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A review by utopiastateofmind
When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert
emotional
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
When We Were Infinite is told from the present reflecting on the past. It's about looking back and seeing the moments everything changed. The moments we would have just forgotten, but, looking back, mean everything. How it represents a turning point from feeling like the future stretches out before us. To a new reality we land in like strangers. Gilbert is a master at complex characters and my heart aches for Beth. It wasn't only in the comments she gets for being biracial and how "Asian she isn't". Big resonant moment for me.
It's in the ways Beth grasps for what she wants. The gaps between what we wish we could reach and where we stand. It's in the moments we're so desperately trying to keep it together. Our family, our future, our friends, ourselves. When We Were Infinite is about the fracture lines we trace back. The shock waves in soup and fault lines in smiles. All the little ways the pieces slipped out of grasp. The intricacies of their friendships are certainly a huge focus for the book.
When We Were Infinite is told from the present reflecting on the past. It's about looking back and seeing the moments everything changed. The moments we would have just forgotten, but, looking back, mean everything. How it represents a turning point from feeling like the future stretches out before us. To a new reality we land in like strangers. Gilbert is a master at complex characters and my heart aches for Beth. It wasn't only in the comments she gets for being biracial and how "Asian she isn't". Big resonant moment for me.
It's in the ways Beth grasps for what she wants. The gaps between what we wish we could reach and where we stand. It's in the moments we're so desperately trying to keep it together. Our family, our future, our friends, ourselves. When We Were Infinite is about the fracture lines we trace back. The shock waves in soup and fault lines in smiles. All the little ways the pieces slipped out of grasp. The intricacies of their friendships are certainly a huge focus for the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Racism
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse