super relatable and I love them. I, also, would constantly freak out over the lack of Internet and decent coffee overseas as a tourist. Loved this book, so proud of Alison for writing it, go and read it you won't be disappointed! <3
January 12, 2016
I was extremely lucky to get to read an advance version of this book. You should also read it. It's cheaper than a holiday and you'll come out the other side feeling like you've been on one anyway. No guarantees you won't suffer a bit of wanderlust afterward, though!
March 1, 2019
It is quite apparent the author is an avid user of Tumblr™.
June 1, 2019
It was good to read about the kind of friendships you make on the road like this - I haven't seen many other books dive into the awkwardness and joy of getting to know someone so quickly and trust them in such unknown situations.
The characters in the book are definitely very young emotionally (getting up to the cringe-worthy tourist actions such as stealing, breaking and entering, etc) and you see them change a little bit and grow up in the book, but still have a lot left to learn. It's a sort of snapshot book, where you can tell these characters are in between points in their lives, and you get a brief glimpse of their shifting lives.
The book also addressed "friendship breakup" (wish we had a bit more on that actually!). The book not focusing on romance was a really good change, and I liked the realistically awkward bits between "random hostel friends" and then finding someone you click with. You could tell the author had lived this sort of experience, and the details were realistically immersive.
If you're looking for a book that is about close friendship and introspection during travel, this is a great one!
The characters in the book are definitely very young emotionally (getting up to the cringe-worthy tourist actions such as stealing, breaking and entering, etc) and you see them change a little bit and grow up in the book, but still have a lot left to learn. It's a sort of snapshot book, where you can tell these characters are in between points in their lives, and you get a brief glimpse of their shifting lives.
The book also addressed "friendship breakup" (wish we had a bit more on that actually!). The book not focusing on romance was a really good change, and I liked the realistically awkward bits between "random hostel friends" and then finding someone you click with. You could tell the author had lived this sort of experience, and the details were realistically immersive.
If you're looking for a book that is about close friendship and introspection during travel, this is a great one!
October 4, 2022
3.5
It wasn't a very good book. There was pretty much no plot except for the characters moving from one place to another - there were no stakes at all (also, somehow they managed to avoid any trouble and never ran out of money???). The dialogues felt unnatural, and the emotional depth was pretty surface-level. The ending was unsatisfying, too - it got resolved so out of nowhere. And yet, I quite liked it. It reminded me of Alice Oseman's books in a way - the strong friendship, an all-queer cast, and some discussion of mental health (though not much of it). I resonated a lot with the theme of friendship breakup, too. And bonus points for the aroace representation, because it was so great.
It wasn't a very good book. There was pretty much no plot except for the characters moving from one place to another - there were no stakes at all (also, somehow they managed to avoid any trouble and never ran out of money???). The dialogues felt unnatural, and the emotional depth was pretty surface-level. The ending was unsatisfying, too - it got resolved so out of nowhere. And yet, I quite liked it. It reminded me of Alice Oseman's books in a way - the strong friendship, an all-queer cast, and some discussion of mental health (though not much of it). I resonated a lot with the theme of friendship breakup, too. And bonus points for the aroace representation, because it was so great.
January 16, 2018
Nice story of two young Australian women meeting in Berlin and travelling around Europe. Roslyn is bisexual, Christie asexual and aromantic and these aspects are dealt with as matter-of factly as what foods they like, as is Roslyn using the pronoun they for her flatmate back home in Melbourne. Lovely last scene in Salzburg B&B with owner Anne. Recommended if you like European capital cities, train stations and LGBTIQ themes.
May 9, 2018
So lovely. So queer.
July 22, 2019
Very cute strong friendship. I'm glad I have travel lined up cause this definitely didn't help wanderlust.
February 19, 2025
Too directionless for my tastes.
Even just within the first four chapters, the book is not concerned with giving us characters personalities or motivations, let alone setting the scene to build up a plot. All its exposition is spend on describing Germany and Prague - but does nothing with it to build out or MCs or use it as a metaphor or help describe emotions or anything. And for all that this is about them becoming friends, it does not show us that, either.
So this was not great.
Even just within the first four chapters, the book is not concerned with giving us characters personalities or motivations, let alone setting the scene to build up a plot. All its exposition is spend on describing Germany and Prague - but does nothing with it to build out or MCs or use it as a metaphor or help describe emotions or anything. And for all that this is about them becoming friends, it does not show us that, either.
So this was not great.
March 5, 2016
We Go Forward by Alison Evans follows two Australian twenty-somethings who both choose to travel across Europe for a variety of reasons. Along the way, they become more in tune with what they have fled from, and most importantly, they learn how to mend their insecurities together. The book is a fairly quick read, and a mostly enjoyable one at that, although I finished it with some mixed feelings.
The friendship between main characters Christie and Roslyn fascinated me. Evans incorporates their individual perspectives on life and love well, and both characters possess a fantastic sense of humor. Also, despite each chapter switching back and forth between points of view, it was very easy to differentiate whose chapter was whose.
While the book contains quite a lot of description referencing various European countries, at times I felt it could be a bit too cliché. I appreciated a few mentions of famous tourist destinations, but after a while it became too formulaic. Although, I should note that one of my favorite passages in the book was when Christie and Roslyn visited a concentration camp. Evans mixed together their anger, but also their sorrow, so poignantly that I found myself tearing up.
Something that did not bother me per se, but that I found highly amusing, was how many strangers they met that ended up being from Australia. Although I’ve traveled throughout Europe, I don’t recall encountering many people from down under, if at all. Maybe I was just frequenting the wrong places. If that’s the case, boy, I missed out!
My least favorite parts of the book were the many passages in which Roslyn uses social media. I have never enjoyed the inclusion of the Internet, especially Twitter, in any book I’ve read. I find it highly distracting. Admittedly, its inclusion here did make sense, as this is how Roslyn keeps in touch with her family and friends. I just wish it had not popped up so often.
All in all, We Go Forward is a decent quick read that I would recommend to most of my friends. It may not necessarily be for people who are not supportive of the LGBT and aromatic/asexual community, although I would toss it upon those people anyway, because everyone should experience something outside of their comfort zone every so often.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The friendship between main characters Christie and Roslyn fascinated me. Evans incorporates their individual perspectives on life and love well, and both characters possess a fantastic sense of humor. Also, despite each chapter switching back and forth between points of view, it was very easy to differentiate whose chapter was whose.
While the book contains quite a lot of description referencing various European countries, at times I felt it could be a bit too cliché. I appreciated a few mentions of famous tourist destinations, but after a while it became too formulaic. Although, I should note that one of my favorite passages in the book was when Christie and Roslyn visited a concentration camp. Evans mixed together their anger, but also their sorrow, so poignantly that I found myself tearing up.
Something that did not bother me per se, but that I found highly amusing, was how many strangers they met that ended up being from Australia. Although I’ve traveled throughout Europe, I don’t recall encountering many people from down under, if at all. Maybe I was just frequenting the wrong places. If that’s the case, boy, I missed out!
My least favorite parts of the book were the many passages in which Roslyn uses social media. I have never enjoyed the inclusion of the Internet, especially Twitter, in any book I’ve read. I find it highly distracting. Admittedly, its inclusion here did make sense, as this is how Roslyn keeps in touch with her family and friends. I just wish it had not popped up so often.
All in all, We Go Forward is a decent quick read that I would recommend to most of my friends. It may not necessarily be for people who are not supportive of the LGBT and aromatic/asexual community, although I would toss it upon those people anyway, because everyone should experience something outside of their comfort zone every so often.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 16, 2016
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 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.
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. 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 think this is an excellent coming out scene. It's casual and not preachy but shows by context what asexual and aromantic mean so a reader who's never heard of asexuality could still figure it out even if they don't know Latin prefixes. This author clearly knows their stuff because it felt natural. Orientation can be explicit without sounding out of place or becoming a lecture.
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.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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. 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 think this is an excellent coming out scene. It's casual and not preachy but shows by context what asexual and aromantic mean so a reader who's never heard of asexuality could still figure it out even if they don't know Latin prefixes. This author clearly knows their stuff because it felt natural. Orientation can be explicit without sounding out of place or becoming a lecture.
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.
Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 18, 2016
This was my first time reading a novel about an ace/aro character since reading Clariel. Also written by an Australian author, the difference with this book is that it's set in the real world. Largely in Germany, but with bursts from Prague. (I feel there was another place outside of Germany as well during their road trip but I'm struggling to remember it...)
Roslyn is the character we meet first. She is newly arrived in Berlin and struggling with homesickness as well as just the foreignness of a new country literally on the other side of the world from her home city Melbourne.
Enter Christie. Although Christie seems the lighter of the two characters at the start, I would argue that she is the outgoing introvert who has more elements of depression than Roslyn, who's sadness seems largely situational for a large part of the plot. Christie, however, has coping mechanisms, ones that have her hopping different countries fairly often due to itchy feet and a need to see the next city now. Dark things are hinted at in her past, but never actually outlined explicitly, which I found I liked as it left it to the imagination.
Shortly after she first meets Roslyn, Christie offers to buy her a drink and, after so doing, makes sure that intensions are not misunderstood by the bisexual main character. This moment sets the scene for the rest of the book and brings out a friendship between the two girls that is, I would argue, more healthy for either of them than what would likely have been little more than an across the world rebound relationship for Roslyn otherwise.
The last chapter, written from Christie's point of view, was far and away my favourite of the story, containing an asexual BnB owner who kind of always thought she was alone, and the conversation held while drinking is beautiful and the perfect way to round out the novel.
Note: There is LOTS of drinking in this book.
I think the only thing that let this story down for me was that I would have liked to see a lot of the poignant moments through the story have a little bit more depth. Not romantically, obviously, but more emotional resonance or consequence just the same.
Roslyn is the character we meet first. She is newly arrived in Berlin and struggling with homesickness as well as just the foreignness of a new country literally on the other side of the world from her home city Melbourne.
Enter Christie. Although Christie seems the lighter of the two characters at the start, I would argue that she is the outgoing introvert who has more elements of depression than Roslyn, who's sadness seems largely situational for a large part of the plot. Christie, however, has coping mechanisms, ones that have her hopping different countries fairly often due to itchy feet and a need to see the next city now. Dark things are hinted at in her past, but never actually outlined explicitly, which I found I liked as it left it to the imagination.
Shortly after she first meets Roslyn, Christie offers to buy her a drink and, after so doing, makes sure that intensions are not misunderstood by the bisexual main character. This moment sets the scene for the rest of the book and brings out a friendship between the two girls that is, I would argue, more healthy for either of them than what would likely have been little more than an across the world rebound relationship for Roslyn otherwise.
The last chapter, written from Christie's point of view, was far and away my favourite of the story, containing an asexual BnB owner who kind of always thought she was alone, and the conversation held while drinking is beautiful and the perfect way to round out the novel.
Note: There is LOTS of drinking in this book.
I think the only thing that let this story down for me was that I would have liked to see a lot of the poignant moments through the story have a little bit more depth. Not romantically, obviously, but more emotional resonance or consequence just the same.
March 14, 2016
3.5 stars
In this lovely story we follow two Australian young ladies in their trek across parts of Europe. We see them meet and develop a lovely, close friendship throughout the time that they are travelling.
I enjoyed the descriptions and the informational passages about some of the places that they went; I feel like I took a mini-trip with them, and learned something too!
I enjoyed Christie; it was nice to go on her journey with her as she comes to terms with the skeletons in her closet and decides to return to Australia. I loved that we saw Christie explain that she was asexual to Roslyn and Roslyn knew what that meant and there wasn’t any fallout from it. It was a beautiful friendship and lovely to see Roslyn knew when Christie needed to be alone and when not to press her to explain more; that is rare to find. One of my favorite parts was toward the end with Anna; that was beautiful.
I was a bit shocked by how many fellow Australians they ran into in their travels; however, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. There were a few places where the wording seemed awkward; however, I understood the gist of the passages enough to understand what was happening. Also, when I read the description of the book I sort of expected more to develop between the two. I felt a little misled; however, I’m still glad I read the book.
All-in-all, it was a lovely good that showcased a beautiful friendship between two complicated ladies. I would love to see how Christie takes to being in Melbourne and how Jalen reacts to all of it.
I received an ARC of this book from Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.
In this lovely story we follow two Australian young ladies in their trek across parts of Europe. We see them meet and develop a lovely, close friendship throughout the time that they are travelling.
I enjoyed the descriptions and the informational passages about some of the places that they went; I feel like I took a mini-trip with them, and learned something too!
I enjoyed Christie; it was nice to go on her journey with her as she comes to terms with the skeletons in her closet and decides to return to Australia. I loved that we saw Christie explain that she was asexual to Roslyn and Roslyn knew what that meant and there wasn’t any fallout from it. It was a beautiful friendship and lovely to see Roslyn knew when Christie needed to be alone and when not to press her to explain more; that is rare to find. One of my favorite parts was toward the end with Anna; that was beautiful.
I was a bit shocked by how many fellow Australians they ran into in their travels; however, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book. There were a few places where the wording seemed awkward; however, I understood the gist of the passages enough to understand what was happening. Also, when I read the description of the book I sort of expected more to develop between the two. I felt a little misled; however, I’m still glad I read the book.
All-in-all, it was a lovely good that showcased a beautiful friendship between two complicated ladies. I would love to see how Christie takes to being in Melbourne and how Jalen reacts to all of it.
I received an ARC of this book from Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.
September 9, 2017
Omg, the fluff.
But before we even got to that, I can't tell you how amazing it was to read a story from an ace perspective that I can relate to. Most of what I find YA, and finding a NA version made me so happy. I pretty much spent the entire reading this going "me, me, and also me".
It's actually crazy, how much this *could* be me. After all, I've traveled a bit too. Hmm.
Regardless, I, obviously, really enjoyed it. WAFF (warm and fluffy feelings) galore, and it was nice to see touching moments between people that aren't tinted rose. Friendships are so important, and to see one grow was so nice to see.
So, good, quick fast read that I actually wish would have dived deeper into things. For this being about travel, I wanted to see the places a little more clearly in my head, but I loved reading about how these two women felt about traveling and what they saw. It's the scattered, small moments of this book that really make this. Though, again, I wish I could have gotten under Christie and Roslyn's skin a bit deeper. I didn't quite get the emotional fulfillment I wanted from this, but it still made me ridiculously happy to read.
But before we even got to that, I can't tell you how amazing it was to read a story from an ace perspective that I can relate to. Most of what I find YA, and finding a NA version made me so happy. I pretty much spent the entire reading this going "me, me, and also me".
It's actually crazy, how much this *could* be me. After all, I've traveled a bit too. Hmm.
Regardless, I, obviously, really enjoyed it. WAFF (warm and fluffy feelings) galore, and it was nice to see touching moments between people that aren't tinted rose. Friendships are so important, and to see one grow was so nice to see.
So, good, quick fast read that I actually wish would have dived deeper into things. For this being about travel, I wanted to see the places a little more clearly in my head, but I loved reading about how these two women felt about traveling and what they saw. It's the scattered, small moments of this book that really make this. Though, again, I wish I could have gotten under Christie and Roslyn's skin a bit deeper. I didn't quite get the emotional fulfillment I wanted from this, but it still made me ridiculously happy to read.
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