The Infinite Moment of Us, by Lauren Myracle

Book 52/50

This story is a sweet, coming-of-age Young Adult tale. It didn’t make me swoon as much as The Promise of Amazing did, yet it still was a quick read (for me, in one sitting) that made my heart flutter and my lips curl into a devilish smile.

A lot of the YA books I read when I was younger sugar coated life; the protagonist was often from a well-off family, and the biggest issues were who broke up with who, and what to wear to a party. While these issues do seem like big problems when we’re in our own little high school bubble, there’s obviously so much more going on then that. For me, I was boy crazy, but I was also dealing with my parents divorce, among other issues. I think I often used reading an escape, but maybe I would have benefited from something more intense, more relatable to what I was going through. And so many kids have it much, much worse.

The Infinite Moment of Us does a fantastic job touching on some harder issues, without making it a sob story. In fact, this story is anything but a disheartening, melancholy tale. The novel stars Wren Gray and Charlie Parker, two seemingly mismatched teens who have barely said a word to one another until they graduate high school. They are both smart, well rounded kids, but it isn’t until they start dating that they discover things about themselves that they never had explored prior. What I love about this story is that each of the main characters has their own issues- Charlie’s arguably worse than Wren’s- and they both recognize that fact. They fall in love with one another because they admire each other and how they handle their own issues.

The book also covers a few sexual topics that often were glossed over in YA books I read as a kid, which I think is more relatable to the current demographic; it’s real. We all remember sneaking around to parties, our first love, and embarrassing high school moments, and it’s sweet to relive and read about that kind of development for these extremely likeable characters.

Lastly, I appreciated the friendship Wren had with her best friend; I kept waiting for one of those predictable story lines to pop up (you know the ones I’m talking about: the best friend messes everything up, or the best friend becomes disloyal), but it didn’t- which made the novel less predictable than I was expecting. Refreshing.

The Infinite Moment of Us is a must-read for anyone who loves a good, simple love story, with all its complications, and all it’s silver lining. There are no hidden agendas with this book, folks. Enjoy it this winter by the fire during a cosy night in, or on a beach during one of your winter vacations. I guarantee your heart will melt. Infinitely.