Review: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

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.

Review:

Having never read anything by either Jay or Carolyn, I wasn't sure what to expect from The Future of Us. But one thing is for certain after reading The Future of Us- I definitely need to read Jay's previous release and some of Carolyn's, as well! This was a delightfully entertaining and unique novel that I finished in a few hours. It is a very quick read and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The Future of Us takes place in 1996, and while I was only 2 at the time, I still appreciated all the '90s references. Josh and Emma were fantastic main characters and I especially liked the dual narrations, it helped shape both characters and allowed the reader to really get to know both of them. I enjoyed watching Josh and Emma grow over the course of the story and the secondary characters were well developed as well. Each of their families also played a large role in the book.

I loved the premise of The Future of Us. Facebook plays a daily role in many people's lives and it was fascinating to see what it was like for teenagers in the 90's to get a look at the site. While this was mainly a fun read, there was a deeper side about how what you do now can affect your future. By seeing who they were married to and what their life was like, Josh and Emma made some big mistakes and greatly affected what they saw on their Facebook pages (aka their futures).

Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler certainly have a winner on their hands with The Future of Us. It made me rethink a lot of what I say on Facebook, wondering what my past self would think if they could see it. This book greatly put into perspective how much technology can develop in just a few years. Who knows what websites we will be using 15 years from now?

Overall, The Future of Us was an entertaining and fast paced read with fantastic main characters. I liked the premise quite a bit and am anxious to read more by both Jay and Carolyn now!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

November 21, 2011/Razorbill/209 Pages/Young Adult

Source: BEA and Contest Win (ARC)