Thursday, March 15, 2012

Book review: The Future of Us


The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews.

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.


Much like Shatter Me, I heard about the concept of this book and loved it. I personally don't have Facebook, but I've had it in the past and loved the idea of two teenagers finding their future through their future Facebook profiles.

Also like Shatter Me, though, I was a bit disappointed. I feel like the authors failed to live up to their awesome idea.

Josh and Emma both use Facebook primarily to figure out their romantic relationships. Because this is the focus of the book, both main characters seem a bit self-absorbed and shallow. The most interesting (but spoiler-y) plot lines, which could lead to both the characters and the readers thinking deeper thoughts, are almost ignored and are shoved to the side as sub plots or mere mentions in the main story.

Things I enjoyed about the book: It was very easy and enjoyable to read. Though the characters weren't all I'd hoped, I didn't actively dislike them. I zoomed through the book in about two days. It might be a perfect vacation book.

I also really enjoyed that it was set in the nineties. I grew up in the nineties. I watched Seinfeld, like Emma's parents, and remember getting AOL discs in the mail. So that part was really fun for me.

I ended up giving it three stars on Goodreads. I liked it, but I probably won't read it again.

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