A review by merlin_reads
The Future of Us, by Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler
3.0
Ok, not going to lie, I was disappointed in this book. I LOVED Thirteen Reasons Why, and when this book was announced, not only was I excited to read more from this author, but the description for this sounded so intriguing and original.
And that was about where my excitement ended. The Future of Us follows the lives of Josh and Emma in 1996. Emma just installed the internet at her house, good old AOL and it's dial-up. Josh, not having this new found source of excitement, gives Emma his free trial CD-ROM of AOL. Emma installs the software and, hours later, signs into AOL only to also magically sign into Facebook...15 years in the future.
What I really liked about this book was the feelings of nostalgia I got while reading this. I was around the same age as Emma in 1996, everything that was mentioned, I remember vividly - running with your disc man strapped to your arm, having to set the VCR to record TV shows you were going to miss, having pagers. Oh the memories...
And honestly, that was about all that I liked. No, I take that back. I liked Josh. He was pretty much how a teenage boy would be when finding out what his future held.
Now Emma on the other hand, I had a big issue with her. She was whiny, and childish, and manipulative. Everytime she saw her future on Facebook, how unhappy she was in the future, she immediately sought out how to change it. Completely disregarding what her changes may do to anyone else's future. And also, she never once considered that the reason she was unhappy was because of her...not her many husbands. The one part that completely pissed me off was when she hid a condom so if her best friend had sex she wouldn't end up pregnant at 17 - even though in the future, said friend constantly gushed about how happy she was and how she had the best daughter ever.. Emma only thought about herself and how everything affected her.
And then there was the ending. I get the message behind it: Live in the now. But the way it ended felt completely unfinished. After all the trouble they went through to get their perfect futures, we're left with nothing. Just disappointed.
And that was about where my excitement ended. The Future of Us follows the lives of Josh and Emma in 1996. Emma just installed the internet at her house, good old AOL and it's dial-up. Josh, not having this new found source of excitement, gives Emma his free trial CD-ROM of AOL. Emma installs the software and, hours later, signs into AOL only to also magically sign into Facebook...15 years in the future.
What I really liked about this book was the feelings of nostalgia I got while reading this. I was around the same age as Emma in 1996, everything that was mentioned, I remember vividly - running with your disc man strapped to your arm, having to set the VCR to record TV shows you were going to miss, having pagers. Oh the memories...
And honestly, that was about all that I liked. No, I take that back. I liked Josh. He was pretty much how a teenage boy would be when finding out what his future held.
Now Emma on the other hand, I had a big issue with her. She was whiny, and childish, and manipulative. Everytime she saw her future on Facebook, how unhappy she was in the future, she immediately sought out how to change it. Completely disregarding what her changes may do to anyone else's future. And also, she never once considered that the reason she was unhappy was because of her...not her many husbands. The one part that completely pissed me off was when she hid a condom so if her best friend had sex she wouldn't end up pregnant at 17 - even though in the future, said friend constantly gushed about how happy she was and how she had the best daughter ever.. Emma only thought about herself and how everything affected her.
And then there was the ending. I get the message behind it: Live in the now. But the way it ended felt completely unfinished. After all the trouble they went through to get their perfect futures, we're left with nothing. Just disappointed.