Review: The Infinite Moment of Us

The Infinite Moment of Us
by Lauren Myracle

Synopsis

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.

Review

I'm so horribly confused.

Is this a young adult book? Like, really? I don't mean to make that sound like an insult. Maybe it's the fact that I'm older - maybe it's a bunch of other things, but this book did not read like a young adult book. It had an angst romance, but I felt that too many things were happening at too fast a pace. 

Let's go back.

Charlie has admired Wren (I love her name) from afar for awhile. Once Wren notices Charlie, she begins to gain an interest in him too. This is where it's all nice and sweet because it's the blossoming of first love for both of them. They each have their struggles, but hey, they have each other. I really was drawn into the story at this point because I like to read about two people who care about each other finally getting together. 

But then it just got weird in my opinion. And these are the reasons why. 

*SPOILERS. I NEVER PUT THEM SO THIS SHOULD BE YOUR WARNING*

It got weird with all the sex. I was shocked to read so much sex in a young adult book. I'm going to be honest and tell you that sex in YA doesn't bother me. Not at all. Teenagers have sex and it should be included in some books. However, I also think that the way it's expressed can have a lot to do with how it is received from the reader. The problem, for me, with the sex scenes in this book have mostly to do with the fact that I think it ruined the flow of the story. It suddenly all became about sex. Hey, I know that some relationships are like that - but Wren and Charlie actually had a very sweet thing going and the sex just took over EVERYTHING. Like, the WHOLE STORY. 

Another thing - Tessa and Wren's parents. Tessa is supposed to be this great friend to Wren and I really liked her character - but we hardly see her! It was as if Wren had NO friends and was having a dangerous co-dependent relationship with Charlie. Actually, that's exactly what it was. We don't even get to read any other experiences about Wren's job or even any excitement for Project Unity - something SHE wanted to go to! As for Wren's parents, I totally liked the whole struggle with living up to their expectations. But in the end? It was just too easy. The dad just realizes he should apologize? What? *sigh*

As for Charlie - he was just as co-dependent as Wren. I like that he had his own background, his own story - but well, both Wren and Charlie got a bit too creepy with each other for my liking. Creepy = REALLY CODEPENDENT 

Also? Starrla's character was so annoying. Just - too much. And was not important to the story at all. 

I know that as humans we feel intensely. Maybe I just didn't like young adult pretending to be adult? Take that any which way you want, reader. 

The end was tied up too cleanly. Sure, a lot was left to the reader's imagination, but I don't think this story deserved that. The reader basically goes on this roller coaster of a relationship (which doesn't feel like a relationship) to be given nothing at the end. 

As you can see, I am pretty passionate about this review. I even included spoilers!

Verdict

Proceed with caution. There's a lot of sex. A lot of "ass" "baby" etc. etc. Language that doesn't offend me and it normally wouldn't sway me from reading a story, but I think those words were unnecessary. It was used to no effect on this reader. 

Extra

If you're wondering about a book I thought included teenagers, sex and was written extremely well in a somewhat believable way - pick up The DUFF by Kody Keplinger.