2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for goodreads. I wanted to love this one, but it was SO similar to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (which I LOVED). Because it was so similar it was too easy to compare the two, and this one fell flat compared to Zevin's fantastic writing. Perhaps if you did not like Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, you'd like this one. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7581922430

This is a really interesting and thought-provoking book with dynamic characterization and sparkling prose. Zoe and Jack are Harvard students who are in the same organic chemistry class and have a weird immediate connection that makes Zoe itch. They end up working in the same lab, and together they discover a process that might be able to reverse aging. Soon they drop out of Harvard, get seed funding for a startup, and get catapulted into science fame. But all is not as it seems, and eventually, things begin to unravel.

This book reminded me a lot of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (complimentary): two friends pursue something creative and potentially revolutionary, their relationship becomes codependent and verges into romantic and then back constantly, and they're totally themselves together while also somehow holding something back. Zoe and Jack are both extremely intense, single-minded and neurotic, and this book captures the wildness of feeling so much and not really knowing what to do about it. I loved the way this book depicts how even though Zoe views herself as more moral and more conscious of the rules, she too wants to be exceptional and known as exceptional, and she and Jack both make choices in favor of being extraordinary. This book is also a shrewd commentary on classism and academic elitism. The science was definitely over my head, but that's to be expected, and it didn't detract from my experience. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this book while being similar to a lot of other books and themes of the day it was still entertaining. I wish it was a little more original and explored the characters a little more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon books for the ARC of this book.

This is a solid debut novel with elements similar to those in The Dropout and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. When reading the synopsis, I had hoped the book would be about the ethics of creating a drug that allows people to live forever, exploring the pros and cons of potential immortality. It was more about the scientific process and the steps involved in creating a biotech company, and very little about the philosophical aspects. That was a misunderstanding on my part, though.

Harvard students and alumni will really enjoy the descriptions of the campus! The author clearly loved her time there, and that love is imbued into the story.

I enjoyed getting to know the two main characters, and the love triangle was interesting as well. I found it odd that one of the peripheral character’s names was changed from the ARC to the final draft, from an Asian last name to a more ambiguous last name. Why did someone decide that Daniel Lin had to become Daniel Fen? My Spidey senses are tingling over the possible racism, although admittedly I may be too sensitive.

In thinking through my general feelings about the book, I must disclose that I had accidentally spoiled the ending for myself by listening to a zoom with the author (my choice, the organizers did warn that there would be spoilers), so I’m not sure whether or not that colored my entire experience of the book. In any case, it was well written, and held my attention. It just wasn’t as thought provoking as I had hoped.

I absolutely love novels set in academia with prodigies reinventing their fields and in this respect, Notes on Infinity definitely delivers. I was absolutely fascinated by the theory and practice of the anti-aging science Zoe and Jack were developing. The business and marketing elements, the process of getting funding, and learning about the theory to putting in practice. The Harvard setting was magical and I was totally enthralled about the competition and life that happened in the labs and outside the classrooms.

The novel starts on an interesting note and part of me wished so much hadn’t been revealed so quickly. We know too much going into the novel and that slightly detracted from the experience.

I also didn’t need the romance. There was so much meat to this story and I was so captivated about everything Zoe and Jack were accomplishing that many of the other elements felt superfluous.

Zoe’s character spoke to me and I appreciated her growth and character arc. She was always trying to prove herself, especially to her family which was heartbreaking.

Once the story moves out of academia I didn’t enjoy it quite as much. Some parts dragged and other parts that were massively significant felt glossed over.

Overall, I did love this book but there were parts that could’ve been done better in my opinion. 3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to Celadon for the copy!

Notes on Infinity was described as Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow meets Bad Blood, and I really see why. Usually the “x plus y” logline means which genre(s) the book is, or maybe it has some elements of another, but in this case, seriously, those two together make a perfect description.

In Notes on Infinity, Zoe and Jack are Harvard students when they meet, and start collaborating on a way to increase the human lifespan. There’s a description of the science, but you can skim and just think of cells living longer. Like in a hard scifi, I want to know a bit of what they’re doing (is it blood tests? DNA replication?) to picture the lab, but I don’t really care how close it is to reality. They drop out for a start-up to research this concept, and it’s all the start-up excitement and risk, with the added intensity because their discovery might change human lifespans and change the world.

Zoe is the daughter of academics, but that doesn’t mean things are easy for her. She knows some of the system already. There’s a moment when she says that obviously a college student’s sophomore year summer internship is when you start your career, making connections and positioning for after graduation. It was such a good moment that highlights the difference between her and and classmates who might think that summer break is for working a retail job to save up or for resting or visiting family. They both got into a good school, but one will come out ahead. The book is very good at highlighting these invisible structures.

The whole novel is third person, but there’s a perspective shift from Zoe to Jack later on. This slowed the story for me and seriously, I just did not care about Jack. It’s very early-20s, when after being a egotistical dick for most of the book, we hear his tragic backstory. But I’m not early-20s and simply did not care about why he acted like a dick.

I deeply enjoyed the first three-quarters or so of Notes on Infinity I read this in a Celadon readalong, and several of us in our group chat had to know what happened next, and we couldn’t stick to the readalong schedule. But as other readers have noticed, the last section of the novel is weaker. I don’t know if it tried to take on too much or what. Without a spoiler, there’s a shift when it stops being about the startup and I lost some interest there. It’s not a bad last act, just not the same pageturning intensity.

I also found less of an emotional punch towards the end in Zoe realizing that she had been pushed out of the lab and into biz dev. Maybe this is another moment that was weaker for me because I’m not early-twenties so some of the characters’ young adult moments didn’t resonate that way they might with younger readers. I felt like the rest of the book made interesting observations on youth, talent, money, and life, so I was a bit disappointed by Zoe’s discovery that even with a scientific background with a cutting edge start-up, the unimpressive and boring work falls to the woman. Zoe talking up the company in interviews is just the next generation of her mom hosting academic dinners, and Zoe’s kinda the last one to see it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this one and I especially enjoyed chatting with the other readers in my group to hear their thoughts!

An impressive debut novel dealing with science, startups, campus life and college romance. Sparks fly when Zoe and Jack meet at their undergad Chemistry lecture. They go on to experiment with an anti-aging startup. The first part of the novel is extremely slow paced and filled with a lot of mind-boggling science stuff. You can safely skim over the science though. I liked the concept of the novel and also the very contemporary references to venture capital funding, TED talks and the like. I found the character development a bit flawed. The novel could also have been a bit shorter and dragged in places. It was reminiscent of Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabriell Zevin but it somewhat lacked the magic of that story. I would still recommend this to anybody who is interested in the world of STEM and startups and unconventional love stories.

I was so lucky to receive a copy of this book as a part of the Celadon Read Together initiative. Some personal life things got in the way and I was not able to attend the zoom with the author since it was the same night as my oldest son’s HS commencement, but I caught up by watching the YouTube video link - thanks Celadon!

Notes on Infinity held my attention from the beginning. It contained themes that I have deep levels of interest in - science, research, medical discoveries, anti-aging, entrepreneurialism, start up culture, Ivy League culture and themes of humanity like friendship, jealousy, mentorship, and, of course, love.

Relationships are a major focus of this book and I would say there was a very character driven book. The main characters are so well developed and I would call them both sympathetic characters as well. Zoe Kyriakidis and Jack Leahy are both undergraduate students at Harvard when they make an interesting discovery and develop a new theory around antiaging. A new biotech startup is born from there.

Each of their backgrounds comes into play as they navigate their roles as Chief Executive officer and Chief science officer of a $1 billion valued biotech company.

It was honestly not the ending I was hoping for, but it was an incredibly well written one - and a rather realistic one - nonetheless. There is a good chance that you might cry reading this book or at least be surprised by a part or two.

I really enjoyed seeing what others thought. Thanks again to Celadon.

I’m not a science gal, so I admittedly zoned out a bit during the lab-heavy sections, but thankfully, the science focus is mostly packed into the first 100 pages. Once the startup gets going, the science goes on the back burner. Which, now that I’m thinking about it, it’s a great way of foreshadowing what’s to come.

I found the characters believable once their backstories came into focus, but even then, they still felt a little superficial. Their emotions and motivations were more told than shown. Jack’s past was fascinating to unpack, and while it helped explain his thirst for validation and acceptance, it doesn’t make him any less awful. Jack suuucks. He actually ruined Zoe’s life. Normally I’m in the camp of “no one can MAKE you do anything,” but when someone feeds you lies dressed up as truth because they need your love, that becomes your truth. How would you know it’s all lies? Yeah, Zoe did seem to have blinders on at times, and she did make bad choices after she learns the truth, but she faced the consequences.

This isn’t Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. It’s not Theranos either. It’s its own story, and it stands on its own. I’d definitely recommend reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I've already seen the many comparisons of this book to Tomorrow, & Tomorrow, & Tomorrow, a near-perfect book that made me sob. This one...not as much. Zoe and Jack are young Harvard prodigies who discover a way to reverse or prevent aging. As their stars rise, so does the tension in their large, multimillion dollar company. There's a twist that I won't reveal, which changes everything, and leads the book down a darker path. I felt this could have been edited down a bit; it took me awhile to read. Even though I didn't enjoy it as much as T&T&T, I liked the writing and the characters. I think a few extra twists and turns would have kept my interest.

This book was okay. I agree with some other reviews I’ve seen about maybe being a bit too similar to tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow. Maybe just not my cup of tea. Thanks for the arc anyways though!

A debut novel about two Harvard students with the dream to make it big in the biotech world. From the competitive nature of being students in STEM to becoming partners in their start-up Manna, readers will celebrate their wins while crying for their losses.

I thought this was an astonishing debut set in the biotech world with romance as a subplot. The story focuses on Zoe and Jack who will find themselves in the spotlight when they proclaim they found the cure to aging. I worked in academic biotech so I appreciate the characters using scientific language however it could be daunting if you aren't fluent in the language. I love an underdog and I liked learning about Jack's backstory. Both characters are problematic and how they navigate their challenges as a start-up is the main plot.

I was lucky to receive a final copy of the book in addition to an electronic and listening ARC, My favorite format was the listening ARC so my review will focus on the audiobook performance. The story is dual POV with the first half being told through Zoe's perspective and the second half in Jack's perspective. I thought the narrators did a great job and I liked reading from both POV. I would highly recommend the audiobook because eyeball reading was sometimes a challenge because of the slow pace. The last 15% of the story improved my star review from 3 to 4 stars.

Thank you Celadon Books for the gifted copy and Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARCs and the opportunity to be part of #CeladonReadsTogether. My opinions and honest review are my own.

Notes on Infinity is a tender, slightly haunting novel that explores how we long for more time, love, and certainty than life can ever promise. It’s beautifully written, with soft, lyrical lines that dig into memory, identity, and the fragile ways we hold ourselves together. This book left me both comforted and a little hollow, in the best way. A quiet, thoughtful read for anyone who loves stories that linger.

Certain sections resembled fragments of a diary or half-remembered memories. The lines were so impactful that I wanted to pause, highlight them, and think. It’s one of those books that leaves you feeling both empty and connected, which is a strange feeling.

I would definitely pick up another by this author. I honestly can’t compare it to anything else I’ve read lately, which I mean in the best way possible. If you enjoy stories that linger in your mind and nudge at the edges of what we think we know about love, time, and self, this is worth picking up.

Stars: 4

Notes on Infinity follows two college students as they start a biotech company with the goal of helping humans live forever. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and following their progress (and missteps). At times it got a bit confusing with some of the science details, but overall I enjoyed the book.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Genre: Literary Fiction

Zoe and Jack are both students at Harvard University enrolled in an organic chemistry class. They immediately catch each other's attention with a little bit of competitiveness. At one point, Jack refers Zoe to join him in a professor's lab and the two become more than just classmates, they become colleagues. And then one day they believe they've discovered, on paper, an anti-aging drug, something that could really get humans close to immortality. Zoe and Jack start exploring this idea and find some truth to their data. They excitedly bring this information to an investor, drop out of Harvard, and form a start-up called Manna. Life changes very quickly for them with the company gaining a lot of publicity and Zoe becoming more of the outward face of the company and Jack continuing to work in the lab. But struggles are revealed behind the scenes and all their success and their relationship begins to crumble.

I loved the first half of this book SO MUCH. This was a 5 star prediction for me. I loved the chemistry/biochemistry vibes. It brought so many memories back of studying organic chemistry and being in the lab during my time in undergraduate. Zoe and Jack were really complex characters with their own backstories and baggage as well as a messy relationship. And I really enjoyed the writing style - how the POV switched half way through the story and the almost stream-of-consciousness style at some points was done really well. I was also so grateful to have the opportunity to listen to the author speak tonight and I loved her message about how everyone makes mistakes, even big ones, but we don't know everyone's back stories or their reasons why and understanding that people are human and to show a little empathy. That was really what this book was about. That being said, why my rating wasn't higher, in the second half of the book I really started to get vibes of a real life start-up company and that the fictional one in this story was going to follow in its footsteps in some ways and I was right and I just didn't want that for these characters. I wanted a different story, even if the one that was told made sense.

Thank you Celadon Books for the gifted copy and Celadon Books and NetGalley for the eARC and the opportunity to be part of #CeladonReadsTogether. The above thoughts and honest review are my own.

I thought this was absolutely freaking incredible. Everything about it. The story, the characterization, the emotions. The Harvard setting was so beautiful and it makes you feel like you are there. Feeling the juxtaposition between Zoe and Jack's lives made their connection all the more sweet.

I also really enjoyed the perspective switch that happened in the second half of the book. I was surprised when it happened, but it unlocked something in my heart to see things from the other POV. It also sheds so much light and answers a lot of questions the reader may have had in the first part of the book, where we only see Zoe's side. While seeing Jack's perspective was a treat, it also shattered me.

I connected with this SO much more than Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I hope Austin Taylor is feeling the love and zoning out people saying it's too similar, bc it is NOT! I found it unique and I wanted to drown in the writing. I have seen a lot of reviews comparing the two, and I do not agree at all. This was its own thing, it was brilliant -- and Gabrielle Zevin does not have a monopoly on writing start-up stories about young, smart people. Also like, this has legit (fictitious) SCIENCE IN IT! It’s science-y!! Not gaming?!? How is it the same?!? Zoe and Jack were everything, I fell in love with Jack. Sadie and Sam from Tx3?!? I did not.

I also sobbed my face off for the last 15% which I didn’t see coming. It’s obv I read too many mainstream books these days that leave off with cushy endings. Was unprepared for the emotions. I’m wrecked.

Jack I love you.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for an unbiased review.

2.5 stars, rounded up.

I wanted to love this book. I'm in the tech industry, and outside of the scifi genre, there aren't many novels written about women in tech. But this book was just not great.

First off: For those critics who say it's a ripoff of Zevin's fantastic 2022 "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," I roll my eyes. Just because 2 novels are both about a young man and a young woman starting a tech company, does not make one a ripoff of the other (with that logic, every annoying Colleen Hoover or Abby Jimenez romance novel is a ripoff of themselves). T&T&T was about 2 people creating a successful gaming company in the dawn of the 1990s startup age; "Notes on Infinity" is about 2 people starting a biotech company. If anything, this book is a cheap riff on the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos drama.

IMO, the first problem with this book was that its characters were lifeless. I didn't believe the FMC's "brilliance" for a moment; she was written as a typical middle-class white 20-something girl who appears in just about every romance novel. The MMC had an interesting backstory, but we don't get to hear about it until halfway through the book, and then not enough about it (IMO again, his story should have been the book's focus).

The second problem is that this book is a boring slog for the first half. Literally nothing happens until past the 40% mark; then everything happens, but yet the book still manages to be about 100 pages underedited.

The third problem is the terrible, pseudo-highbrow ending. It's as if the author didn't know how to end it, so she wrote ALL the endings, and threw them together as "Part VI: The Raven" (yes, it's quite pretentious). It's too bad because the story had the potential to end so, SO much better.

And the overall pretentiousness of this book is yet another problem. Do you have that friend who begins every sentence with "When I was at Harvard..."? This is the book equivalent of that friend. The very young, first-time author does not seem to know much about the world outside of her Harvard bubble (did I mention she went to Harvard?) and it shows.

This was a valiant first-time effort, but it just lacks maturity.

This felt oddly bland and uninteresting, from start to finish. I really don’t have any thought on this, only that I feel as if this is nothing but a collection of bleak words and bleak interactions.

I enjoyed this book! Those who have read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow will draw many comparisons. It definitely feels like a book inspired by TTT and Elizabeth Holmes, but also touches on the stresses of college students and the pressure to succeed. It was not "too sciency."

It hooked me right away, im a huge science girl so the whole academic side really did it for me. I will say it kinda lags at some points and the plot becomes a little repetitive but i would overall recommend.