Publisher:
Amulet Books
Release
Date: 20th
August 2013
Edition:
e-book, review
copy
Other
Titles by this Author: Ttyl, Ttfn, l8r g8r, Kissing
Kate, Bliss, How
to Be Bad (with
E Lockhart and Sarah Mlynowski), Peace, Love and Baby Ducks, Let
It Snow (with
John Green and Maureen Johnson),
Shine and more
For
as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents.
But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realisation:
Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now...not so
much. Wren needs to honour her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even
know what they are?
Charlie
Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle
boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw
her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie – at least
not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.
And
yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high
school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated as are
the bodies that house them...
Sexy,
romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love
from one of young adult’s greatest fiction writers.
Everything about The Infinite Moment of Us appealed to
me: the title, the cover, the synopsis, Lauren Myracle’s reputation for
awesomeness. And yet, I don't really know what I think about it.
At first I was struck by how distinctly
I felt like I was being told a story. I wasn’t watching Charlie and Wren’s
summer unfold naturally; I was being told what had happened between them that
summer. Sometimes that works beautifully but this time it didn't seem to fit the
story right. Luckily that feeling dissipated fairly quickly and I flew through
the rest of the novel with ease. I never fell in love with though. I wanted to,
I really did. We just didn’t click.
I will say that I was surprised
and impressed with Lauren Myracle’s approach to Charlie and Wren’s sexual
relationship. It was fairly involved for
a YA novel but it was tasteful, sexy and it felt authentic. She didn't cut any
corners and I loved that there was no doubt that Wren had a sexual appetite
which is something that still only just making its way into awareness in YA,
and literature and general.
Speaking of Wren; I really wasn’t
a fan. I know that she was flawed and human and all that jazz, but man she was
annoying. And rather selfish and self-absorbed at times as well. Her reactions
to things where she had no idea what was really going on or the history behind
the moment thoroughly irritated me. She was a brat, really. I didn’t entirely believe
that her and Charlie were destined for each other and that idea was a large
part of the novel.
So yeah. A mish-mash of
thoughts about this one. I’m a bit disappointed as it did have some great
moments and it could have been amazing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Amulet
Books for the review copy.
Sophie
I don't think your the only one who didn't think this book was great. A lot of people have read this book recently but one thing I noticed was the cover. It's exactly the same style to all the books by Paige Toon. I think it's the same illustrator.
ReplyDeleteGreat review
I hate it when you don't know how you feel about the book.
I ended up DNF-ing this one because I couldn't get into it, so I'm glad that you found it better than I did. I really did want to enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteHmm, interesting. After Lucy's review, I'm not too sure about it either, and now you too? But good review, nice and balanced. Does suck when a book doesn't quite work despite it's potential.
ReplyDeleteI'm really not sure about this one. I may check it out for curiosities sake but lots of people have been saying it isnt the best. But the cover! :-(
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing lots of mixed things about this book for awhile. What a shame. Still, I have it on my Kindle to read and I will be giving it a chance soon..
ReplyDelete