The Infinity of You & Me

by J.Q. Coyle

Overview

"The clever, fast-moving plot features a strong, appealing heroine, Sylvia Plath's poetry, romance, betrayal, and heart-stopping suspense." - Kirkus Reviews

"This ambitious sci-fi novel, filled with multiverses and what-ifs... contains complex world building that would appeal to fans of TV's Orphan Black." - Booklist

Almost fifteen, Alicia is smart and funny with a deep connection to the poet Sylvia Plath, but she’s ultimately failing at life. With a laundry list of diagnoses, she hallucinates different worlds—strange, decaying, otherworldly yet undeniably real worlds that are completely unlike her own with her single mom and one true friend. In one particularly vivid hallucination, Alicia is drawn to a boy her own age named Jax who’s trapped in a dying universe. Days later, her long-lost father shows up at her birthday party, telling her that the hallucinations aren’t hallucinations, but real worlds; she and Jax are bound by a strange past and intertwining present. This leads her on a journey to find out who she is while trying to save the people and worlds she loves. J.Q. Coyle’s The Infinity of You & Me is a wild ride through unruly hearts and vivid worlds guaranteed to captivate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250099228
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Growing up, J.Q. Coyle was a fan of stories. But more than that, a fan of possibilities. So, it only seemed only natural to write a story in which the possibilities are limitless: The Infinity of You & Me.

Editorial Reviews

"This ambitious sci-fi novel, filled with multiverses and what-ifs... contains complex world building that would appeal to fans of TV's Orphan Black." - Booklist

"The clever, fast-moving plot features a strong, appealing heroine, Sylvia Plath's poetry, romance, betrayal, and heart-stopping suspense." - Kirkus Reviews

"A fantastically fun mind-bender from start to finish, The Infinity of You & Me will thrill its readers and leave them hungry for more!" - Karen Akins, author of Loop and Twist

From the Publisher

Abandoned by her father and a burden to her overworked, single mother, fourteen-year-old Alicia Maxwell’s future is on the fast-track to nowhere. Suffering from paralyzing hallucinations, she fights to maintain the will to live in her ever-depressing life. Alicia resigns herself to her fate when she receives a surprise visit from her estranged father on her fifteenth birthday. He has a message for her: the hallucinations are real. Each time she “fades out,” she visits other worlds in a parallel universe, leaving various versions of herself to deal with that particular world’s reality. Her newfound talent seems like a gift until she transports to a world full of disease and decay. With each world she visits, she realizes that the people hunting her father want her dead as well. She quickly learns that perception means nothing, and those closest to her have performed the greatest betrayal. The basic premise of The Infinity Of You & Me is unique and intriguing; however, the execution proves lacking. While Alicia shows growth throughout the novel, secondary characters get introduced but never fully developed, which results in little to no connection for the reader. The plot will appeal to science fiction fans interested in parallel universes; however, it becomes disjointed as its complexity grows. As Alicia moves from world to world, few details and poor plot development leave the reader confused and frustrated. Fans of alternate universe tales may be willing to deal with the frustrations in order to experience the uniqueness of Alicia’s lives, but librarians should determine the need for this title in their collections before purchase. Reviewer: Courtney Munday; Ages 11 to 18.

VOYA, December 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 5) - Courtney Munday

12/01/2016
Gr 8 Up-This book starts like many teen problem novels. Alicia struggles to maintain a normal high school life despite vivid and unpredictable hallucinations. The neighborhood bully hassles her, teachers don't understand her, and her father left when she was small. Things get more mysterious, though, after her father shows up at her 16th birthday party, and Alicia learns that she isn't hallucinating after all. Instead, she slips into other worlds of the multiverse. Her father tells her about their shared ability to move between universes and create further ones by making different choices. Before explaining more, however, he's chased away by his brother. Is the brother a kindly uncle trying to protect Alicia, or a villain attempting to take advantage of her ability? So begins a chase in and out of universes and different versions of herself as Alicia tries to discover the truth and save a dying world. Alicia's first-person voice is consistent and likable. The science fiction is explained in just enough detail to serve the action-packed plot without getting bogged down. VERDICT Teens will enjoy moving from this book's intriguing situations to their own "what-if" questions about the power of choice and paths not taken.-Amelia Jenkins, Juneau Public Library, AK

School Library Journal

2016-08-17
A teen’s hallucinations signal the dawning of a genetically inherited, critically important gift for navigating the multiverse.The need to make a decision—a multiple-choice quiz, what to order in the school cafeteria—triggers narrator Alicia’s episodes, which have resisted the talk therapy and anti-anxiety meds overseen by Alex, her scientist uncle. Each catapults the white teen into a strange world where she embodies some subtly different version of herself and often encounters her father, whom Alicia last saw at age 3. On a sinking Dnieper River cruise ship, he warns of danger, saying “get lost and stay lost.” Then, at her 15th birthday party, he arrives in the flesh and gives her a small wooden tool. An important change is coming: she’s a spandrel, he tells her before Alex, his brother, whisks him away. Much has been hidden from her by those, well-intentioned or not, charged with her welfare, she learns, when the promised change comes about that night. With her Pakistani-American friend and confidant, Hafeez, Alicia struggles to grasp the stakes, which are enormous and include the imminent destruction of a world that contains blue-eyed, white Jax, her possible soul mate, who’s fighting to save it. The clever, fast-moving plot features a strong, appealing heroine, Sylvia Plath’s poetry, romance, betrayal, and heart-stopping suspense. Science-fiction fans will say “You had me at ‘multiverse,’ ” while those seeking an alternative to near-future dystopias will find plenty to entertain them here. (Science fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews