The Infinite Moment of Us

by Lauren Myracle

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 pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor 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’s and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them . . .
Steamy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s finest writers.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Banned Books, Teen

316 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2013

About the author

Lauren Myracle is the author of numerous young adult novels. She was born in 1969 in North Carolina. Lauren Myracle holds an MA in English from Colorado State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. she has written many novels, including the famous IM books, ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r.

Her first novel, Kissing Kate, was selected as one of ALA's "Best Books for Young Adults" for the year 2004. It was named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Youth Romances" of the year, as well as one of the "Top Ten Books by New Writers." Her middle-grade novel, Eleven, came out 2004, followed by its YA sequels (Twelve, Thirteen, Thirteen Plus One) .

Reviews

[Eve · Rating 1 out of 5]

His fingers, splayed against the stars, seemed . . . more than. More than fingers. More than a part, or parts, of a whole. Just as one plus one is more than two, she thought, not knowing where the idea sprang from, or why.

AND THE SHITSHOW BEGINS!

Ladies and gentleman, step right up. Hand in your tickets, grab your popcorn, grab your crucifix, and grab your happy drugs, because you are about to enter The Infinite Moment of Us. Sweet title, right? Hahahaha - WRONG. Fun fact! Did you know The Infinite Moment of Us is just a nickname for hell? No? That doesn't make sense? Aw sweetie, trust me, it will. Oh, it will.

Ok ok ok, before I dive into this crapshoot of a novel, first off, - Lauren Myracle. Lauren. Myracle. Myracle? MYRACLE? Warning sign. Warning. Sign. Beware - contents believe in love at first sight & happily ever after. Approach with caution. Hazmat suit required. Do not ingest. Poisonous materials detected.

*clears throat*

While I like to believe that there is a way to find beauty in everyone and everything, even the sinners, and the wrongdoers, and the murderers, and the idiotic novelists, The Infinite Story of Us contains nothing but ugly. Taco bell dumpster, nightmare on elm street, naked grandma doing the macarena, ugly. TISOU is quite possibly the worst book I have ever read. Like - below Willow & Sweet Evil. I can't quite communicate into words why this book was so bad, mainly because you must experience it to truly understand (something I would not wish upon even the most terrible of serial killers), and I don't feel like wasting my time or my brain power writing out a long and boring explanation as to why I want to burn this burn along with its family. I simply do. And then cleanse myself with Holy Water. And my dog.

But let's get into the fun stuff! Characters! Yahoo! *cries*

First up - the charming, hilarious, sweet, and genero--crap crap crap sorry. That was meant for someone else.

The impulsive, immature, horny, and frankly, a complete dumbass - Wren!!! The best thing to happen since the worst thing to happen shriveled up and died and needed someone to fill its spot.

Oooo!!! Let's list the things that make Wren soooooo unique!!!

Wren <3
1. thinks the world revolves around her
2. thinks she's soooooooo in love with Charlie when in reality she just wants a good boning (sry 12 & under)
3. is graduating from high school but seems like she's graduating from preschool
4. give GREAT blow jobs even though she has zero sexual experience
5. besides that one boy she kissed in middle school
6. who probably shriveled up and died after smooching her hairy rat lips
7. and staring at her ugly elephant nose
8. but we're getting off track
9. her parents bought her a car because they ARE COMPLETE ASSHATS
10. despite dressing like a nun, still has Charlie Parker (I WISH I WAS KIDDING) lusting over her like a bitch in heat
11. and is totally okay with Charlie dragging a champagne glass all over her naked body
12. BECAUSE HORNY
13. talks like a mentally slow 6 year old but is surprisingly raunchy when it comes to sexy time
14. like, REALLY raunchy
15. like holy-jesus i thought this was a YA novel
16. anyway
17. tends to pretend like she actually cares about anything but herself but fails miserably
18. like how DARE charlie choose his family over me!!!!!
19. FML!!!!
20. LITERALLY DYING!!!!
21. his brother is in a WHEELCHAIR?!!!
22. BUT I GIVE HIM BLOWJOBS!!!
23. jesus charlie
24. respect her feelings
25. god
26. likes to think that her best friend is a kind & wise person when in reality I'm pretty sure she's drunk and high most of the time
27. also a surprisingly talented shooter?
28. like with a gun?
29. because CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!
30. ignores her boyfriends 40 text message and phone calls because she is so so so so angwy with him for abruptly hanging up the phone after she sent him a tit pic
31. GOD charlie!!!
32. RESPECT HER FEELINGS!!!
33. and etc
34. and etc
35 i don't care enough to keep writing about her but you get the picture

*jumps off hollywood sign*

NEXT UP!!!! Mr. Charlie Parker!!! (someone plz shoot me)

1. likes boobs
2. likes ass
3. likes panties
4. likes boobs
5. likes cleavage
7. likes boobs
8. also communicates like a 3 month old platypus but randomly will morph into a 30 year old porn star
9. WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT
10. last girlfriend was Starrla Pettit
11. Starrla
12. Pettit
13. who you probably know as the centerfold of this months playboy magazine
14. i wish i was joking
15. thinks its totally ok to finger Wren at the dinner table
16. while they are eating lasagna
17. directly across from P.G. Barbee and -
18. wait
19. P.G. BARBEE?!!!?!!!???!!
20. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH
21. HAHAHAHAHA
22. HAHA
23. hahah
24. ah
25. jesus
26. anyway.
27. P.G. *laugh-cough* Barbee & Tessa
28. as if they don't know whats going on
29. his mommy locked him in a garage
30. also known as CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!
31. and he don't wanna talk about it to nobody
32. because it make him so so so sad :(
33. poor charlie
34. he bit me
35. and that really hurt
36. what?
37. ugh
38. I'm done with him
39. OH!!!! I ALMOST FORGOT!!!!
40. boobs

*catapults into outer space*

I want to murder the other characters with a blunt object and feed their remains to the piranhas.

1. Starrla Pettit - Charlie's slut-o sex buddy who likes to slit her throat with broken snow globes and leave notes on Wren's car that say "bitch" and "slut" because she is just SO damn mature. (although, to be honest, that was probably the only part of this novel I agreed with)

2. P.G. Barbee - Super rich, super handsome, super charismatic, super sexy, and SUPER good in bed. but of course, underneath that suave facade, there lies a sweet, tender, and sensitive man, who lives to protect the girl he *loves. betcha never heard that one before. God, how DOES Myracle do it?

(*to bone)

3. Tessa/Tessaract (don't ask) - Wren's BFF4LYFE who may seem like a complete dipshit and party animal, but underneath it all, she's a complete dipshit and party animal. (plot twist!1!!1!!)

4. Ammon(d?) - Does an EXCELLENT job at providing cliche lines and bro talk with his *BFF Charlie.

(*secret lover)

5. Wren's parents - Two jackasses who are extremely unrealistic and are incapable of understanding why anyone would think they are two jackasses. Their only purpose is to provide dialogue for Wren to feed off of and then complain to Charlie about how they are *CONTROLLING HER LIFE!!!!

(*this is an unnecessary asterisk I just want to say I hate Wren)

6. Dax? Den? Dex? Charlie's *brother? - He was in a wheelchair? Something about cigarettes? Punched as a baby? I don't even know.

(*NOT his foster brother!!!)

7. Pamela and Chris - Who?

*can't even*
*stuffs self with cupcakes*
*cries*
*cuddles with johnny depp poster*

To wrap up this review (can I even call this a review?), I will leave you all with some quotes Miss Myracle has created in that pretty little mind of hers. And my commentary to go along with it.

--

Sure Shot Shooting Range

Sooo this isn't a exactly a quote, but OMG is this a place from freakin sesame street? Or how about we go to the Perfect Pristine Pool Club? Or the Terrific Time Tennis Court? Or maybe even a trip to the Happy Hug Whore House?

"Spread your legs," he commanded. "Wider base equals a steadier shot!"

Do not tell me this is not a euphemism because I won't believe it.

The day was warm. Her Coke, when it arrived, was cold.

Poetry.

She held out her hands. Wren took one and P.G. took the other, but only P.G. looking amused, chanted along: "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home."


"I'll always correct your grammar, just as I'll always love you."

Luv u to dad.

"Holy pickles, Wren, he's totally cute."

In what world does Myracle think teenagers ACTUALLY talk like this?

But unless she was mistaken, he was holding her hand on purpose.

*cannon balls into the abyss*

"Bodies are funny, aren't they"
"How so?"
"Just . . . are they us? Are we them?

I don't even know how to respond. I . . . don't. Just. No.

"I think souls are real. Maybe they're not things you can measure or hold or feel-"
"You can feel them."
"What about trees?"
"Trees?"
"Do they have souls?"


"You are so beautiful," he told her. "I'm going to kiss you now, okay?"
Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth, possibly to respond, but he actually hadn't been asking for permission.

Tbh this book would have be infinitely more interesting if Charlie had been a serial killer.

"I wish I could kiss you good night," Charlie said.
"I wish that, too."
"Imagine I am," he said.
Her breath hitched. "Okay."
"'I'm sending you kisses, baby."
Her skin tingled. He called her baby, and he sent her kisses, and everything hard turned good.
Everything good was new.


Tessa's foot lay against Wren's side. It was the same foot from when Tessa was younger. It would be the same foot when she was ninety-nine.

Science.

"It's what you feel, and guess what? Feelings are like three-year-olds. They're not rational. They're just there.

What the hell is with these weird ass analogies Myracle keeps coming up with? Seriously. Feelings are like toddlers? What?

All breasts were not equal, Charlie thought.

There will always be someone more ample than you.

Baby . . . I feel like my heart is being ripped out. I know I let you down and I'm so sorry. YOU ARE THE SEXIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD!

This is a text message. Someone please shoot me.

"Ditch?"
"Ditch."

If TFIOS were a crime show.

"And . . . you need to be tested. I don't want my first time to be with a condom unless with have to. Just you and me - that's what I want."
"Us."
"Us."


There was a muffled pop, and Charlie opened his hand to show her the cork, and she nodded happily. She found him amazing. Even such a small thing as opening a bottle of champagne . . . When Charlie did it, it was with grace and confidence. It undid her.

How do I comment on that? I don't even know how to come up with something witty. This book has destroyed my sense of humor. My brain cells. Ugh. I need a cupcake.

---

And thus begins the sex scene that goes on for a whole chapter. Seriously. I can't believe how raunchy that was. Jesus. It was so out of character. Pretty sure E.L. James popped in there for a couple of pages. That chiznit was GRAPHIC. And creepy, considering Charlie and Wren acted like toddlers for all other parts of the novel, but when it came to sexy time - those kids went wild. Ew. It was like kiddie porn. Gross.

----

"The rest of July was hot and sweaty, and so were Charlie and Wren.

I think this pretty much sums up what went on for the last half of this novel.

"Well, I heard this song recently, and I kind of love it. It's about a guy and a girl who are in love. The guy tells the girl that she's the apple of his eye, and the girl tells the guy that he's her best friend."
"You'll have to play it for me."
"Uh-huh, I will. But the part I love most is the chorus, which the guy and the girl sing together. It goes, 'Home is wherever I'm with you."
Her voice, as she sang, was a patter of rain of a dusty road.

SOMEONE PLEASE TAKE ME FROM THIS EARTH

"I can't believe you brought flowers!"
Charlie shrugged self-consciously. He'd looked up "dinner party etiquette" online.

Further evidence that Charlie is an idiot.

"Come along, young Charlie. I will corrupt you with my delicious brownies.

Again, if you're telling me this isn't a euphemism, you are lying.

Want me to tell her, baby? Want me to tell her how broken you is? But it's okay. I'm broken too."
"Starrla, please."
Wren didn't understand. "Please"? "Baby"?

Further evidence that Wren is an idiot.

She was inside herself and outside at the same time, and all she knew was that she had to leave this place, this world and this unwanted dimension of honey-baby-please."

I CAN'T. I CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE!!!! I NEED HUGS!!! AND KITTENS!!! SAVE ME FROM THIS HELLHOLE!!!! SOMEONE PLEASE SEND ME A LIFESIZE POSTER OF LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND A MONSTER SIZED LEMON COCONUT CUPCAKE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

*flatlines*

--

I can't even with this book. These quotes are only a nibble of the idiocy scribbled all over the inside of that poor cover, and I hope that you will never have to experience the pain I went through whilst reading it. And I revisited that hell to write this review for you guys. So you better be damn thankful, jackasses.

I'm gonna go hold my dog and cry and eat a pint of ice cream and start a bonfire and burn this book and pray to the heavens that I never have to experience something so traumatic again in my life.

You all are wonderful and I'm sorry my mean other half took over for this review but really I'm actually not. If you want to hate on me go ahead but just remember I know where you live.

Have a nice weekend. Eat some pancakes. Bye.

*sashays away*

[Rainbowheart · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is quite possibly the most sexist and anti-feminist YA romance I’ve ever read, and that’s saying something. Such a disappointment, and so totally not what I would have ever expected from Lauren Myracle.

Bear with me, ‘cause this is going to be long, but I think the author’s regressive treatment of gender and sexuality warrants serious examination. There’s so much wrong with this book that it’s hard to even know where to begin. There’s a lot wrong besides all the sexism, but since I can't address everything, I’ll try to stick to that.

There is so much sexism in this book. It is pervasive and overwhelming. Everything about Charlie and Wren’s relationship reeks of it. Wren is completely passive. She is a giggling, nervous virgin. She talks and acts like she’s about 12. Her innocence is attractive to Charlie, and he is very possessive of her.

There are many disturbing scenes in this book, but I found myself most incensed by the conversation between Charlie and Tessa, Wren’s best friend. Charlie goes to Tessa for advice on how best to have sex with Wren, which aside from being incredibly creepy and inappropriate, allows the author to make her anti-feminist agenda clear.

Not content with the already sexist dynamic between Charlie and Wren, the author goes further by having a “voice of God” character give Charlie a lecture on sex that is a blatant slam on feminism and sounds like it could have come out of the mouth of any right-wing conservative.

A few snips here and there, but the conversation is as follows....

She gave him unsolicited advice as well, instructing him firmly to take charge when things got “steamy.”
“Girls like guys who are strong,” she informed him.
“I’m serious,” Tessa said. “When it comes to sex, a girl wants the guy to take charge. Sometimes, I think, guys try to be too sensitive. And there’s nothing wrong with sensitive! Sensitive is awesome. But hear me out, all right?”
“Well, it’s kind of my mom’s theory,” Tessa said. “My mom says that girls are told over and over that they can do anything, be anything, have it all. Right?”
“But my mom also says that in all this girl-power business, a crucial fact has been glossed over. Wanna hear it?”
“Okey-dokey,” she said. “Well . . . my biggest point, really, is that girls and guys are different.”
“I mean it! And maybe what I’m saying doesn’t fit the conventional view of feminism, but I think guys and girls, if they’re straight, should celebrate and enjoy their differences.”
“It’s just my opinion, but a guy should be a guy, and a girl should be a girl, at least when it comes to doing it,” Tessa said.
“Just, whenever the time comes, take charge.” (223-226)

WTF? What exactly is the author proposing here? Why would she even think to imply that there is only one right way for straight people to have sex? She apparently makes an exception for LGBT people, but if you’re straight, you’re only allowed to want sex one particular way? You’re supposed to follow rigid gender roles?

It’s horrible that an author would write something like this. Something that practically guarantees that some of the teenagers reading will feel insecure or ashamed about their sexuality. If a straight girl wants to be in charge during sex, that’s not allowed? If she wants her guy to be sensitive and gentle, that’s not allowed? If a guy wants to let the girl take the lead, that’s not allowed? I don’t know what she is advocating, but my mind is going to a very disturbing place, one filled with the sort of rough, dominating sex found in many romance novels. What exactly is or isn’t allowed? A girl can’t be on top? A girl can’t initiate sex? All girls want to be passive and have the guy hold her down and fuck her? Well, despite what Lauren Myracle says, there is no one right way for straight people to have sex! Whatever feels good and feels right for both parties is perfectly fine. No one should ever feel like they have to act a particular way simply because of their gender, and that’s just as true for straight people as it is for LGBT people .

There is also this weird man/woman thing running through the last part of the book. I can’t tell whether this is more weird gender stuff or what, but the author is absolutely fixated on it. Does she mean to imply that having sex makes you a man or a woman? That it makes you an adult? Because these kids just graduated from high school. They are in love, sure, but they are kids. They’ve been dating for a couple of months. Sure, it’s hot and heavy. But it’s like the author wants us to see them as adult soulmates who are somehow supernaturally destined to be together forever. They talk about the future, Wren imagines them as husband and wife, but it all feels so fake, like they are just playing at being adults.

The man/woman obsession....

“You make me feel like I am a woman, if that makes sense.” (249)
“You make me feel like a man.” (249)
“A boy and a girl having sex in a car? That was a thrill ride, the excitement of a summer fling. But a man and a woman making love to each other again and again…” (250)
“If a man loved a woman, he should find a way to be with her.” (253)
“If a woman loved a man, couldn’t she find a way to be with that man?” (253)
“And you do make me feel like a man. No one makes me feel like you do.” (253)
“But Charlie, you are a man. I’m glad I make you feel that way, but it’s not me. It’s you. You are a man, and not just a man, but my man. I need you.” (254)
“He felt very tender towards her. Her protector, her man.” (275)

And, WTF, why does she need a protector? There’s so much more that’s wrong with this book. There’s the horrendous slut-shaming of Starrla, Charlie’s ex-girlfriend. There’s Charlie’s possessiveness. There’s the weird pretentious dialogue. There’s the preachy religious stuff. There’s the fact that the characters’ relationship feels like something out of the 1950s. Not only pre-feminist, but anti-feminist. I can’t go into everything, but I would like to address one more issue....

“I don’t want my first time to be with a condom unless we have to,” she whispered. “Just you and me--that’s what I want.” (221)
“With Starrla, he’d always worn condoms. With Wren, he was happy that their first time….would also be a first for him, and in more ways than one.” (222)

It’s really horrifying that this author would promote condomless sex as some kind of ideal experience that teenage girls should strive for. She’s idealizing it and romanticizing it. I can just imagine high school age girls reading this book and thinking how romantic it would be to have sex without a condom for their first time, nothing coming between them and their boyfriends. Except in real life, boyfriends aren’t always trustworthy. And neither are girlfriends. The last thing we should be encouraging is for boys to rely on their girlfriend’s word that she’s on birth control. How many young guys have found themselves unexpected fathers because their girlfriends told them they were on the pill? The pill is easy to forget and easy to sabotage. Unless teenage boys want to find themselves in that situation, they need to wrap it up each and every time. It’s all too easy to end up with a baby or an STD if you don’t use condoms.

For a much better look at loss of virginity from an actual feminist perspective, there is Vi from Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski. This is a girl who knows what she wants. She has a plan for her first sexual experience, decides how she wants everything to be, and seduces her more experienced male partner. She wasn’t a shrinking violet, and she sure as hell didn’t lie back and let the guy take charge, so I guess Lauren Myracle wouldn’t approve. This book also deals realistically with the possible ramifications of sex without a condom. Newsflash: people lie, and people cheat. Just because someone tells you they’re faithful or a virgin doesn’t mean that they actually are, which is why it’s important for teenagers of both sexes to fully protect themselves. Pregnancy isn’t the only bad thing that can happen.

[Patty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here’s the good news. I read it all the way through, and it read easily, and from a teen’s perspective will get you hooked in no time.

But. When it comes to the target audience, I found myself a bit confused.

It’s written for young adults, but it should definitely come with some sort of disclaimer or parental advisory sticker. There was a somewhat flippant note by the author explaining that there’s sex in it, and hey-ho, kids nowadays will be kids (of the sexually curious and active type). And while I agree with that, and I am certainly no prude, from a bookseller’s perspective it makes it more difficult to sell. One of the biggest concerns I get from parents is whether the books contain material unsuitable for their little darlings, and by ‘unsuitable’ they always mean sex. The Teen section ranges from 13-18... and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it for a 13-year-old.

This is where it gets a bit odd, too. The protagonists in the book are both 18, and by rights should be humping like bunnies. But the way they were described, they came across as much younger than their age. In fact, if I hadn’t been told, their characterisation would have placed them around 15. Max. It makes it a bit of a schizophrenic read, really – while its content targets the upper end of Young Adult and a fully fledged adult readership, the style and sophistication feels like it’s meant for early teens. I don’t want to be mean, but the protagonists were the type of clichéd characters I would have swooningly dreamt up when I was 13: the innocent, overprotected, somewhat annoyingly giggly girl, and in contrast the broody, damaged soul of a boy from a broken background who needs saving – a little bit like Fifty Shades, but with less (but nonetheless markedly present) sex. Again, probably wonderful for young teens, but anyone older than 16 most likely wouldn’t take them seriously.
And there seems to be no depth, no growth to their love, no roots. One day boy spots girl in the school yard, with the wind making her flash him accidentally, and he is a smitten kitten. Girl spots boy and the job’s a done’un. I didn’t really understand why they were in love... there was a lot of telling but genuine development, showing, was weak. I appreciate that love is a hard thing to describe, especially the baggage-free type of juvenile infatuation, but I guess that’s an author’s job, and she didn’t manage to get that depth across she talked of in the story. Which made it gratuitously porny.
I appreciate I have read this as an adult – a younger me would probably not be as fussy and enjoy this more. It’s an early teen romantic fantasy about a late teen relationship, but not the way the average 18-year-old would describe it.

So yes, it was entertaining enough for a quick read, but not much more. Sorry.

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is one of the worst books i've ever read in my life

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

The Infinite Moment of Us was a dreamy sort of romance, and yet, one that felt a little bittersweet to me.

Wren Gray has been living a life mostly carved out by her parent’s dreams. She has been a model daughter with excellent grades and a focus mostly on school. Yet, Wren is done with that, she doesn’t want to live a future molded and decided on by her parents. Instead of going onto the parent approved college, Wren’s applied to and been accepted into a Peace Core type of group, volunteering to help those less fortunate in Guatemala. When she breaks this to her parents they do nothing but demean and insult her. I really couldn’t stand these parents for most of the story! In the middle of all of this is Charlie Parker, a fellow honor student that has often caught her eye. In one afternoon a shared glance, a moment, she feels as if “their souls touched.”

Charlie has watched Wren from afar for a long time, admiring everything about her; her answers and expressions in class that captivate him so. Wren is just beautiful in every sense of the word, to him. He’s longed for her for quite some time and finally at the end of school he knows it’s now or never.

These two fall hard for each other. Wren has no experience with boyfriends or love and Charlie hasn’t had anything real either, so when they click it’s intense. This isn’t really insta-love, because Charlie and Wren have admired each other from afar for a while, but it did feel fast, and like I said, intense. Both had issues. Charlie had a sad past and feels less than worthy of love in general. Wren’s upbringing on the outside seems perfect but if you look just a little closer you see it’s anything but. She’s been sheltered and told what to think most of her life, so even though she’s eighteen and out of high school, she’s innocent and a bit closed off.

There were times I was on a high from their romance, swoony, dreamy kisses, and touches, and then there were times I was very frustrated with both Wren and Charlie. Mostly Charlie. I don’t like problems that stem from non-communication or from purposefully withholding information. Charlie disappointed me in both respects. I know this is due to insecurity, he was afraid of Wren’s reactions and didn’t want to lose someone who had become so important to him, but he hurt my heart a few times. I had more patience for Wren because she was so inexperienced, and she did show some of that a couple of times, but for the most part I was in her corner. If anything, I thought she forgave a little too easy with both Charlie and her parents. I do have to admit that Charlie was a bruised soul, so busting his balls may not have been the nicest thing to do. Lord knows he deserved a break. On the other hand, shame on Wren’s parents! I would’ve loved to give them a piece of my mind!

One thing I’m not a fan of is rushed or open endings. I guess this doesn’t really fall strictly under either definition, but maybe a combination of the two? At any rate, I would’ve like a little more. I will say that Lauren Myracle has a beautiful way with words and manages to capture feelings and emotion in a way that really spoke to me.

Also, I wouldn’t classify this as a purely YA or New Adult read, but somewhere in between. There are definitely more mature/steamy scenes that I wouldn’t normally see in YA but felt right for the characters.

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a giant cheeseball. You know the puffy chip kind that try to act like Cheetos? It looks like it's gonna taste so good but it only last for a little while and then you realize it's just full of air, no nutrients, and disappointment. I'm sorry to admit that reading this book felt like that to me.

So premise first. Wren Gray has always done what her parents has told her. But now she is wondering if what her parents want for her, and want she wants for herself actually matches up. It felt like it used to but now she is not so sure. She loves her parents, but can't help but feel like she needs to get some distance. Wren decides to go to Guatemala with Project Unity after the summer is over, and for once not be the perfect daughter. Charlie Parker basically worships the ground Wren walks on. But feels like he isn't good enough for her. He has a rough past and hasn't always been in the best relationships. Right now he lives with foster parents who care for him and he got accepted to go to Georgia Tech, so life is looking up but he can't shake his past that easily. Wren and Charlie meet of course and the story begins.

This book sounded like something right up my alley. It's set during the summer between high school graduation and the next step, whether that's college or something else entirely. This time always seems to capture the fragile and transient period of possibility. Anything can happen, and it feels like life is just starting. But this book didn't encapsulate that. It was more about Wren and Charlie's physical attraction to each other. The book is filled with very detailed intimate scenes that had me even squirming and eventually it got to be so habitual I was getting bored. That is not a good sign. Now there was some drama in between, but to be honest it felt unnecessarily complicated and then any situation would resolve too easily. I know I am being confusing but it's because I felt confused while reading it. It felt disjointed and I can't stress enough how important the flow of a story is. It really does help the reader get invested in the characters and their experience.

I should have known this wasn't my kind of book because by chapter two I was rolling my eyes. Charlie already was in love with Wren since the beginning and there is no build up to their relationship. I knew they were definitely physically attracted to each other, but I didn't buy that they had a deep love for one another. They stated it enough and would even point out why they loved each other so much, but since there wasn't a proper build up I just didn't feel it. To be frank the whole thing between them kind of weirded me out more than gave me the warm and fuzzies. With all this being said the story sometimes was sweet. Especially Charlie and his history, and how he had finally found a family with his foster parents and brother. But that is the only highlight I could connect to.

As always even if the story didn't resonate with me it might with somebody else. I personally couldn't take how needy these two characters came off and it did get WAY too cheesy, and usually I can forgive that but the romance here couldn't do it for me. Not this time.

Side note: If you are looking for a book about first love I would recommend My Life Next Door.

[Elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

A brief summary of The Infinite Moment of Us:
Girl decides to stop living for her parents. Girl meets guy. Girl decides to start living for guy instead.

In a brief foreword by the author, Myracle promises that The Infinite Moment of Us is a love story exploring “true intimacy and vulnerability” and “the mingling of Charlie and Wren’s souls”. Unfortunately, I found the love story forgettable and the connection between the two main characters weak.

There’s little else to the story other than the romance. The Infinite Moment of Us starts with Wren’s decision to stop living the life her parents have laid out for her and become her own person. There was a lot of potential here to develop Wren’s character and her relationship with her parents, but Myracle doesn’t focus on Wren’s family or the consequences of her actions enough for the storyline to be believable or interesting. Wren’s fears and her overbearing parents become practically non-existent as soon as the love story kicks in. The romance was insta-love, and I felt absolutely no attachment to either of them, together or separately.

Not only is the romance flat, it’s built upon layers of casual misogyny and backwards gender roles. In one bizarrely sexist and transphobic lecture, Wren’s best friend tells Charlie to always take charge during sex, claiming, “A guy should be a guy, and a girl should be a girl, at least when it comes to doing it”. Charlie is also disturbingly possessive of Wren, to the point of feeling anger and jealousy when Wren’s friend refers to her as “my girl”. Wren is no better - she gets jealous over Charlie spending time with his disabled and badly-bullied brother, and wants her boyfriend of two months to cancel his plans to attend university, leave his family, and join her in Guatemala so he can “protect her”. Later, she decides to stop living for herself, and cancel all her plans - Guatemala, college, everything - just to be with him.

There’s a lot of detailed sex scenes in The Infinite Moment of Us, but for a book that’s clearly supposed to be sex-positive, there’s also a lot of slut-shaming. Charlie’s ex-girlfriend in particular is treated horrifically by the author - shamed for her casual attitude towards sex, and her way of speaking and dressing. Starrla is clearly psychologically damaged, but after making a serious attempt to take her own life, she is never heard from again. Myracle seems to think that giving her two main characters a happy ending is more important than at least hinting that Starrla will recover and find help.

When they’re not lusting over one another, Myracle’s characters spend most of the novel discussing “souls”. Myracle is keen to press the idea of soulmates onto her readers - even going so far as to make Wren bring up souls in an advanced biology class - and while books with religious themes don’t usually bother me, it was hard not to be frustrated by the author’s constant attempts to validate her characters’ sexual relationship by claiming that they “touched souls” first.

Thank you to Amulet Books and Netgalley for providing a copy of The Infinite Moment of Us in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 1 star
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good summer read - and not just because it's set IN the summer. Myracle captures that hazy summer, perfect-life feeling you get when you first fall in love and nothing matters but you, your significant other, and being together all the time. I was taken back to my first relationship and to the innocence of thinking that everything would be perfect - and that's a beautiful thing to feel in the summertime.

No review would be complete without mentioning that this is a sexy book - there is sex in it, and there's a lot of foreplay and all the heavy stuff that comes before that, too. While I felt that these scenes were well-written, they did occasionally feel gratuitous - but only occasionally. Mostly, I felt that the longing, desire and passion of the characters made Charlie and Wren's first love seem all the more real.

Read the rest of this review at Mostly YA Lit

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had to read one more time about how hard the main character's nipples were, I would've tossed the book across the room. Awkward sex scenes for a YA novel, plus the characters of Wren and Charlie just weren't believable to me. And a cop-out ending.

[kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you read my updates, you'll know where this review is going and it isn't good.
I have to start out with the actual writing style. It is very choppy with so much thought and memories during conversations that I'd lose the train of what was being said and when the dialogue finally picked up again, I'd have to search back to where this particular derailment began to find my way back to the thread. I don't know if this is particular to this story or if this is typical for this author as this is my first experience of her writing. It didn't work well for me.
This isn't a soaring love story. It is about sex and the sex isn't well integrated into the story. Every reference to it is jarring, the language used to describe bodily sensations is rough, taking me out of what is trying to be an epic romance, but sadly, is not.
I'm not sure exactly toward whom this book is written. The writing itself is quite childish, like younger teens, but the subject matter and actual words used are for an older teen or adult. So, not sure exactly the audience for this one.
Additionally, I didn't feel the love between them. Sexual attraction, yes. Love, not so much.
There are too many subplots which really add up to nothing. Either should have been left out or fleshed out, not sure which. The conflicts are all resolved without any resolution. I know that is a contrary statement, but it is contrary in the way it is presented. Everything is wrapped up, too easily and too neatly.
But as it is, the subplots are just mostly pushed aside for the sexcapades, the fairly graphic sexcapades, which I felt were somewhat unneccessary. A good author can bring about all the emotions and let you know what is happening without being overly who puts what where when or without a fade to black. There needs to be a balance somewhere between the two.
And, listen, I have no objections to sex in books, no objection to teenage sex, BUT there needs to be more to the relationship than wanting to have sex together. The bones of their relationship are so slight that they don't hold up. We aren't given enough glimpses into their building relationship to actually see this wondrous thing unfold.
I liked Charlie as a character, although some of his actions should have been better explained. Since this is third person telling, we could have been easily told why he reacts as he does, even if he isn't completely aware of his reasons. Does he have a need to rescue people tied to the fact that, in many ways, he was rescued?
I didn't understand his reasoning on why he refused to become a family with his foster parents. He starts to tell Dev the reason, but never does so I can't as a reader understand it. Too much is hidden and not enough shown(except for the sex, of course). There is a lot of reference to Charlie's awful past, but we get just the smallest glimpses here and there. Not nearly enough.
I didn't like Wren, sad to say, and she bothered me a lot. She doesn't really commit to anything, including or maybe, most of all, Charlie. She likes/loves the sex, but if he messes up in any way, she is willing, ready and able to quickly kick him to the curb. And doesn't learn from her mistakes.
I never bought into her desire to go to Guatemala as she never seemed to actually buy into her desire to go to Guatemala. I felt that she did it as an "up yours" to her parents more than from a heart-felt need to go out and do something of her own. It didn't work for me.
I also really did not at all like that she wants Charlie to throw away his dreams, his college scholarship, to come with her so they can have wild Guatemalan sex(I don't know what wild Guatemalan sex would be like, but she surely thinks they ought to be able to have lots of it) and her pouting because she can't make him do what she wants really pissed me off. She could not accept her parents making decisions for her or pushing her toward choices they want, but she has not the first tiny problem doing that exact same thing to Charlie. Could, Not. Stand. Her.
The ending is very abrupt without giving any real closure.
I didn't like this one. Nope.
And one last thing, the sex discussions among Charlie and Wren's friends, about how exactly he should do it with her, I can't get that out of my mind. How ridiculous and utterly distasteful I found that to be. Charlie has had sex, according to the plot, lots of sex, bad sex, maybe, but still, lots of it. Why would he need any advice from people he BARELY knows? Eeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww.

[Lucy Powrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can read more of my reviews at Queen of Contemporary

It really does pain me to write this review because I was so hopeful that this book would be something special and sweet. Sadly, I was very disappointed and I couldn’t finish the book. For that reason, my review will only reflect the 33% of the book that I did read.
The Infinite Moment of Us is about a girl called Wren whose life is commanded by her parents. Tell her to jump off a cliff, and she’ll go do it. Wren was so infuriating and I just wanted to shake her so much and tell her to grow a pair. She did everything to please her parents and it was like her life revolved around theirs and vice versa. To be fair, I can see why she was so scared by them because when one thing happens in the book they end up saying they’re disappointed in her and tell her she’s throwing her life away. For people who are supposedly looking out for their daughter’s welfare, they sure are pushing her away.
Charlie is the male protagonist and was even more pathetic than Wren. He declared his love for her when they’d only had a few encounters and weren’t even going out. Yes, there were parts of his life that made me feel sorry for him, but compared to a lot of other people in similar situations, he was extremely lucky. He had a loving home and people who cared about him.
The romance in this book was hinted at from the first chapter which led on to something that felt like insta-love. The note at the start of the book hints at a slow romance that carefully builds up but we have Wren and Charlie practically agreeing to marry each other not even halfway through the book. None of it felt real and this is one of the things that disappointed me the most because a great romance was promised.
The plot felt unrealistic, the dialogue felt forced and I was left pulling my hair out on numerous occasions. I felt like huge chunks of writing were put in just for the sake of it and I must have annotated five billion times that things weren’t even necessary.
The cover is so gorgeous and I’d definitely buy this if I saw this in a bookshop. Sadly, this is one of the only things that I liked about the book and I wish the book reflected the cover more.
The Infinite Moment of Us was such a cringy and frustrating novel. I doubt I’ll be reading anything else by this author in the future. It’s really saddened me that I didn’t like it.

[A.C. Gaughen · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS BOOK.

I waited (happily!) in line at BEA to get this ARC, and it was the first book I read upon leaving the Javits. I was excited for it, and I was absolutely not disappointed.

My gut reaction to the first half was this unbelievable YES. Yes--Myracle gets it. She gets love, she gets teenagers, she gets sexual attraction and the way love is different than that, but complementary, incendiary, and intense when combined with love.

She gets the way girls think--I heard so many of my own thoughts and fears inside of Wren--and she gets the things about guys that it takes girls (or took me!) a solid fifteen years to figure out. Things like you can be sexy without trying, and that's not a come-on. Things like guys do not worry about the things that you're FLIPPING OUT about--but they do worry about their own set of problems.

And I can't tell you how much YA needs this book. NOT New Adult. YOUNG Adult. Because teens need to hear that as a girl, as a woman, it is totally ok and empowering to have a sex drive--but having a conversation about getting tested and protection is no less important, no less terrifying. Girls need to hear that sex will not save you, redeem you, or fix a relationship--it is something all on it's own, and to quote Myracle, is the mystery and the explanation both.

The best way to explain it? It felt like a companion guide to first big love.

I LOVED it.

[Silvia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book taught me 2 lessons: 1- Titles can be deceiving. 2- Books about teenagers can be still terrible.

I don’t know what I was expecting with this book, since so many YA contemporary books are so good, but this is one of the biggest disappointments I’ve ever had. The way it was written was terrible: childish, pathetic, the use of description poor and slow, it was mostly dialogue and I just don’t understand how this was published since it seems like it was written by a 13 year old. No, wait, I’ve seen 13 year old girls who write better than this. Terrible writing style honestly, it’s just meager and blank and boring, there’s nothing interesting about the way this story is told. You’re actually rolling your eyes at their thoughts are described.

Also, the characters, they’re dependent, whiny, immature, pathetic, annoying, stupid, desperate and just wrong. I don’t ever want teenagers to think this is the way to act or to think or to be in a relationship. There’s nothing I hate more than codependent relationships and this book has one of the worst codependent relationships I’ve ever read (and I read Twilight). These two characters think they literally can’t be apart, so she almost gives up her voluntary trip to Guatemala, but then she doesn’t have to because the boy (who, by the way, doesn’t sound as someone terrible rich) drops out of the scholarship to Georgia Tech to go to Guatemala with her because “she’s his home and he’s hers”. No guys, this is called codependency, this is called immaturity, this is called not making your own decisions because you can stand being apart from you boyfriend of 2 months.

Really, there are no words that can express how much I DETEST this book.
Don’t read this garbage. If you want codependent pathetic relationships, re-read Twilight. At least it has some paranormal to make it more interesting.

0/5 but since I can’t give it that in Goodreads 1/5

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Wren and Charlie meet at an inopportune time. They are both graduating high school and heading separate ways. Charlie will be attending Georgia Tech and Wren will be headed to Guatemala to volunteer for a year with a Peace Corps type organization. This book follows their summer spent together – falling in love and questioning when will it end, or can it really be infinite?

Okay, this is a solid 2-star book, but I’m giving it an extra half star just for the title and cover. Shallow, much? Yeah, totally, but tough cookies. The title and cover are what hooked me to begin with. Although this is definitely a “teen” type of book, please note there is …. how should I put this? Uhhhhh …. penetration????? involved so I wouldn’t let super young kids read it. In a nutshell, if you loved "Say Anything" you will probably love "The Infinite Moment of Us". The big change is the soundtrack. Rather than Peter Gabriel, the musical backdrop is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros:

"Well holy moly me oh my
You’re the apple of my eye
Girl I've never loved one like you

Man o man you're my best friend
I scream it to the nothingness
There ain't nothing that I need

Hot and heavy pumpkin pie
Chocolate candy Jesus Christ
Ain't nothing please me more than you

Home, let me come home
Home is wherever I'm with you"

[Yoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Infinite Moment of Us is a tricky book to review there were a lot of parts I did like and even more that I didn't really care for that could've been left out.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

The Infinite Moment of Us is about a summer romance between two recent high school graduates, Charlie and Wren.

This sounded like the kind of character-driven realistic YA fiction I love but I wasn't crazy about the dynamic of the romantic relationship.

Wren's been accepted early decision to Emory and won a merit scholarship, but doesn't want any of that, because that's what her overbearing parents want her to do. So she lies to her parents and turns Emory down and applies for a volunteer program in Guatemala. But before she runs off and shows her parents that they are Not The Boss of Her, she decides she wants to get to know -- and lose her virginity to--

--Charlie. Charlie has real problems. His working class foster parents are short on money, his disabled younger foster brother gets bullied, and he has a crazy ex-girlfriend who wants him back. It seemed to me like the last thing Charlie needed was some sheltered, clingy, self-centered girl like Wren who wants to use him for her summer rebellion plan.

So Charlie and Wren get together. I have no problem with sex in YA books, even explicit sex, but I never felt emotionally invested in this relationship because Wren came off to me as so needy, while poor Charlie got stuck in a melodramatic tug-of-war between Wren and his troubled ex, Starrla.

When the end of the story offered an opportunity for both Charlie and Wren to finally show some real maturity and emotional growth, I was so excited …. and then so disappointed that the story went in another direction.

I was all ready for Wren to say goodbye to Charlie and get on the plane. This is what Wren says she wants: independence. To be her own person. Meanwhile, Charlie has plans to go college and make a better life for himself. To my complete dismay, the book ends with him leaving his foster family and throwing some stuff in a suitcase and running to the airport to follow Wren to Guatemala. What???? If a female character had postponed her college plans to chase after some boy she'd been sleeping with for a couple of months, I'd be outraged, and I felt the same way about a male character making that decision. This story might have redeemed itself for me if the two had gone their separate ways and then reconnected later in an epilogue. Maybe I'd have liked Wren better after her time in Guatemala. This story seemed to want to be a coming of age story, but never took that last step. I didn't feel like Wren's character grew at all through the course of the story, except for becoming more sexually experienced, and that disappointed me.

I've heard amazing things about Myracle's YA novel Shine and would love to try it, even if this book wasn't quite for me.

Received this book as an ARC giveaway at BEA

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars seems harsh, this one would be more like 2.5 maybe even 2.75 in some parts.

This was my first Lauren Myracle book, and although I have heard so many wonderful things about Shine, The Infinite Moment of us was a disappointing read for me.

If I had to pinpoint why exactly, I think it would be lack of connection to the main characters. This book is not plot driven. It's character driven, the story of two unlikely people meeting and forming an emotional and physical relationship. It is told in the alternating povs of Wren and Charlie. Wren is the girl who walks the straight and narrow, doesn't defy her parents, and pretty much holds herself back from experiencing life. Charlie comes from the other side of the tracks, lives in a foster home with a disabled foster brother, and hangs with a sketchy girl who also has had a rough upbringing.

Wren is written pretty much as type, she's also got the best friend that is more outgoing and pushing her to stand her ground against her parents and live a little. Charlie's character is more complicated. Charlie isn't a hood or a criminal. His foster home isn't horrible, in fact, the opposite. His foster parents are loving and generous and Charlie gets along great with them and his little brother. Charlie is a likable, stand up guy. He's got a bright future ahead of him and will be attending a great state college in the fall. He is not your typical bad boy/ guy from the wrong side of the tracks character and for this reason I really liked him. His parts of the book, his inner monologue and dialogue, felt authentic.

Wren on the other hand really annoyed me. I liked that she does stand up to her parents and ditches their plans for her to attend the prestigious Emory University medical program in favor for working in an outreach program in Guatemala. But Wren is so immature and needy in her relationship with Charlie. She treats him terribly in some instances, and makes some really horrible judgement calls. She is fickle and whiny and I felt as if she was completely unworthy of Charlie's affection.

And in the end, that was what bothered the most about this story. It's not that I have to love every character I read, but I do want to understand their motivations. And I do want to see character growth. I was unable to do this with Wren's character. Moreover, I still don't really see what Charlie saw in her. He crushed on her from afar for years, but let me tell you, she doesn't treat him very well. To be fair, she treats him better than his last girlfriend--but that girl was HORRIBLE and abusive. Wren certainly doesn't treat Charlie as good as he deserved. Because of this I never felt any real connection to this couple and what they were working towards. They seemed unlikely in the beginning, but as they got to know each other they just felt ill suited and not anything I could get behind and cheer for.

I have other issues with this book too. There was a big event that goes down with Charlie's ex near the end that felt way overblown, over the top, and really unnecessary. It was the sort of thing that gave me some eye roll sprain. Never a good thing.

And I am not exactly sure if The Infinite Moment of Us is a standalone or setting up for a series, because it ends quite abruptly. I think it'll be a shame if it goes the route of a series because, honestly, this story could easily be wrapped up with the addition of just a few more pages.

In any event, I'm afraid I won't be continuing on. I really liked Charlie, I think he's a great character, but I think this particular love story is a bust. That being said I do still want to read Shine by this author, because so many people have raved about that book.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 for first half & 4 for latter half - It started out rough but ended up being one of those books that you stepped back and think, "Hey, it's actually pretty good."

I wasn't crazy about the book at first because Wren and Charlie were your typical, cliche characters - nothing special. I didn't care for Wren in any way, and even though I totally understand what she's going through, the way she was portrayed made me unsympathetic to her case. And I think Myracle tried way too hard to make Charlie a classic mess, but I did feel some of Charlie's thoughts didn't feel as if they came from a guy - whether Myracle tried too hard to make him sound like a guy (i.e. regarding sex) or if he made him overly sappy.

And the insta-love? It didn't work. I think either 1) Myracle write in that one of them was new to town or 2) introduce us way in advance that they had longtime crushes on each other or 3) make it like the "you've been in front of me the whole time and I'm just now noticing what I've been missing this whole time" scenario or 4) force them together through a class, a project or even work where they can start liking each other and building on that. The way it was written in this book just felt too abrupt and unreal - you know, with "the look" and then they fall in love. No.

I think a lot of people are going to be turned off by the intensity of their relationship and even the sex. I mean, their "love" came to the point of neediness and obsession. And once they passed the first time, it was like they couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Yes, I know some people are going to roll their eyes or be offended. Well, that is the reality these days, and I think Myracle really captured it well. Think back to your high school days. There were couples like Charlie and Wren whose world revolved around each other, and all they could think about was being together. Young love for you. I'm not saying this is all couples, but the reality is, their relationship (sans foster care and ex-drama) is pretty realist for some. And I truly felt Myracle captured that quite well, regardless whether or not we approve.

All in all, this book wasn't bad. I really do think that Myracle could have done a few things differently to make the book start as strong as it ended. But I really do think it puts a lot into perspective regarding young love.

[Leahxx · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where was the depth to this book? I didn't think there was any real meaning to it at all. It was just, I don't want to say dumb but I'm going to say it, just a dumb love story. I wasn't taken away by this book at all. In fact, I was disappointed.
Everything happened much too fast. There is no way you fall that madly in love with someone for real in that short amount of time, the loose ends were sloppily tied at the end of the book. I didn't like the two main characters. Wren was selfish. She was ridiculously selfish, which no reprimanded her for or addressed. She said it over and over, but did nothing to fix it, just continue to be selfish and acknowledge that she was. The times when she was angry that Charlie chose his family over her... That is his family. You are a girl he has been dating for a few months. You have zero right to be angry that he helped his family, especially since his brother is in a wheelchair and needs Charlie. It made no sense to me. She was understanding of nothing and I honestly think that is disgusting. And also the fact that Charlie never got angry about it, but instead felt bad that she thought he picked his family over her. I don't get it, I really don't. This whole book was some weird joke, where people got mad over the wrong things and nothing was discussed or fixed properly. I thought no one focused on the real problems. To me it was all very fake and wrong.
I'm sorry, but I did not enjoy this book in the least.

[Trisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The rest of July was hot and sweaty and so were Charlie and Wren."

I really tried to think of this book as first love. Sweet and all encompassing - making you jealous of stupid things, get mad and selfish and possessive. I really did.

But I just....couldn't. This book felt so inappropriate for the age range that can get their hands on it. My 17 year old would roll eyes at the first half and have dropped it for the 2nd half grossness. The description and details - just yuck.

My 11 year old 7th grade middle school child is ALSO pushed into the teen section by the library - after Elementary school that's where they are expected to grab their reading material. I shudder to think what would happen if SHE had gotten her hands on this.

"We're like bunnies," Wren said."

Ugh. The romanticized unprotected sex. The blow jobs, the finger play and just UGH! And the worst part is, that it could have been just a "and the they get into bed" and then scene fades to black and we got to the next moment - all that gross stuff could have been left out and this book STILL would have held the turmoil and confusion of first love and immature romance (because it was).

This really edges into New Adult range - closer to adult. LUCKILY, my library is amazing and took suggestions to heart.

THIS book is in their adult section - where it should be.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember what Judy Blume did in Forever? Imagine that in a new era.

Myracle's book is an honest, touching story about a girl discovering what love is for the first time and learning what it means from the inside out. But what takes this book a step further is that it's also about a boy discovering he has many capacities for love, too. It's a book that is frank and authentic about sexuality and what it means to be a person who has challenges -- be them big ones or small ones.

Longer review to come but this book is GREAT. I wish I had had it when I was 16. It would have made me feel less weird about so many things.

[jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would legit burn this book for warmth lol

[Gamze · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Charlie kendini bildi bileli hayatındaki yetişkinlerin ona hep iki şey söylediklerini hatırlıyordu. Onu inciten yetişkinler dünyaya başarısız olmak için geldiğini ve bu şekilde öleceğini; ona yardım etmek isteyenler ise rüyalarının peşinden giderse her şeyi yapabileceğini söylemişlerdi.

Charlie yıllar boyunca bu iki bakış açısını da reddetmiş ve hayatın risk almak olduğuna inanmıştı. 'İyi' ve 'kötü' yoktu. Büyük bir resim yoktu. Yalnız doğar ve yalnız ölürdün. Eğer şanslıysan belki bu yolda birkaç güzel an geçirebilirdin. Ya da geçiremezdin."

[Asena Özoral · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[caren · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Lauren Myracle’s The Infinite Moment of Us, we meet Wren. A senior in high school who’s about to graduate. She’s lived a pretty sheltered life, and up until now, she hasn’t even had a boyfriend. Now that school’s over, though, she’s decided her life belongs to her and nobody else. She’s finally going to make choices on her own, which include deferring college for a year and setting off to Guatemala as a volunteer for Project Unity, where she’ll be teaching English to young children.

Those choices also include finally giving in to her crush on Charlie Parker, a boy from school who just may have a crush on her, too.

The problem is that Charlie’s life hasn’t been easy. Abandoned at a young age by his neglectful mother, he’s bounced from foster home to foster home, never letting down his guard long enough to let anyone in. But now he’s found a home with foster parents Chris and Pamela, and a younger “brother” named Dev.

Throughout the summer before Wren’s set to leave for her year in Guatemala, she and Charlie grow closer…and as with all young relationships, there are slip-ups, and stupidity and tantrums and confusion and all the drama that comes along with it, all leading up to the end of summer when both of them need to make a choice.

Stay or go?

Wren—who’s finally doing something for herself—isn’t ready to give up her independence. And Charlie, who’s been searching for a family his entire life, doesn’t want to give up the one he’s found. But neither Wren, nor Charlie, can imagine living without each other, either.

So what will they do? That’s the question…

*deep breaths*

I was so excited for this book. Really, really excited. I’m a sucker for the promise of swoon. Which I think sometimes creates unreal expectations in my head for how a book should play out. I want everything to be perfect and fluffy and lovely, and I want to float on a cloud of swoon until the very last page. But when I first opened this up, I found Wren a little awkward—which should have been easy for me to identify with. But it wasn’t. It was just odd. It was difficult for me to follow her thought patterns, and eventually some of the conversations of these characters, too. I stuck with it, though, hoping it was just me being tired.

And I will say this, it got a little less awkward. In some places. Mostly toward the end. And Lauren did follow through on that whole swoon thing, because Charlie was sweet and I liked him a lot, but it was all still very…strange. I don’t know if I can really explain it other than to say I don’t think I ever fully connected with Wren the way I would have liked, which is probably why I felt disconnected from the story rather than immersed in it. I found Wren to be a bit bratty (only child syndrome), and Charlie, while super sweet, annoyed me in spots as well. I know, I know, they’re teenagers. They’re supposed to be bratty and stupid, but I still felt like maybe it was overdone for the sake of making them seem young, even while they participated in a very quick-moving, adult-like relationship.

In the end, I don’t think this book fulfilled its promise of being deeply sexy and achingly romantic in the ways I’d hoped.

And while we’re discussing endings…this one made me woeijfwoiejfowrijorijworjowei. Just when I’d finally felt a little bit invested, it was over. Just like that. If you’ve read my reviews before you know Caren doesn’t do open endings. I need prettily wrapped boxes with ribbons and bows, and I don’t want to be the one wrapping them! Epilogues are our friends!

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a pretty cover... I wanted to really like this one, and for a bit, I thought that I would fall head over heels in love with it. I was ‘oohing’ and ‘awwwing’ pretty much through the first few chapters. Then somewhere, about halfway through it, I realized we were just going to have a ‘like’ relationship.

Feelings are like three-year-olds. They’re not rational. They’re just there.

The Infinite Moment of Us is the love story of Wren and Charlie. Wren is an only child who comes from a life of privilege and overbearing parents who have her entire life planned out Charlie lives with his foster family and works hard for everything. He has a past and it’s not pretty. Perfect and imperfect. They both feel as if something is missing in their lives, and then they find each other.

In the beginning, I liked Wren. I liked that she knew she wanted something more, that she didn’t want this cookie cutter life that her parents wanted for her. She wanted to do something on her own. But as the story progressed, Wren didn’t. She remained extremely immature. In fact, I felt like she digressed back to all the stereotypes she was trying to rebel against. And God was she needy. For someone who wanted to be independent, she complained an awful lot about Charlie not being there or wanting her every moment of the day.

Charlie, on the other hand, I loved. He was the shining beacon of this story. His character was so much more realistic than Wren and I felt his emotions so much more. Being a female writer, she certainly tapped in to the male perspective very well. He loved his family and he loved Wren and he felt torn about where his loyalties lie. He generally didn’t want to let anyone down. Even his psycho ex. He wore his heart on his sleeve and I just wanted to hug him. A strong character that made mistakes and owned up to them.

I enjoyed the writing style of the author, especially her male POV’s. This was a nice love story about two different people coming together and figuring out how to grow. I liked that it shined light on the difficulty of falling in love with someone right before going off to college and the challenges you face when you don’t want to leave that person. What I didn’t like was the excessive drama that filtered throughout. The blatant lies, the drunken phone calls – these were to be expected, although not new and very predictable. What I could have done without was the confrontation toward the end with Charlie’s ex. What started out as a showdown you saw coming, turned into something worthy of the OC or 90210. *cue eye roll* It wasn’t needed and took me out of the moment.

Also, one other thing that bothered me. This didn’t feel like a YA. I think it should be classified as NA. The sex was a little too graphic for YA. All in all, a nice story, even if it’s a little frustrating at times. A good telling of first love and I would like to read more from this author.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review can also be seen here on my blog.

[ayşnr._.r · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kocaman ama kocaman bir hayal kırıklığı...

Arka kapağını okuduktan sonra DEVASA bir aşk hikayesi okuyacağımı sandım ama fos çıktı. O kadar klasik bir aşk kitabıydı ki anlatamam. Wren liseden mezun olmasına az kalmış, okulun en popüler kızıyla yakın arkadaş ve lise boyunca TABİ Kİ ERKEK ARKADAŞI OLMAMIŞ. Şaşırdık mı?
Hayır. Sürekli düşündüğü bir çocuk var. Ne gariptir ki bu çocukta durmadan Wren'i düşünüyor. Ve yine ne gariptir ki Charlie "kaslı ve yakışıklı" Evet u-bunu Wren söylüyor bize. Kitapta bir bölümü Wren'nin bir bölümü Charlie'nin gözünden okuyoruz. Charlie evlatlık bir çocuk ve kendisi sürekli yalnız hissetme gibi bir problemleri var. Wren'i düşünüp "bu kız beni aşar yaa" falan diye düşünüyor.

Sevgili Charlie kızın en büyük derdi babası araba aldığı için üzülmesi...

Neyse bu ikisin aşkı o kadar ani bir anda birleşiyor ki anlatamam. Aynen şöyle; Wren seninle konuşmam gerek, konuşalım Charlie, hadi parka gidelim, hadi ormana gidelim, arabamda da battaniye var ehehehee, seni istiyorum, aslında bende seni istiyorum eeheheh ve sevgili olurlar.
Bazı yerlerde dedim ki ya aslında iyi bir çift oldular ama sonra Wren durup durup araya mesafe koyuyor sinir oluyorum.
Bir de tabi arada kötü kızımız var. O da ilişkilerine çomak sokmakla ve Charlie'i sahiplenmeye çalışarak zamanını harcıyor. Boş kaldığı zamanlarda nefes alıyor.
Bir de sürekli yaşadıkları o anı ölümsüzleştirmek gibi bir düşünceleri var deliriyorum. Tamam mantık güzel ama o an Wren'nin "şimdiye kadar kaç kızla beraber oldun" demesiyle bozuluyor.

İnanılmaz saçma dolu olaylar var kitapta. Mesela bu çiftimiz ilk defa beraber olacaklar ve Charlie, Wren'nin en yakın kız arkadaşının yanına gidip tavsiye istiyor... Bu ve bunun gibi çok fazla şey. Irkıçılık desen almış başını gitmiş. Benim için inanılmaz boş bir kitaptı. Okuduğuma bin pişman oldum. Hani bazı kitapları sadece eğlencesine okursunuz ya bende öyle okumak istemiştim bu kitabı ama acı çektim resmen. Romantik bir aşk hikayesi okurken, amacı olmayan, tek dertleri sevişmek olan, "güya" entrika dolu bir kitap okudum.
Kitapta tek sevdiği Wren'nin üniversiteyi bırakıp gönüllü olarak çalışmak isteyişi ve bunun hakkında ki düşünceleriydi.

Asla önermiyorum.

[Cassandra (Thebookishcrypt) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lauren completely took me by surprise. I had geared myself up to read a typical YA novel but I soon found out that it was more New Adult than YA... and it was pretty fantastic! It was an amazing surprise, one that I hope happens to me more often.
Anyway, this book follows Wren, an 18 year old who has parents that dictate about every part of her life. Her insecurities have taken over her life and she's trying to detach herself from her parents' hips by moving away after summer. I was okay and sympathetic with her for the most part but there were far too many times that she got on my nerves. I didn't feel like she made much of a development by the end, if she did at all. Her actions and reactions sometimes drove me through the wall. In the end, she sort of redeemed herself, but not really.
Our main love interest is Charlie and yes, we do get his POV. I don't have to specify that Charlie was my favorite, right? Well he was. CHARLIE!!! Ugh, that guy made me swoon so much. His personality was fantastic but there was a weight on his shoulders that made me cry. It hurt seeing him double-guessing just how amazing he was. He's supportive, smart, loving, loyal, and caring to a fault. He definitely deserves to be loved with every fiber of a human being's body. I just wished Wren did a better job at it. Now, HIS character development I loved to pieces. He has such an amazing family that showed him what he couldn't see in himself. They showed him just how fantastic he was and I felt myself indebted to them, as if he actually existed in real life. In the end, he made me so so proud. Yes, he's not perfect, but I love his flaws as much as everything else about him. I was ecstatic that it ended on his POV, it's the reason why I rated it as close to 4 as I could get.
I read this book in one siting and loved it so much! The reason why I couldn't give it a full 4 stars was mainly because I wasn't happy with Wren. She was a great part of the story and she didn't make me love her which was a bummer. But everything else, I was super happy about!
3.75 stars

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is just not my thing at all. It's probably well-written for the style, but not in a style I enjoy (dual third person, which is weird style; I'd prefer either dual first for more traditional third person like Sarah Rees Brennan uses). I ended up skipping ahead, hoping it just was off to a tedious start, but it never worked for me. I was also bothered by the way one character was treated, as others have been as well. I also did not finish Myracle's Shine, so I suspect her style is just not for me, though I know others love her work. Finally, this seemed a bit like a retelling/modernization of Forever (is it supported to be?) in a way that felt too derivative to me. My ARC had a letter from the author (I usually enjoy reading these), which had a tone that really started this book off on a wrong foot for me, so I'm sure that tinged my enjoyment as well. Finally, I was very troubled by the weird "no condoms" thing which did nothing for the story. Yes, Wren goes on the pill and Charlie gets tested for STDs, and I guess this is Myracle saying that safe sex is important. But, I critique adult fiction for this all the time, and YA doesn't get a pass at all. I simply can't deal with the weird anti-condom narrative that's so common in fiction these days. I guess it's because I was a teen/college student in the 90s, when condom usage was burned into our brains. I realize that's changed a lot and I don't think that's a good thing.

This book already has legions of fans, so it's likely that your results may vary.

I wrote about this book in the context of feminism and how it handles sex on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves - http://cleareyesfullshelves.com/blog/...

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh to be young and feel the thrill of experiencing love, lust and miscommunication for the first time. Bitterness hasn't taken hold, nor have the lessons learned from past mistakes as those mistakes have yet to happen. It's an awkward, exciting and vulnerable emotional/mental state...and it has the tendency to make us more than a little stupid. I'd like to say it gets better with age, but adulthood does not remedy the idiocy of love's keen sting.

The Infinite Moment of Us does a great job of displaying all the mental trials and emotional triumphs that coincide with falling in love for the first time, or even with someone new. It’s a quick read that personifies what it means to be young, in love, and full of hope.


I give extra points to Myracle for refusing to fade her scenes to black. The sex scenes are tastefully descriptive.