Member Reviews

good book and really enjoyed the characters and their journey. I liked the romance.. I enjoyed how the characters grew in the book and what happened.

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This one was an impulse request on Netgalley, so really, it's my own fault I didn't like it. As soon as I got the book and read the synopsis, I was wary. I read it hoping it might surprise me, but it didn't. I never connected to either of the characters and even now, I can't describe them. Instead of being concrete and remarkable they were bland concepts. As for the plot, it never caught my attention. I guess the ending could be labeled as a twist but I had guessed it at the halfway point. Not the specifics of it, but enough to know I wouldn't be surprised. I wasn't a fan of this

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

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I am unequivocally, irrevocably, joyfully awarding this magnificent book 5 glorious stars! This is not something I do lightly, however in this situation, I do so without hesitation.
This book had all of the ingredients for a beautiful, charming yet haunting love story. A complete, believable setting = check! Likable, relatable characters = check! Obstacles, tension, and conflict = check! A realistic, buyable resolution = check! An emotional, impassioned conclusion/ending = double check!
Our main character has a gift. A gift unlike any other. The gift of seeing all things; past, present, and future. This is such a heavy load to carry growing into the 17 yo girl we come to love, admire and revere. This caused our December to be courageous, plucky, and resilient. This was such a different twist to your typical love story and even different from most of the gifts awarded to the paranormal characters I am used to reading about. Now add in an absolutely adorable, humble, charming boyfriend, and I am hooked! I fell in love with both of them and their personalities, abilities vs inabilities, quirks, burdens, and how they so elegantly carried them.
I could gush on the attributes of this book for much longer than anyone will care to read. I will close by saying that once I started this book, it was a real struggle to put down and tend to my real life! It was charming, delightful, poignant, intense, powerful, harrowing, soul-stirring, and absolutely beautiful! I felt all the feels and am absolutely mourning its end.

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I could not get into this book and didn't finish it. I'm sure it will appeal to many teens who may find the characters interesting.

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This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the ARC of this book. The premise of this book is great and caught my attention from the first chapter. The ending was impactful. I could tell what was going to happen but was still distraught when it did. Well done!

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This book was a great blend of contemporary and magical realism. December and Nick have such chemistry and really carry the story.

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Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

This was a perfectly okay book. It had an interesting premises and the story was a fast read. Joan Smith does a great job writing a compelling story. It just didn’t draw me in like I would have liked. But, I did enjoy the story and the twist.

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I wanted to enjoy this but I feel like it was not what I was expecting, I was left wanting more but also... not wanting to read another.

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It was a good concept, but at times I felt confused as to what was going on. Certain parts could have been executed better.

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The premise for this was super promising — girl can see future, girl saves stranger from drowning, ends up falling for the boy who was there, then foretells his death.

I DNF a third of the way through — I just couldn’t get past the first few chapters. My biggest roadblock was the way the MC was burdened with these millions of possible visions of the future at once. I felt STRESSED on her behalf, and I do not read to feel stressed, but to help ebb it. This plot device was beautifully written, but nonetheless, it spiked my anxiety every time the MC was hit with visions and sensory experiences.

Otherwise, Joan Smith’s writing is simple and stunning. I have a feeling this is a book that will loved by many — I’m just not one of them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Disclaimer: A more detailed and formal review will be officially published on Curl Up Club's socials once we approach closer to the publication date. The Other Side of Infinity will also be be a strong contender for our book of the month!

A clairvoyant saves a drowning man and in doing so unleashes a chain of events that entangles her with a dreamy lifeguard by the name of Nick. She foretells not only their romance, but also of his ultimate demise. Suddenly, the stakes are that much higher as she must figure out a way to save Nick before it's too late.

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The foreshadowing in this book is actually CRIMINAL! The 2nd to last page broke me. I knew this book was gonna hurt but it was so good! AND THE COVER??! Actually belongs in the Louvre! Anyway I’m gonna go finish crying and wallowing in this book.

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(5/10) I wanted to love this book. The premise was great. I mean, a girl who can see the future and past has to save her future lover? That sounded like the book of my dreams. Unfortunately, the execution did not align with my expectations of the novel. First off, the book did not grab my attention at any point. When I'm reading, there's usually a point in the first half of the novel where I'll get hooked and read the entire thing in one sitting. Or if I can't read it all at once, I'll be dying to read it at any point I get. This book took me an entire month to finish, which is completely atypical of my reading habits. Secondly, I couldn't connect with the characters. That may be a me-problem, but I didn't form enough of an emotional attachment to cry at the ending. I wish I had loved this book, but I just couldn't.

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This cover is EvERYTHING! I did think it was entertaining and cared about the characters but the story kind of fell flat at certain points. In a red enough about the characters to keep going though!!

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The story is told from alternating points of view; December and Nick are the main characters. It is emotional as it is charming. The Other Side of Infinity is a wonderful novel by Joan F. Smith.

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What do you do when you have to make an impossible choice?

December Jones has a gift of foreknowledge. And she discovers after helping a lifeguard save a drowning man, that her actions have unimaginable consequences. It’s those consequences which sets in motion this incredible book.

My heart is still aching after this one book friends.

Smith guides readers through a story about a young girl with a unique gift of seeing and experiencing the world (both past, present and future), generational relationship between December and her grandmother, while including flashbacks of December as a child with her mother, and a love story you want to last a lifetime.

THE OTHER SIDE OF INFINITY adroitly holds readers in this foreboding limbo. You can feel it. You’re waiting for something tragic to happen. It’s painted into the chapters between Nick and December. Like any classic tragedy from the archives of Shakespeare, you know, at some point, there will be a loss. You just don’t know when.

Even though this love story is a very memorable 336 pages, it is the very end that shattered my emotions completely.

Achingly, beautifully poignant, The Other Side of Infinity is a powerful story about friendship, love, and loss.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

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They Both Die at the End meets The Opposite of Always in a fast-paced, mysterious ya contemporary. From the first chapter I was immediately hooked. The characters are so relatable and the dual pov allows the reader to get to know Nick and December even better.

With a psychic girl and a lifeguard who paused during a drowning incident at his condo pool, you will not want to put The Other Side of Infinity down.

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While writing this review, I am still crying over the ending of this book. Time has always been a topic of interest for me, and the unknown has always been something I’m terrified of. I was hooked from the start! Hearing December’s inner monologue was very complicated and compelling. Nick dealing with his guilt was also relatable. This book really had it all, happiness, guilt, and loss. December had to confront her grief of her mother, knowing that’s the one thing she could never see. Along with December worrying about the butterfly effect, having to go on with all the terrible things in the world despite having some of the power to stop them, it was so interesting.
All the side characters had amazing personalities and I really loved how they could be seen as little branches from the main story given that December knew what would happen in their futures.
Joan F. Smith did a fantastic job with this book, I could barely put it down!

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Told through alternating points of view. We have the stories of December and Nick. Nick is a lifeguard for the summer before senior year and kind of helps save a man from drowning one morning. December is a girl at the pool who jumped into action when Nick froze. December actually saved he man from drowning and did CPR on him before medical help arrived. However, Nick is hailed as the town hero and the guilt eats at him throughout the book.

It turns out that December wasn't just in the right place at the right time. She can see the future. She knew the man at the pool would need to be rescued, so she inserted herself into the picture, even though she fears the consequences of the butterfly effect.

Of course Nick and December get together, but December has visions of what the future holds. And she's not sure if she can change what happens. A quick read that my students will enjoy. I didn't care for the ending, but the story moved along fast enough.

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