Book Review: When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert

 

Book Review: When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert

by Felix Lee



              When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert is a realistic-fiction, romantic novel. The story features Beth Claire and her small group of friends, Grace Nakamura, Brandon Lin, Sunny Chen, and, especially, Jason Tsou, who Beth has feelings beyond friendship for. Having family issues and still unsure of her future, Beth just wants to stay together with her group of friends. Staying together, however, is becoming more and more difficult, as college comes closer and closer, and they all have different ambitions in mind. Things take a very sharp turn when something drastic happens to Jason. The rest of the group each promise that they will try to stay together, for Jason’s sake and protection, but when their loyalty isn’t enough, Beth must decide what her priorities are: Jason or herself?

This book handles a lot of heavy topics, including domestic abuse, racism, depression, suicide, mental health and illnesses, and panic attacks. If you are sensitive or uncomfortable with any of these topics, this novel isn’t for you.

              Otherwise, in terms of reviewing/rating this book, I would say it’s a wonderful book, providing me as the reader with a deep and dramatic experience of Beth’s accomplishments and struggles. The author thoroughly writes each scene and sentence in a way that convey the emotions and expressions felt by each character. The writing provides enough dialogue to keep the story interesting and dynamic, while providing enough explanation and subtext to keep the reader from being confused. Each characters’ actions accurately represent their unique personalities. For example, when Jason seems lost in thought and answering even the people he’s closest to with one-liners, as if he doesn’t care for what they’re saying, I clearly realize that he has a withdrawn, introverted personality and has a battery when it comes to social situations. Whenever there’s a plot twist, I can really feel the impact it has on each character and how it changes their thought process, as if I were experiencing it myself. I don’t find many books that stick in my mind, but When We Were Infinite has found its way into the principal archives of my memory. This novel has opened a door and sparked my interest in the realistic fiction genre. Therefore, When We Were Infinite gets a 5-star rating from me.

                           

Comments

  1. EllenAugust 29, 2021 at 8:06 PM

    This book sounds really interesting Felix! I'd like to read it sometime. Your blog was well written and it informed the readers about the book perfectly. It was good that you pointed out the heavy topics in the book, it's good for people to understand those. I look forward to reading this sometime! Great job

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robert GaoAugust 30, 2021 at 12:03 PM

    Thanks for the review, Felix! I appreciate that you skimmed over the significant aspects of the plot without revealing details that would take away from the reading experience. I'd like to read this book sometime in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MarinaSeptember 1, 2021 at 6:58 AM

    Hi Felix! I had not heard of When We Were Infinite before, but it sounds really interesting. I think your descriptions of the character Jason being withdrawn and introverted because of his short one-line answers really shows not only the author's capability, but your own reading comprehension skills. I'll definitely remember this book, and hope to hear more great reviews/recommendations in the future!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Heidi WangSeptember 2, 2021 at 8:56 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Heidi WangSeptember 2, 2021 at 9:00 PM

    Wow! This book sounds really good! I have read a book similar to this and really enjoyed it so I will definitely be on the lookout. I think it is great you included a trigger warning especially with such heavy topics. Again, great job explaining the plot thoroughly and thank you for the recommendation!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Luke F.September 17, 2021 at 7:03 PM

    This is a great review Felix! The way that you described the major conflict of the story made me very curious. It sounds like it is a very well written book that deals with some tough topics. I would be very interested in reading it in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Joseph T.January 31, 2022 at 11:56 AM

    I'd never heard of this book before, but I should probably check it out some time. You did a great job of explaining how the conflict arises in the book without completely spelling it out. You've really gotten my interest. Great review.

    ReplyDelete

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