Infinite in Between

Ok. I can't resist any contemporary books about the high school experience, so I was pretty determined to get my hands on Infinite in Between as soon as possible.Author Carolyn Mackler introduces us to Zoe, Jack, Mia, Gregor and Whitney, five young teens who meet at their freshman orientation. They each write letters to their future selves, and make the promise that they'll reunite at graduation to revisit the letters.But in the four years in between, the five teens experience love, heartbreak, and new relationships, while finding themselves. And their paths keep crossing, until the eve of their high school graduation...What readers should know first and foremost about Infinite in Between, is the fact that there aren't any strong character arcs or eurkea! moments for the characters. While they each begin their high school careers with baggage - Zoe, particularly - the book is more of a charting of their respective journeys, in four of the most formative years of their life.And that's the inherent beauty of the novel. Mackler innately understands that high school doesn't always have to end with big! dramatic! moments! or life-altering events. Intstead, it's the small things, whether it's the start or end of important friendships, or the discovery that moving to a new town isn't as bad as you thought it would be, that helps each of these characters (and by proxy, the reader,) grow as people, as they continue on their path to adulthood.While I enjoyed each of the storylines, Mackler particularly won me over with Mia's storyline. I think that any reader will understand trying to reinvent themselves as they struggle through young adulthood, and Mia's desire to escape, and also reinvent herself, are ones that I experienced myself as I went through high school. But I related strongly with each of the other characters as well, especially when it came to a study of their familial relationships.With extradordinary writing, and beautiful plotting - seriously, you can tell that Mackler has put a considerable amount of thought into how each of these characters moved through their four years - this is a book that's not only great for fans of young adult fiction, but also really fitting for young students. I think that many, many young high school students can read Mackler's book, and realize that their experiences are actually universal, and they are not alone.Final Verdict:Infinite in Between was a beautiful read, but not necessarily for the reasons that people might think. Mackler has crafted a thoughtful, introspective look at how people grow in the most formative years of their life, and how they're ultimately influenced by those around them - whether they realize it or not.But while Zoe, Jake, Mia, Gregor and Whitney grow in leaps and bounds, their experiences are also just a stepping stone to the rest of their life. Mackler reminds all of us that high school is ultimately creating only the foundation of who we are meant to be, and it's the start of a greater and longer journey toward becoming that person.I highly, highly recommend Infinite in Between for all readers. Mackler's book presents a complex look at how high school sets the foundation of five different character's lives, and how their ups and downs help them take on the rest of their lives.

Five different yet unique teens are randomly selected to be in Group Eighteen for the freshmen orientation project at Hankinson High School in New York. Little did they know is how their lives will intertwine with one another's over the next four years.Carolyn Mackler easily captures the voices of the five teens over the span of their high school career. Mackler was able to master the multiple POVs effortlessly. Sometimes multiple POVs can be messy and confusing but Mackler was able to streamline all five voices and make them all distinct. Each chapter is a different POV and each chapter is short which makes reading the POVs more enjoyable. Not many authors can pull off five POVs. I find having the months and the high school year at the bottom of the pages is a brilliant idea to figure out how far the crew is away from graduation.Mackler highlights the most important parts of their four years at Hankinson whether it be good, bad and in between. Mackler doesn't sugarcoat the life of a teenager. Readers can see how the teens mature and change. She covers a wide range of topics most teens go through such as friendships, family dynamics, loss, applying to college, firsts and love. Mackler breaks down stereotypes and there is more to the geek, the princess, the basket case and the jock a la The Breakfast Club. If you're a big fan of coming-of-age, multi-perspective contemporary novels, definitely check out the Infinite in Between.

If you love teen drama, you’ll love this book. The stereotypical archetypes are all present, but at no point does this book feel trite or as though it’s reaching beyond its grasp. Go along for the ride as the characters are thrown into a freshman orientation group and have their lives intertwined in small, seemingly insignificant ways in addition to important, life-changing encounters. By the time they graduate, you’ll feel like you’ve gone through four years of high school along with them. This is a must-read!

I really enjoyed the diverse characters and how their lives in high school intertwined, even though they weren't in same social groups. It was great to see how the characters changed and matured over time. In particular, Mia's change from outcaste geek, to beautiful, popular, and brainy valedictorian. And great to see Gregor, who used to worship Whitney from afar, get to actually be with her. It accurately reflects how our tastes in fashion, friends, and personalities change over the course of high school. I didn't like that they didn't get to read the letters at the end. I don't get why the writer did that.

Fantastic story!

Bought this for my fourteen year old cousin. She finished it in less than a day and said it was great!

Carolyn Mackler is a fresh writer with a gift for capturing an authentic teen voice. Her books are quality and this one is really great.

Loved it as a teen book

I am a fan of this author, I have read and reread her books because she does such a fine job of writing about difficult things.I am unsure how I feel about Infinite in Between. Firstly, I don't normally like alternate POV (although this book is not really that - its more like reading five different stories about five different people - so it was kind of a challenge for me to actually read this.Once I engaged in the story the individual voices did not bother me very much, in fact, I can see why Mackler would use this clever writing style because, in the first part of the book, it works well.However, I think this is also its weakest link because towards the middle to end of the story, I found that while the author cleverly tied in some of these character threads together, for the most part, the characters basically live separate lives until the (almost) very end. This made the story feel disconnected for me.Also, while all the characters were interesting, I wanted to know more about each of their "life events" - unfortunately, just as you feel you are really starting to discover more about a character, the author chooses that point to switch to another voice.After a while, it really started to bug me.I think my favorite character was Mia, but to be honest, I felt as though many life pieces were missing for ALL of them.The author did leave room for a sequel - so that might answer some of the questions but.....

It was bought for my daughter, and she says the plot was very predictable, but is an intresting read.

it's ok