Love Times Infinity: review

Lane Clarke grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where she hung out with her grandma at IHOP every Tuesday night and attended $3 movie nights at the Byrd Theater. Lane has been in love with books since the age of two. Her stories feature Black culture and big-hearted teenagers with self-doubts and big dreams, who—with a little laughter and good friends—can accomplish anything. She eats dessert before dinner and can usually be found rewatching her favorite teen soap operas. She currently lives in Northern Virginia with her cat, Pickles, and works as an attorney in Washington, D.C.

The swoon of Nicola Yoon meets the emotional punch of Elizabeth Acevedo in this breakout debut novel that answers big questions about identity, family, and love.

High school junior Michie is struggling to define who she is for her scholarship essays, her big shot at making it into Brown as a first-generation college student. The prompts would be hard for anyone, but Michie's been estranged from her mother since she was seven and her concept of family has long felt murky.

Enter new kid and basketball superstar Derek de la Rosa. He is very cute, very talented, and very much has his eye on Michie, no matter how invisible she believes herself to be.

When Michie's mother unexpectedly reaches out to make amends, and with her scholarship deadlines looming, Michie must choose whether to reopen old wounds or close the door on her past. And as she spends more time with Derek, she'll have to decide how much of her heart she is willing to share. Because while Michie may not know who she is, she's starting to realize who she wants to become, if only she can take a chance on Derek, on herself, and on her future.

Huge thanks to NOVL for the arc!

I am so angry! Why do you ask? Because I had this arc for weeks and weeks and didn't pick it up until a few days ago and WHY DID I WAIT? This was the perfect contemporary book to wipe my palette of all the fantasy I've been reading. It's real, raw, sad, and hopeful. It's tender and nerve-wracking and heart-wrenching. It is everything I love in a YA book.

It is also the first book I have read where the MC was conceived in sexual assault. She is burdened with the truth of it and the abandonment of her mother. She goes through a myriad of emotions including guilt, anger, and resentment. But the best thing about her is her support system; her grandmother and her close friends as well as her support group.

Michie's world is full of three-dimensional characters with their own voices. I loved her relationship with her best friend and her fears about telling her what had happened to her mother and why talking about abortions made her uncomfortable. Their opposing views did not get in the way of their love for each other; it was done incredibly.

I went in thinking this was a fluffy romance but got so much more. Derek is a jock, but unlike other YA books, he's not stereotypical. What I loved about him was that he had flaws and his own demons to work through. He's so sweet to Michie.

Overall, I absolutely devoured this debut. This impactful book will definitely stay with me for a long time to come.

Note: TW for mental health issues including depression, off-page death, talk of sexual assault, and abortions