Infinite in Between by Carolyn Mackler
Monday, September 21, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Pages: 480
Source: publisher in exchange for honest review
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
In the beginning the five of them made a promise.
It was the day before the first day of high school. They wrote those letters to their future selves, hid them in a secret place, and vowed to unearth them at graduation.
As if any of them had a clue what the next four years had in store.
Gregor is quietly, desperately in love with Whitney until a tragedy transforms his world. Zoe is running from everything: her celebrity mom, a public scandal, a long-held family secret, and, ultimately, herself. Jake knows what it means that he has a crush on his best friend, Ted: it’s everything else that’s so confusing. Beautiful Whitney seems to have it together, but looks can be deceiving. And then there’s Mia. She watches them all but doesn’t say a word until it’s almost too late.
Five teenagers. Four years. An unforgettable journey.
In her most ambitious novel yet, award-winning author Carolyn Mackler delivers a rich, humorous, heartfelt saga of high school in the twenty-first century. --Goodreads
Carolyn Mackler has created a contemporary high school
drama, a coming-of-age story, like no other.
The plot is simple, realistic, and riveting.
Coming-of-age stories have always been simple but their
simplicity is what makes them so gorgeous. These five teens, who were immediately
connected from freshman orientation by written letters, weave each of their
lives and develop in preparation of college and the “real world.” Mackler creates such development perfectly,
seamlessly building upon the character from part one. The structure of the novel is cleverly done,
depicting each high school year and month.
Each teen is different, making it easy to relate to at least
one character. Even the plot is relatable. Carolyn Mackler surely did her research. Infinite
in Between had me recalling high school like it was yesterday. The mention of the eighth grade Washington
D.C. trip, the boy who found out he was allergic to bees, and even the horrid
gym class—it was almost like Mackler took it straight out of my high school
experiences. Infinite in Between is extremely relatable, the more the pages
turn, the more readers will find how similar they are to some of these
characters.
The only issue was the changing perspectives—all five of
them—continued to be confusing throughout the entire novel. Most of the characters had short names like
Mia, Zoe, and Jake. It made it even more
difficult to remember all of them.
Overall, Infinite in
Between is the ultimate
coming-of-age story. Readers of all
ages—but especially high-schoolers—will love and appreciate what Mackler has
created. The identity and development of
the five teens are intertwined with one another in a beautiful picture of what
high school is really like. The Infinite in Between ends on the best
note, with realization that the infinite in between are moments in time that
shape us into who we become in the future.
Anyone who has had a moment like that—a moment that seems to last
forever but is gone in a blur—will devour Infinite
in Between.
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