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ghostlyprince's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Physical abuse, Ableism, Child abuse, and Racism
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, and Vomit
amandalorianxo's review
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don’t even know where to begin but I’m looking forward to the next novel that Kelly Gilbert writes. The is novel follows five Asian American teens as they navigate their senior year. Unfortunately, Jason is having a particularly challenging year and it shakes the dynamic of the group. Beth, unfortunately due to her upbringing and her dad leaving the family, thinks that the only way to make sure Jason remains ok is for the group to be together. But she quickly realizes that no matter how selfless you portray yourself, it doesn’t mean other people are going to imitate your selflessness. This struck a chord with me, deeper than I originally thought, because I had two students during my time as a teacher attempt to unalive themselves (off campus.) It’s heartbreaking when you don’t know about or aren’t fully supportive of the resources provided. Gilbert wrote all of her characters in a such a distinct way and handled the topic of suicide and what it means to be a first generation child of immigrants (specifically Asian) so well that I was in tearing up more often than not. I also enjoyed the cover art and now that I’ve finished, I think it’s supposed to represent Beth and Jason. Highly recommend this novel (the author does have triggers warnings in the beginning of the novel.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Physical abuse and Panic attacks/disorders
xoodlebooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Medical content
thesaltiestlibrarian's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone and may not reflect the views of the author, publisher, or distributor.
TW: Attempted suicide, panic attacks, divorce, academic stress, microaggressions
Debuts are tricky. You know this person publishing their book is enamored with the idea of writing, and what writer doesn’t want to be published? You can’t say for certain whether or not you’ll like their style, because you’ve never read their work before. They are, after all, a debut author. And will the story stick? If it sounds interesting, you may as well dive in and see what you find. Sometimes what you get is a mixed bag. That’s what we have here in Kelly Loy Gilbert’s When We Were Infinite.
The story follows Beth and her friends--who are all Asian or Asian-American--as they navigate their senior year in high school in southern California. We get to trace their struggles over which college to attend, or even apply to, and how family pressures play into how a teenager shapes their future. Whether that pressure is good or bad depends on the family. When Beth and her friend Brandon witness some parental abuse in another friend, Jason’s, house, things start downhill. Jason attempts suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He survives, and the friendships they’ve grown start to crackle and fracture. Can the five of them keep together, or will silence and other pressures separate them?
Beth herself is from what’s considered a “broken home.” With her father up-and-leaving when she was young, it’s been her and her mom for the long haul. That part really struck home. Beth’s anger at her father and mother comes across very naturally, and as someone who takes on more responsibility than anyone asks of me, I understand her tendency to bottle up and not want to talk about it. The character development for Beth, her mom, Jason, and Brandon was great. They all stood out as real people in tricky situations with no real solutions.
So why did I give this a three-star rating? Well, a few things.
For one, the writing bogs itself down at times. I myself am learning that less is more, and the desire to embellish won’t always help a passage. Gilbert’s prose leans too heavily on the purple side in the middle of the book, which may be possible to contribute to that dreaded Middle Section Syndrome--the longest, hardest part of the book to write. The ending and beginning were tight, though, so it did even out in the end.
Some of the tropes. Unfortunately, this book employed one of my least favorite tropes: noncommunication. When a simple conversation will fix something, HAVE THE CONVERSATION. Moments in this book felt repetitive because of the lack of communication between characters, and I get it, okay? They’re teenagers. The logic centers of their brains aren’t fully formed yet. But here’s the thing. Some of the tension in here leaned on people just not talking about important things, and if we want to break the circle of abuse and mental strain, we have to talk about stuff. I don’t care how painful it is. That was a misstep on Gilbert’s part, and a perpetuation of the “let’s not talk about stuff” trope was not a great one to see rearing its head in this age of purposeful communication.
Another trope I’m not super into is the broody boy. BEFORE YOU SCREAM AT ME, I understand Jaon’s home life was terrible for all the pressure he was under. But he’d known Sunny since Kindergarten, and he wouldn’t even talk to her? He wouldn’t even talk to Brandon , his best friend in the world??? That’s the edge for me. Sometimes Jason got mopey and (see above) could have talked to someone about it.
Sunny and Grace needed more life. They sounded too much like each other and got me confused when they spoke. If they’d been given a little more verve and life as themselves, this would have been a non-issue.
BUT.
Okay.
The ending. I swear, if it hadn’t ended the way it had, I’d be fuming right now. Endings are not strong points in a debut sometimes. But Gilbert really brought everything around and made the Sadness Slog worth it. I liked the burst of growth and development we got to see in Beth, and I loved that there was hope. A good 45 pages before the end really took off, I had plans to rant and rave about how you need hope in a book, even if it is like real life. Silly me, I’m glad I didn’t write anything up before hitting that 100% mark!
So it’s worth a read, if you’re feeling down! Do prepare for sadness, and please take care if you suffer with suicidal thoughts. I do, and Jason’s ordeal gave me palpitations. A solid three stars out of five.
TW: Attempted suicide, panic attacks, divorce, academic stress, microaggressions
Debuts are tricky. You know this person publishing their book is enamored with the idea of writing, and what writer doesn’t want to be published? You can’t say for certain whether or not you’ll like their style, because you’ve never read their work before. They are, after all, a debut author. And will the story stick? If it sounds interesting, you may as well dive in and see what you find. Sometimes what you get is a mixed bag. That’s what we have here in Kelly Loy Gilbert’s When We Were Infinite.
The story follows Beth and her friends--who are all Asian or Asian-American--as they navigate their senior year in high school in southern California. We get to trace their struggles over which college to attend, or even apply to, and how family pressures play into how a teenager shapes their future. Whether that pressure is good or bad depends on the family. When Beth and her friend Brandon witness some parental abuse in another friend, Jason’s, house, things start downhill. Jason attempts suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He survives, and the friendships they’ve grown start to crackle and fracture. Can the five of them keep together, or will silence and other pressures separate them?
Beth herself is from what’s considered a “broken home.” With her father up-and-leaving when she was young, it’s been her and her mom for the long haul. That part really struck home. Beth’s anger at her father and mother comes across very naturally, and as someone who takes on more responsibility than anyone asks of me, I understand her tendency to bottle up and not want to talk about it. The character development for Beth, her mom, Jason, and Brandon was great. They all stood out as real people in tricky situations with no real solutions.
So why did I give this a three-star rating? Well, a few things.
For one, the writing bogs itself down at times. I myself am learning that less is more, and the desire to embellish won’t always help a passage. Gilbert’s prose leans too heavily on the purple side in the middle of the book, which may be possible to contribute to that dreaded Middle Section Syndrome--the longest, hardest part of the book to write. The ending and beginning were tight, though, so it did even out in the end.
Some of the tropes. Unfortunately, this book employed one of my least favorite tropes: noncommunication. When a simple conversation will fix something, HAVE THE CONVERSATION. Moments in this book felt repetitive because of the lack of communication between characters, and I get it, okay? They’re teenagers. The logic centers of their brains aren’t fully formed yet. But here’s the thing. Some of the tension in here leaned on people just not talking about important things, and if we want to break the circle of abuse and mental strain, we have to talk about stuff. I don’t care how painful it is. That was a misstep on Gilbert’s part, and a perpetuation of the “let’s not talk about stuff” trope was not a great one to see rearing its head in this age of purposeful communication.
Another trope I’m not super into is the broody boy. BEFORE YOU SCREAM AT ME, I understand Jaon’s home life was terrible for all the pressure he was under. But he’d known Sunny since Kindergarten, and he wouldn’t even talk to her? He wouldn’t even talk to Brandon , his best friend in the world??? That’s the edge for me. Sometimes Jason got mopey and (see above) could have talked to someone about it.
Sunny and Grace needed more life. They sounded too much like each other and got me confused when they spoke. If they’d been given a little more verve and life as themselves, this would have been a non-issue.
BUT.
Okay.
The ending. I swear, if it hadn’t ended the way it had, I’d be fuming right now. Endings are not strong points in a debut sometimes. But Gilbert really brought everything around and made the Sadness Slog worth it. I liked the burst of growth and development we got to see in Beth, and I loved that there was hope. A good 45 pages before the end really took off, I had plans to rant and rave about how you need hope in a book, even if it is like real life. Silly me, I’m glad I didn’t write anything up before hitting that 100% mark!
So it’s worth a read, if you’re feeling down! Do prepare for sadness, and please take care if you suffer with suicidal thoughts. I do, and Jason’s ordeal gave me palpitations. A solid three stars out of five.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
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