Review: The Future of Us

"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."
-Goodreads

Stats:

• Publisher: Razorbill
• Release date: Nov. 21
• Number of pages: 356
• Would appeal to: Facebook lovers:)

This book ended before I was ready for it to be over!

I accidentally returned the library book before I could write down my favorite quotes, but they were mostly smartalec remarks by Tyson, one of Josh and Emma's friends. Most of his lines made me laugh.

Everytime I write a Facebook status now, I think, "What would my 16 year old self have thought that I was doing in the future because of what I typed?"

I'm serious.

The idea of this was genius. It brings those of us who were around during the AOL 100 free hours craze fond memories. Technology was still relatively new, as far as the internet was concerned, in the mid-1990s.

I loved Jay Asher's writing in Thirteen Reasons Why, which is why I was so excited for this one! I haven't read any of Carolyn Mackler's writing. Asher's writing didn't leave me with a stunned feeling like in his first book. The prose throughout the book was simple and lacked his unique make-you-shiver descriptions. However, after the first 50 pages, every last sentence of a chapter was some sort of clever cliff hanger or funny statement that made me hungry for more. The book is told in alternating voices; Emma has a chapter then Josh. I enjoyed getting inside both their head's. Especially Josh's.

The minor characters had quirky traits-- Kellan only eats french fries for lunch and Tyson tends to lace statements with sexual innuendo. I enjoyed witnessing Tyson and Kellan's on-and-off again relationship, as I know so many people who really dated like that in high school. Another touch of realism is added through the best friend relationship of Josh and Emma. Six months before the start of the novel, Josh misinterpreted her feelings and ever since, they've avoided each other like crazy. One little AOL CD changes all that.

Everytime Josh or Emma makes a new decision, something they wouldn't have done before if they hadn't read their future on Facebook, the future changes. I can only imagine the fun the authors had in thinking up statuses and what teens might interpret from those statuses. After all, we tend to be both really descriptive and really vague when we want to be on status updates. This website changes their entire line of thinking; who they will marry, at what age they will have kids, and what kind of house or job they would have constantly fuels every decision.

Most of all, I like the underlying theme that appearances can be deceiving. Such a cute read worth checking out!