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." (Goodreads)

WARNING: There will be some spoilers. 

I've officially read the worst book for 2018. I was fooled by the title and the beautiful cover design of The Infinite Moment of Us. After reading the blurb I thought this was an interesting coming of age kind of book but I was deceived. I really wanted to put this book down and stop reading but nonetheless, I put up with it. This book has everything I despise. It is sexist as well as racist.

The chapters alternate between the two characters' point of views, Wren Gray and Charlie Parker. The book takes place during the summer after graduating high school. That little sweet time you have left where you can still be a teenager before you have to shoulder the responsibilities of adulthood. 

Wren Gray is described as this perfect, can do no wrong, innocent kind of girl. Everyone who knows her, or of her, describes her as someone who is untouchable and above everyone else. This really bothered me throughout the book because in order for the reader to connect with the main character there needs to be some sort of flaw to them no matter how perfect they are. 

Even though the blurb states that she has a fall out with her parents because her desires do not align with theirs and that she wishes to form her own path in life, she is still written as a perfect, can do no wrong kind of character. Throughout the book, the reader can feel how perfect even Wren thinks she is.

On the other hand, Charlie Parker is described as a gentle boy with a troubled past. He is desperately in love with Wren and believes that she will never ever spare a glance at him. He is so in love with her that throughout the book it seems like he can't even breathe without her. It's not the cute kind of love but rather, dare I say, he has an obsession with her. 

Throughout the book, Charlie states how much he loves the fact that Wren is so innocent. Everything she does turns him on even when she doesn't realize how crazy she's driving him. All he thinks about is Wren, Wren, Wren and oh Wren. The author doesn't give Charlie a life of his own. Rather she makes Charlie seem desperate for Wren's love and obsessed with her 24/7. 

This book is so sexist and racist. Take this scene for example where Wren is trying to find out whether or not Charlie has a girlfriend while she is being a third wheel to her friend Tessa and P.G.'s date:

"'He hangs out a lot with this one girl, but maybe they're just friends. Her name's Destiny or Star or something like that. She's got long blond hair, and she, um, dresses kind of —'

'Skanky?' Tessa supplied. She clapped a hand over her mouth, then moved it to say, 'Sorry, sorry. That was mean.'

'Starrla Pettit,' P.G. said, nodding. 'Hangs out with the black kids.'

Tessa whacked him. 'Racist.'

'What? She's talks [sic] black, too'" (Myracle, 52).

The antagonist in question is a girl named Starrla Petit. She is described as a slut who sleeps with anyone and someone who "hangs out with the black kids." This is such a cliché story setting. Antagonists being described as anything negative you can think of is so old and shows the lack of originality the book has. Not only is Starrla's description sexist it is also racist just because she "hangs out with the black kids" as stated by P.G. who took the girls out on a shooting range as a first date.  

Another thing that has bothered me throughout this book is Wren's incapacity to think through others' perspectives. She is constantly annoyed that Charlie chooses his family over her. They have been only dating for the duration of a summer break and she wants him to be devoted to her no matter what. Charlie has been thrown from one foster home to another. He finally finds a family who accepts him for who he is. You would think Wren, being the perfect girl that she is, would have the capacity to understand why Charlie values his family so much. Even if it was his biological family one would expect their significant other to understand the love that they have for them. But Wren is constantly whining about how he never chooses her over his family.

Also, there is no effort put into Wren and her parents' relationship. One would think that their relationship would play an important role throughout the book giving the fact that she made a significant decision to not follow the path her parents set for her. I expected more involvement and effort in fixing her relationship with her parents. But that is not the case. 

Overall, I regret the time and money I've spent on this book. I do not recommend it to anyone when you can use your time to read much better books. The only reason I will be giving a star to this book is because of the cover.

★/5


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Myracle, Lauren. The Infinite Moment of Us. Amulet Books, 2014.