The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. Razorbill, 2011.
Josh and Emma have been next-door
neighbors and best friends forever.
About a year ago, Josh thought Emma wanted something more and tried to
kiss her. Since then, their relationship
has cooled and they have not been as close.
Then Emma’s dad buys her a computer, and Josh’s mother sends him over
with an AOL disk they’ve received in the mail.
It’s 1996, and America Online is very popular! When Emma installs the program on her computer
and logs on, she sees her Facebook page, but Facebook hasn’t been designed
yet! Emma and Josh are seeing themselves
fifteen years in the future!
The pair discovers that every little
action they take affects their futures!
They are able to see the consequences of their actions by viewing their
Facebook pages! Josh and Emma must
decide if both the good and bad risks they are taking with their lives are
worth what happens to them in the future!
The plot of The Future of Us is such a great concept and brilliant
premise! The story is told in the
alternating viewpoints of Josh and Emma with :// before their names. The two have been inseparable growing up, but
Emma thinks having a romance with her best friend is repulsive! I thought it was strange that Emma would have
so many failed relationships with guys without examining the one she has with
Josh more closely…until the end of the book!
While viewing her Facebook page, she discovers that her luck with guys
hasn’t changed, but this information doesn’t seem to resonate with her! She seems unhappy in her current life and
she’s unhappy with her “predicted” future!
Josh, on the other hand, is a happy-go-lucky guy in his present life,
and is thrilled by what the future holds for him! What contrasts!
The culture from the 90s—Dave Mathews
Band, Discmans, Velcro, dial-up Internet access, AOL, among other things--was
well-written into the story! The
characters’ reactions to different Facebook postings mentioning things like
Netflix and smartphones, were hilarious!
I loved the way that both old and new cultural norms were included in
the book! I would like to find out which
chapters were written by each author!
Teens, especially those fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and of Carolyn
Mackler’s novels, will love The Future of
Us! It’s a quick read and has real
“teen appeal”! I recommend it for upper
middle school, high school, and public libraries!
