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 realization: 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 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 fiction’s greatest writers.
Publishes in US: August 20th 2013 by Amulet Books
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: Netgalley
Series? no.
Buy it: Ebook: iBookstore • Kindle • Nook
Hardcover: ABRAMS • Amazon •Barnes & Noble • Books-A-Million •Indiebound • Indigo
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The dual narrative worked out well, although it took me quite a bit to get used to the third person point of view. I wish that I could've been 1st person, so I felt even more connected and in their heads. I still got a good impression of who Wren and Charlie were and what they were thinking and feelings as well as their motivations, and eventually it became flowing and flawless so that I didn't notice it wasn't in 1st.
At its roots, The Infinite Moment of Us is a story about acceptance, and it has an awesome romance, and friendships featured as well. I like Wren and Tessa together, they are different enough but share enough of the similarities that their friendship feels authentic.
The story is multi-layered because Wren is finally figuring out what she wants to do with her life and who she is outside of her parent's expectations and high pressure for her to follow the plan they think is best for her. It is a dysfunctional relationship, and I went through the story hoping they would open their eyes to the strong and brave young woman that Wren turned out to be.
Charlie is so well written and being in his head was a joy. Although he has a really rough past, he is now in a supportive and loving foster home with a foster brother that feels closer than blood could be. I love his protectiveness and gentle but teasing nature with his brother Dev, and it was a high spot of the story for me.
Speaking of high spots, the chemistry between Charlie and Wren is awesome, and it was great watching their souls collide and getting closer to each other while discovering with the other's help just who they are inside and how they should be valued and viewed. There is sex in the story, but it isn't there just to be there, it has a deeper purpose, bringing them intimately together and it shows they are realistic teenagers in love, and driven by raging hormones.
I think though that it addresses something that I don't come across more often, having heart to heart conversations about hurt feelings and when silence hurts.
The ending is perfect, wrapping things up and leaving things just open enough that I can picture their future--they are on the edge of something huge and I think that knowing the exact path they took would have taken away from things for me.
My question to you, my lovely readers:
Did your parents have high expectations for you? How did you feel about the expectations they had?
