Title: The Future of UsAuthor: Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
Series: Stand Alone
Pages: 309
Published: November 21, 2011 by Razorbill
ISBN: 9781595144911
Source: Around The World Tours
Description: It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.
I Give This ...
Everything about this book called to me. I loved Jay Asher's first book, and look forward to his next project. And although I haven't read anything by Carolyn Mackler, I was intrigued by what the partnership might bring to the story. I ended up liking it just as much as I thought I would.
I actually though Emma and Josh were perfect 90's teens. There were so many references to the time period that I just loved. I was a teen in this exact time period, so I really identified with everything that was going on. I laughed at the memory of that first AOL CD, beepers, ancient cell phones, and all those things. I really stopped to think of what my 15 year-old self would think of my posts on Facebook if it was accidentally stumbled upon.
I found it interesting that Josh was determined not to mess with the future. At first I think it was because he liked the glimpse he got of it. But then I think it was more to do with watching Emma drastically change her own just by the little things that she did. I also thought it was interesting how knowing what happens in the future effected their day to day decisions on things. I did have a little trouble with how Emma read everything to mean she was unhappy. There really is so little information you can obtain for status updates on Facebook.
I do think this story makes light of everything. There are so many areas this story could have touched upon that would have made it darker. But, it's just a fun story that really makes you think about what you are doing right now might have some sort of effect on the future. I'm not sure how much today's teens will identify with the idea of no internet and few cellphones. But, I think adults who like to read young adult will totally get a kick out of this book!
Really nice review! I was a teen during this time too (graduated high school in 96) so I know I will probably recognize the references. I am on FaceBook but I hardly ever use it. My life is definitely different than what I thought it would be as a teen. I think I would have been shocked if I'd seen my FaceBook account as a teen and found out that I would be a librarian!
ReplyDeleteThis is on my TBR list and I'm even more excited for it after reading your positive review!
My kids were teens during this time and I remember when my daughter got her Facebook account as a college student. I like both authors and will definitly be reading this book.
ReplyDeleteVery excited to read this book - I absolutely love Jay Asher.
ReplyDeleteOooh! I SO want to read this one! I was right in between on this one. My EARLY teen years were in the late 90s, but I graduated in '06 so I kinda straddle this... I didn't get a facebook page until college but I remember when it first started being a big deal! :)
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