"It was love because it was worth it."

My Pre-Reading

I really enjoyed reading The Future of Us. I thought the basic idea behind it - that two teenagers could see their futures via Facebook, which hadn't even been invented in 1996 - was very interesting. Especially since I totally remember 1996 and the AOL cds, AIM, dial-up internet, Oasis... And it's also kind of cool knowing about everything they mention in 2011 too.

I'm also pretty much a sucker for a book that switches perspectives, especially if it's well done. And I think having two authors made this one even better. Having a conflict between two best friends that neither is willing to talk about or even think about also 
made this book even more intriguing. Apart from having to figure out how the present will affect the future, the reader is left wondering what in the world happened between Emma and Josh that caused their friendship to splinter so much.

Although I feel like the plot wasn't anything spectacular past the underlying idea of seeing your future through Facebook, I felt like the characters and their development more than made up for any lack of plot. Even the minor characters had quite a bit of depth to them, which is fairly unusual in YA novels. Usually it's like "Oh hey, these are the people you need to care about. These other people don't really matter so they don't get any development whatsoever." But Emma & Josh's other friends, Kellan and Tyson, actually get to develop some on their own.

Overall, this book had some really nice elements. I think certain parts could have been a little better, but nothing major. I'd give this book a 4/5, and would for sure recommend it to pretty much everyone. Go read it!

--Ashley

Paul's December Book: The Future of Us

 

Title: The Future of Us
Author: Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
Year Published: 2011

Synopsis: 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.

Why?: Cory and I bought this for Paul for his birthday because it sounded interesting and we had talked about it several times. And so now I get to read it too. Also, it might be cool to see how teens in 1996 would react to something like Facebook.

Expectations: I expect this to be a very entertaining book. Especially because I'm sure they'll deal with how one small decision will affect the future. I'm pretty excited to read this. Even though I've never read anything by either author, I'm expecting quite a bit from them.

Judging a book by its cover: From the cover, it seems like the book will focus on two teenagers - a boy and a girl. Also, they look digitized, so computers will probably be important. 

--Ashley