This was especially true towards the end where Nora's insecurities started to feel unreasonable to me given what had already taken place, and given Luke's HUGE leap in sharing her true sex with some of the people around her. At times, though, I found aspects of their personal transformations a little bit forced. Both of them experience a very clear line of personal growth, questioning their own perceptions and choices in the face of various types of adversity. Luke and Nora are enjoyable characters overall. Luke is not established as being entirely trans, but nor is she strictly 'female' in her gender identity, preferring to live her life within the safety and comfort that being a man offered her at that time in America's colonial history.

It's great to read books with characters who aren't strictly 'binary' lesbians, with Luke existing somewhere undefined on the gender spectrum and Nora perhaps being (though labels aren't ever applied - which is AWESOME) bisexual, or at least very fluid in her understanding of her own body and desires. Her depth about the nature of Oregon Trail itself and how people had to navigate the various challenges along the trail makes it quite an immersive novel. That said, the aspects of this world Jae has engaged with makes it all quite convincing. Don't get me wrong, the historical context is handled well, but if you're looking for the level of social and political depth you might find in a Sarah Waters novel, this isn't what you'll find here. Everyone has their preferences, right?)īackwards to Oregon is a well-researched historical fiction, though the research was focused on geography more so than the history of the era.

it's not that I don't appreciate Rad's work, but I don't personally feel the need to read any more of her books after having read two of them. I must admit to not having been a huge fan of Radclyffe despite all of the hype surrounding her (and that's a shaky limb to stand on, really, because it almost seems blasphemous to not love everything Radclyffe writes), but with Jae, I can certainly see why her work is so popular. As such, I thought it was time I finally read something of hers. Jae is one of those writers that I kept hearing about, especially given how active she has been, working to become a fairly prolific writer in the world of 'lesfic' by producing a huge number of books as well as being an editor for YLVA.

Backwards to oregon by jae