The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us

Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: November 21, 2011

Series or Standalone:  Standalone

ISBN: 9781595144911

Format: ARC

Pages: 309

Source: BEA

Websites:

Jay Asher - Website/Blog 
Carolyn Mackler - Website 
Jay Asher - Twitter
Carolyn Mackler - Twitter

Rating: 4 Stars

I was super excited to read The Future of Us and it did not disappoint me. The Future of Us is a fun read that really makes you question what you would do if you could see what your life would be like in the future.

This book is told from alternating points of view of Josh and Emma. I really liked both of these characters. They were different from each other but I still really liked them. Emma and Josh are both effected by seeing their future on Facebook differently. Emma, I think, went a bit overboard with seeing her future. For Emma, she was constantly worried about being unhappy, about having a bad future. She got a bit obsessed with creating her own perfect future, that she ended up making decisions that made her future even worse. Emma was so obsessed with getting her perfect future, she seemed to neglect living in the present.

Josh, on the other hand, was the boy next door (literally). The disc that brings them both to Facebook brings them back together. I loved Josh. He was a sweet guy and you really could see that. Emma and Josh have a history, one that involves some heart-ache. I really liked that Emma and Josh had a past relationship that was not perfect, but that this weird fluke of seeing the future could bring them back together as friends. Josh was the more level-headed one of the pair. Josh, unlike Emma, realized that seeing his future was not the best thing and that maybe they should just let it be.

I really like how Josh and Emma’s relationship grew over the course of the book. There were ups and there were downs for Emma and Josh, mostly because of what Emma was learning in her future, but their relationship was perfect. I loved the ending and how their relationship was building to that point the entire book.

While I was reading this book, I felt like I was thrust back into my childhood. I grew up in the 90s and this book just reminded me of everything from it with dial-up internet that used the phone lines, walk-man, CD-roms for free internet, and a world without Facebook. I loved it. I also really liked how Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler incorporated Facebook into the story. Facebook is a completely foreign concept in 1996 and I loved Emma and Josh’s reactions to the website. Who would have imagined that through Facebook we would be sharing our life’s details with the world. I liked how Facebook was integral to the plot, but the story did not focus solely on Facebook. This book was very character driven and what they learned on Facebook influenced the characters. 

The Future of Us is an enjoyable read that makes you question if you had the chance to see your future would you and would you try to change it? With friendship, romance, and the future, The Future of Us is an interesting new story that is fun to read.