This wasn’t quite what I expected (the cover and the blurb led me to believe this was going to be mostly a road trip story, but that’s just one part of the book), but I really enjoyed this story, regardless. This is a pretty unique book focused on discovering your identity late in life, forging new bonds, and learning more about yourself and the world—because it’s never too late.

I found Clare, a professor who realizes in her forties that there’s a word for who she is and that word is asexual, to be a really pleasant protagonist. She has a subtle charm to her, a dry wit, and I really enjoyed seeing her embrace all the newfound knowledge and venture out of her shell. She did have a bit of “kids these days“ air about her when she interacted with the younger cast members, but she did always try to understand and broaden her horizons. I genuinely enjoyed following all of her relationships, from her longstanding friendship with Louise to the newly forged one with Janice. There were also a few really fun academia-focused scenes with all those faculty members who were quirky, frustrating, and interesting in their own right—loved those, and Clare’s views on her experiences in the field in general. 

At times, I did feel like the story teetered on the border between celebrating asexuality and low-key bashing  allosexual people for whom this side of life is important (and I’m saying this as a total ace).  I would have perhaps appreciated more inclusion of sex-positive ace representation, or maybe an allosexual aromantic character in the mix, just for more well-rounded representation. Outside of that, though, I feel like this is a great, important story with an interesting subject matter, great prose, and a quirky diverse cast.