The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

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The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Razorbill, November 21, 2011

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

LOVED this book! I loved  it! While the premise is so unbelievable--really, time travel through a free AOL CD?--Jay and Carolyn make the story so fun that it doesn't even matter. I mean, if you were given a time portal to glimpse into the future, you'd totally do it, right? I would! And if you didn't like what you saw in your future, might you to try to change that future? I so would. But, changing one thing about your future alters everything else--do you see what kind of dilemma Josh  and Emma face?


The story is told in alternating viewpoints through Josh (written by Jay) and Emma (Carolyn). There are plenty of references to 1996, which is really fun for those of us that remember 1996, but the references aren't off-putting to 2011 readers. Well, maybe the whole AOL-on-a-CD-thing might be kind of weird, but...Anyway. 1996 Emma and Josh are given glimpses into 2011 trends, too, like Glee, Netflix and Harry Potter. 


Josh and Emma are both incredible characters. They're both just so...normal. They're nice kids who have good friends, who look out for each other, and who are strong enough to look past some prior uncomfortable situations to continue their lifelong friendship. I--while I do love reading about the screwballs--usually, the screwier, the better!--it's nice to see well-rounded characters like these two.


Oh! Another thing I loved about this story was that there are scenes that take place in a library! With a librarian who is actually nice! And helpful! Yay for libraries! A final,  interesting tidbit I noticed is that each of the author bios on the back flap have links to the author's Twitter pages, but not their Facebook pages. I wonder what 1996 Emma and Josh would think of Twitter?


Borrowed book from the library!
Enjoy your reading!
Christi