You, Me, and Infinity

by Deb Caletti

In this layered and poignant story, a girl who keeps her heart protected meets a boy with his head in the stars. The award-winning author of A Heart in a Body in the World beautifully captures the kind of love—and loss—that changes you forever.

When Margaret sees Mars for the first time, it doesn't feel like love at first sight so much as future at first sight—she just knows right away that he will loom large in her life.

When her job delivering pizzas brings Margaret right to Mars's doorstep, soon they're giving in to fate and spending every free moment together. Their romance deepens over stargazing and moments under the night sky, where Mars shares his passionate interest in the Voyager record in space, captivating her with the power of what can last over time.

Even as she continues to fall harder and faster for him, Margaret struggles against the voice of anxiety in her head warning her that danger is always waiting around corners. But even for someone who anticipates the worst, when it actually happens, Margaret is devastated. In the wake of a tragedy, somehow she has to find a way forward. Despite her grief, she has to continue to look up to the stars and let the whole of universe in—all the beauty and all the pain.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 9, 2026

About the author

Deb Caletti is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of over twenty books for adults and young adults, including Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, a finalist for the National Book Award, and A Heart in a Body in the World, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. Her books have also won the Josette Frank Award for Fiction, the Washington State Book Award, and numerous other state awards and honors, and she was a finalist for the PEN USA Award. She lives with her family in Seattle.

Reviews

[Hannah]

I received an eARC from Labyrinth Road via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2026...and I only made it 17% of the way through. Talk about disappointing.

The theme I kept picking up on is that nothing was earned, everything just happened through narration or just out of nowhere. Lust at first sight is not my thing unless it's done extremely well, and this was definitely not; Mars is more of a Manic Pixie Dream Boy, if anything, and Margaret's entire existence orbits around him (pun intended), despite her insistence that women shouldn't be relegated to objects and at the mercy of the men in their lives. I don't know what's so special about Mars that suddenly changes Margaret's mind on whether or not she wants a relationship, because it sure sounds like she's reluctant to do that. What did he do outside of look hot in his Levi's? You're telling me that despite how maladaptive Margaret's daydreaming is, despite how guarded she is about getting close to people (for anxiety, I guess, which is also told to me and not shown), Mars just appears and suddenly she wants to have a romantic relationship with him? "Oh I just knew we were fated to be together." As my late grandmother would say, get out of here with that nonsense.

So yeah, unfortunately my gut reaction to books I believe I'll love has failed me yet again.

[Davina · Rating 3 out of 5]

You, Me, and Infinity follows a teenage girl navigating first love, family expectations, anxiety, and the uncertainty of the future. As she falls deeply for a boy who changes the way she sees the world, she must also confront loss, grief, and the reality that some relationships don't get the time they deserve.

This is a story about young love and the heartbreak of not having enough time.

I enjoy a lighter romance every now and then, and You, Me, and Infinity delivered a sweet, emotional relationship at its core. The romance felt genuine in that intense, all-consuming way that first love often does, making it easy to understand why the characters were drawn to one another.

One of the things that stood out most was the writing style. Deb Caletti gives the narrator a distinct voice that feels very much like a sixteen-year-old processing the world around her. It creates a unique reading experience and fits the story well. While it wasn't always my favorite style to read, it undeniably felt authentic to the character.

Beyond the romance, the novel touches on anxiety, grief, death, and the pressure of family expectations. Those heavier themes give the story emotional depth and help it become more than just a typical teen romance.

My biggest issue was the ending. By the time the story reached its emotional conclusion, it felt like it lingered longer than necessary. The impact was already there, and I found myself wishing the final chapters had been a bit tighter.

Overall, You, Me, and Infinity is a bittersweet story about love, loss, and growing up. If you enjoy young adult romances with emotional weight and a strong teenage voice, this one may be worth picking up.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Falling in love with "dweeby" Mars Rivers--and then navigating heartbreak--inspires anxious, introverted Seattle-born Margaret Vittorio to forge lasting connections in a novel that blends swoony, irresistibly sweet romance with palpable grief.

This review was hard to write due to the plot twist at the novel’s midpoint. I'll just say that this book made me cry, and this story will resonate with anyone who, like Margaret, has experienced a loss so deep that their eyes “go back and back.”

I really enjoyed Margaret’s voice, and the way that her voice feels distinct from other narrators in the author’s previous novels. That’s hard to do and I respect Caletti a lot for pulling this off.

Mars is also fantastically fleshed out; he's a Superstar First Boyfriend that teen readers are going to fall hard for. The romance between him and Margaret is so sweet and tender; these are characters I’m not going to forget, and a story I won’t forget either.

Beyond that, the family dynamics are unique and real. Margaret’s dad owns a pizzeria, and she’s the only girl among four brothers. Dad's a bit old school and biased, "protecting" Margaret in ways that he never bothered to do with her brothers. He also has a temper, and his anger issues—and the way they overshadow the entire family—are portrayed with both empathy and honesty, as is Mom’s eating disorder.

[Beezy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the chance to read You, Me and Infinity by Deb Caletti, and it’s one of those stories that quietly stays with you.

This book follows two teenagers dealing with complicated family situations who slowly find each other. I really loved how their relationship develops in such a natural way. They go from strangers, to casual friends, to something deeper, and it feels gradual and real instead of rushed.

The narration is very introspective and beautiful. We’re inside the mind of a girl who struggles with anxiety, an overprotective father, and a mother who has her own body image issues. On top of all that, she’s experiencing first love. The way her thoughts unfold feels honest and vulnerable, like you’re truly sitting inside her head.

And Mars. I absolutely loved him. He’s the kind of character that feels golden, kind, and gentle, even though his own life is far from perfect. He’s not unrealistically flawless. He’s simply human in a way that makes you care about him deeply.

Overall, this is a nostalgic, sweet, and slightly bittersweet story about love, loss, and growing up. It’s about how the people we meet and the things we go through can transform us into something stronger, something lasting.

It’s a beautiful book and it became my new favorite Deb Caletti's book.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margaret and Mars meet in the waiting room of their respective therapists. When they reconnect during a pizza delivery, their worlds start to collide and their relationship deepens and evolves.
The novel is written almost like a diary from Margaret's POV, she addresses Mars as "you," and refers to some upcoming "doom" regularly. This leads the reader to wonder from the beginning if they will break up, as both come from some dysfunctional family situations, or if something more tragic will happen.
Margaret's musings also give readers an insight into her anxiety and how that affects her daily life.
The relationship between Margaret and Mars is sweet, and I think teen readers will enjoy that aspect of the book. I really enjoyed the creative way that Margaret deals with grief helping herself as well as others who are experiencing a similar situation.
For me, this was 3 stars, but I acknowledge that I am not the intended audience. I do think teen readers will appreciate the ups and downs of this romance between 2 quirky characters.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for this early peek!

[Mrs. Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret felt a connection towards Mars the first time they met in a waiting room, and their connection solidified at his door when she delivered a pizza to him. Their relationship grows deep quickly as they look at the stars, and Mars shares his love of the Voyager record that is in space. Margaret falls fast, and even her anxiety about all the worst-case scenarios does not prepare her for what is about to happen. Now Margaret is working through her grief and is glad she has the stars to look up to.

You, Me, and Infinity is a stand-alone realistic fiction story that includes some romance within its pages. Caletti has taken a topic that no one really wants to address and weaves it into a story that is easy to digest. Without giving any spoilers, readers need to be aware that some triggers dealing with grief are included in this story, but it may also be the book a person needs to help themselves deal with their own heartache.

[Andrea C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advanced copy

Margaret and Mars meet and what follows is their sweeping teenage love story, filled with the slow falling, the big feelings, and navigating complicated family situations. He shows her his world and his nerdy side that she finds completely charming, but Margaret can’t help but be cautious of his overbearing and demanding mother. Mars feels left out of her life as she doesn’t know how to introduce him into her family of 3 brothers but a raging father and mother dealing with an eating disorder.

Tragedy strikes and the characters must figure out the way forward through their messy lives! Having read almost all of Deb Calettis previous books, I find myself still preferring the ones I read in 2006 over 2026. That being said, she’s still the same writer, and I love her style and the nostalgia.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Labyrinth Road publishing for giving me an ARC of this book via NetGalley! These thoughts are my own.


I mostly enjoyed this book towards the end, but man the first 1/4 of the book was so hard to get through. I found this book to be really boring until about 30% of the way through. The writing style was unique. It's written like a diary addressed to a character, so there's a lot of "I" and "you". I did not like it at all at the beginning, but it gets better towards the end. It's still not my favorite. The plot was still kind of boring and slow throughout the book, although it does get more interesting. However, I don't feel like there was a lot of character growth or anything else to add interest to the story. I was just overall somewhat bored and annoyed while reading. I would have DNF'd around 15% of the way in if this was not an ARC.

[Hannah Winegar]

Margaret and Mars meet randomly in the waiting room of a therapists office. Neither think much of it until Margaret happens to deliver a pizza to Mars' house, and then they cannot stop spending time together. When tragedy strikes, Margaret doesn't know what to do with herself until she finds she has a much stronger support system than she realizes.

I handled the plot twist much better than I anticipated (going through what Margaret did is a huge fear of mine at the moment). I know Deb Caletti isn't worried about tacking major topics head on, which I appreciate about her writing. I liked how all of it was written almost like a letter, which made the plot twist all the more gut wrenching.

Thanks, NG!

[maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you to the publishers and netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

i have loved deb caletti's books since i was a teenager - they hold such a special place in my heart. i could not have been more excited to get this arc, and let me tell you, it's great. but wow is it a TEARJERKER. i cannot count the amount of times i cried over mars and margaret and so many of the other dynamics in this book, including her relationship with her brother maurice and the complicated family dynamics at play. great characters, as always; i was obsessed with sandrine.

it is certainly a heavy book, and it did admittedly take me a second to get into it. but another beautiful work from deb!

[Kate Melendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advanced readers copy

If you loved The Fault in Our Stars or Me Before You, you’ll find yourself completely immersed in Margarets story. You, Me and Infinity is a beautifully written coming-of-age novel that explores love, friendship, and loss with honesty and heart. Written like a letter, it pulls readers of all ages in from the very first page and is nearly impossible to put down.

[Lisa M · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC received from the Love Ya'll Book Festival.

I think that this book had a solid plot and good character development. I enjoyed the astronomy theme throughout the book and was interested in how Voyager played a part in the book. While I am not the target audience for this book, I think younger readers will enjoy it.