The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

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 . . ."- summary from Amazon

Myracle is one of my favorite authors, and this book proves why. It's a fantastic love story full of ups and downs, some sexy bits, and a wonderful connection between the two main characters. It really helps too having the story told in the dual perspective because the reader can really get a feel for these two characters and understand their thoughts and where they're coming from when approaching this relationship. I did have a problem with Wren's chapters in the beginning just because she was so innocent and clueless about herself; it got on my nerves, though I know that it's part of her emotional arc throughout the book- learning to become her own person with her own opinions.

What I also love about this book is that it takes teen love very seriously. Wren is very inexperienced, and Charlie is more experienced in the physical way but certainly not emotionally, so there's a lot of growing and a lot of firsts for these two as they navigate this new relationship. I mentioned earlier that there are sexy bits in this book- Myracle writes a sex scene that is just done so perfectly; it is sexy, but it's also filled with so much love so it's not tawdry or meaningless. I also think this is the first time I've ever seen the C word in reference to the male anatomy written in a YA book. What I also enjoyed was Wren being very much in charge of how things will go down for their first time. The guy isn't pressuring at all, and it's her that makes a very big decision regarding their first time (well, two really) that makes sense for those two (and for other teenagers in a similar position). I'm sure Myracle will get much flack for it (it's almost unheard of, even in the gay stories I read), but it works and they're both being smart about it.

Overall, it's just a fantastically written contemporary book and I highly recommend it. I'm so glad she came out with a new YA and I'm excited to see what she does next.

FTC: Received signed ARC from my friend Susan (thanks!). Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.