The Future of UsBy Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Published November 21, 2011 by Razorbill
Borrowed from Library
356 pages
"It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.
By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present." ~ Goodreads
With an intriguing premise, The Future of Us can be enjoyed by any age group - although, the older (no offense) you are, the more you may appreciate the references.
I did not connect with Emma at all - actually, she made me want to pull my hair out. She was irresponsible with her actions (do not give her free reign on her future - she'll make a game out of it) and really had no relationship skills. On the other hand, I adored Josh. He, thankfully, had his wits about him and his care for Emma was so sweet. Not to mention their friends: down right hil-ar-ious!It was refreshing to have two authors write about their respective person. Although the writing wasn't noticeably different, each voice had a slight inclination that told me it was written either from a male's/female's perspective. They worked really well together!
Although being born in 1996, I recognized quite a number of references (walkmans, "Walking on Sunshine", dial-up connection, VHS). For the most part, though, it opened up a whole new world for me and I got a glimpse of what my birth year was like. It really did transport me back in time, and the gap from then to now offered some humorous opportunities (aka ridiculous Facebook postings). I loved the uniqueness of the plot, but it lagged at times and was predictable. Yet, it also had an underlying message or theme that I think is really important. I'm not going to tell you what it is (it's probably different for everybody), so keep a look out for it! Having that deeper aspect really grounded the book.
I'd recommend The Future of Us to lovers of time travel (sort of), light romance, Facebook, and a nice contemporary read.
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