When We Were Infinite

Written by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Narrated by Jaine Ye

All Beth wants is for her tight-knit circle of friends—Grace Nakamura, Brandon Lin, Sunny Chen, and Jason Tsou—to stay together. With her family splintered and her future a question mark, these friends are all she has—even if she sometimes
wonders if she truly fits in with them. Besides, she’s certain she’ll never be able to tell Jason how she really feels about him, so friendship will have to be enough.

Then Beth witnesses a private act of violence in Jason’s home, and the whole group is shaken. Beth and her friends make a pact to do whatever it takes to protect Jason, no matter the sacrifice. But when even their fierce loyalty isn’t
enough to stop Jason from making a life-altering choice, Beth must decide how far she’s willing to go for him—and how much of herself she’s willing to give up.

From multiple-award-winner Kelly Loy Gilbert comes this powerful, achingly romantic drama about the secrets we keep, from each other and from ourselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705033876

Kelly Loy Gilbert

Kelly Loy Gilbert believes deeply in the power of stories to illuminate a shared humanity and give voice to complex, broken people. She is the author of Conviction, a William C. Morris Award finalist, Picture Us in the Light, When We Were Infinite, and Everyone Wants to Know, and lives in the Bay Area. She would be thrilled to hear from you on X (previously known as Twitter) @KellyLoyGilbert or at KellyLoyGilbert.com.

Reviews for When We Were Infinite

[jrlibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As mentioned in the 'resources' section at the end of this book, the story contains many sensitive topics; suicide, mental health, abuse, racism, and microaggression. Hopefully, that won't scare off a potential reader because although it does address all of those hot topics, it does so in a beautiful way. There are many many references to music; the joy of playing in a group, the spirituality of what playing a piece can do to an individual, the importance of discovering and experiencing something that becomes an integral part of who you are, like playing was for Beth... and this is what really made the book enjoyable for me. This is one of those books where my review is so clunky and inadequate that I'm almost tempted to not even try. I can't properly express the beautiful sadness, the heartbreak and joy contained in the words, nor can I properly detail the skill of the author. It is exquisitely written and easily relatable if you have music in your blood, and even if you don't, you'll appreciate the story. Obviously, due to the mature content, I do recommend it for older teens (high school and up).