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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.
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.
356 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2011
851 people are currently reading
37.3k people want to read
About the author
Jay Asher
14 books10.7k followersJay Asher was born in Arcadia, California on September 30, 1975. He grew up in a family that encouraged all of his interests, from playing the guitar to his writing. He attended Cuesta College right after graduating from high school. It was here where he wrote his first two children’s books for a class called Children’s Literature Appreciation. At this point in his life, he had decided he wanted to become an elementary school teacher. He then transferred to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo where he left his senior year in order to pursue his career as a serious writer. Throughout his life he worked in various establishments, including as a salesman in a shoe store and in libraries and bookstores. Many of his work experiences had an impact on some aspect of his writing.
He has published only one book to date, Thirteen Reasons Why, which was published in October 2007. He is currently working on his second Young Adult novel, and has written several picture books and screenplays. Thirteen Reasons Why has won several awards and has received five stars from Teen Book Review. It also has received high reviews from fellow authors such as Ellen Hopkins, Chris Crutcher, and Gordon Kormon.
He has published only one book to date, Thirteen Reasons Why, which was published in October 2007. He is currently working on his second Young Adult novel, and has written several picture books and screenplays. Thirteen Reasons Why has won several awards and has received five stars from Teen Book Review. It also has received high reviews from fellow authors such as Ellen Hopkins, Chris Crutcher, and Gordon Kormon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 6,034 reviews
May 18, 2012
I didn't think it was possible, but Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler managed to fuck up one of the best ideas of 2011.
I loved Thirteen Reasons Why, despite the various issues I had with it. So you can imagine how much I was anticipating The Future of Us. I pre-ordered it, and I never pre-order books. Now it's sitting on my bookcase like an evil step child, laughing at me for my foolishness. I thought this collaboration would be brilliant. I'd never read My Butt, the Earth, and Other Round Things, but it was a Printz contender, which must have set it apart from vapid chick-lit like The Princess Diaries and All American Girl. So why does this read like a David Levithan/Rachel Cohn Collaboration?
ETA: I read My Butt, the Earth, and Other Round Things a few months ago. I didn't like it. In fact, it was rather vapid, in league with All American Girl or The Princess Diaries. Give me Ruby Oliver over whatshername any day. I don't know why the hell it was a Printz Contender.
It's quite possibly the most disappointing book I've ever read. Even more disappointing than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. It takes an epic premise and fails on every mark. And then it doesn't even give us an ending. It trudges along, through the mud of false suspense, and dies before it even gets out of the sludge.
Now, before I continue this review, I should let you know that I am a teenager. I'm seventeen and I have friends who are just as, or even more, vapid than the teenagers in this novel. Problem is, I have no interest in reading about idiots, no matter how realistic they are. I want dynamic, well written characters, not whiny teenage girls who worry about old condoms their best friends keep in their wallets. Hell, that doesn't even bother me -- when it's done the right way. Sara Zarr does it well. Elizabeth Scott does it well. These authors, in this book, failed on every account.
As a contemporary novel, it fails.
As a science-fiction novel, it fails.
As a fantasy novel, it fails.
As a snap-shot of the 90's, it fails.
This reads like a bad PBS special, or that Groundhog Day rip-off Nickolodean ran after Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide ended. I'm calling Miranda Cosgrove and Nathan Kress to star in this because at least they'd make it interesting. And that's not saying much.
I'm not even a real 90's kid, and this reads like a fake rendition of what the 90's were.
I have so many issues with this novel, I have to make a list.
1. Emma
If you're suddenly given a portal into your future Facebook account, what do you do?
a) Look into the politics of the future.
b) See how you can make a quick buck off of future companies by investing in the stock market.
c) Find out who wins the future Superbowl/World Series/March Madness so you can win a bunch of money.
d) Worry about who your future husband is 24/7.
Once you've changed your future and you're happy with your husband, what do you do now?
a) Figure out possible career paths for yourself.
b) Check up on your family.
c) Use knowledge of the future to your benefit, while avoiding the butterfly effect.
d) Whine because you want a hotter guy.
After you've generally screwed everything up to the point where you're depressed and living in an unhappy marriage, what do you do now?
a) Leave the future alone because, you, idiot that you are, can change it simply by not marrying who your Facebook page says you will.
b) Realize that the future is constantly changing and that there are millions of outcomes that become void once you're aware of them.
c) Realize that because you've seen this outcome, that means your future self wants it.
d) Whine about how unfair everything is.
Now that you've really fucked up your future, you decide to kiss your best friend, who absolutely adores you, in the hopes of having a drastic change in your future. What do you do when he calls you out on your bullshit?
a) Apologize
b) Ask him out.
c) Feign confusion.
d) Blame him and make him apologize to you.
If you answered d) to any of the above, please defriend me and stop reading this review. I have no patience for you in my social sphere.
Emma is quite honestly one of the most shallow characters I've ever had the displeasure to read about. Her thoughts revolve around guys, 24/7. Which guy is hot, which guy isn't, and who she's going to marry. Seriously, her big (one chapter) resolution was about how she never gave herself to her boyfriend completely and she resolved to be more committed. Eh, no. Her real problem is that she was a shallow bitch who didn't really care who she used to get what she wanted. And she didn't really have goals outside of getting a hot husband, unless you count her fleeting commitment to getting into a decent college, which is dropped halfway through the novel to focus on her relationships.
There's nothing wrong with a novel that focuses on relationships -- when those relationships are interesting. The character development here is barebones at best.
2. Kellan
The award for biggest hypocritical misandrist goes to Kellan, Emma's best friend. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less about her plot line. And, strange enough, it's never resolved.
Just remember this bit of wisdom -- if a girl is leading you on and jerking your chain left and right, don't ever think about moving on because she might want you back. And if you go on a date, she has the right to be pissy, especially when she decided, that very week, to break up with her boyfriend and go on a date with another guy she talks about constantly. Because you're her back up plan. Don't ever forget that. It's not manipulation. It's love, girls and boys.
3. Sydney
I liked Syd. Unfortunately, she's the placeholder girlfriend. Why Josh likes Emma over her, I have no fucking idea. Sydney is hot. Sydney is nice. Sydney is rich. And Sydney is way more interesting than Emma. In fact, I wanted to know the details of her relationship with Rick and what might have lead to her being the only girl in their class to stand up for No means No and Yes means Yes.
4. The Plot
Plot lines are mentioned and dropped like 2012 republican candidates. It's ridiculous. One moment, Josh is worried that his brother might be gay. The next? Nothing. One moment Emma think Kellan is pregnant. The next? Nothing. As for the main plot line? The only reason I finished this book was because I wanted to know if Emma would be unhappy in her future, and if Josh would move on. That's a piss poor way to keep the story moving.
5. The End
There was no end. It's like someone left out the third act because they were too lazy to finish writing the book. And I'm guilty of that. But I expect more from Printz honor authors and NYT Bestselling authors.
6. The Science, or Lack of
If you're reading this because you want a decent spec fic read, don't bother. This is a Degrassi special that desperately wants to fit in with the Animorphs.
This is why people don't like YA. Along with Across the Universe, this novel is everything that's wrong with the genre. Instead of focusing on, I dunno, the story, the characters, or, hell, an interesting romance, we're once again given a boring tale of Mr. And Mrs. White Teenager and their Oh So Dull First World Problems. Save yourself the effort. Just go watch The N.
It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.How do you fuck up an epic idea like that? I'll tell you how -- you focus on two vapid teenagers and their relationship issues.
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.
I loved Thirteen Reasons Why, despite the various issues I had with it. So you can imagine how much I was anticipating The Future of Us. I pre-ordered it, and I never pre-order books. Now it's sitting on my bookcase like an evil step child, laughing at me for my foolishness. I thought this collaboration would be brilliant. I'd never read My Butt, the Earth, and Other Round Things, but it was a Printz contender, which must have set it apart from vapid chick-lit like The Princess Diaries and All American Girl. So why does this read like a David Levithan/Rachel Cohn Collaboration?
ETA: I read My Butt, the Earth, and Other Round Things a few months ago. I didn't like it. In fact, it was rather vapid, in league with All American Girl or The Princess Diaries. Give me Ruby Oliver over whatshername any day. I don't know why the hell it was a Printz Contender.
It's quite possibly the most disappointing book I've ever read. Even more disappointing than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. It takes an epic premise and fails on every mark. And then it doesn't even give us an ending. It trudges along, through the mud of false suspense, and dies before it even gets out of the sludge.
Now, before I continue this review, I should let you know that I am a teenager. I'm seventeen and I have friends who are just as, or even more, vapid than the teenagers in this novel. Problem is, I have no interest in reading about idiots, no matter how realistic they are. I want dynamic, well written characters, not whiny teenage girls who worry about old condoms their best friends keep in their wallets. Hell, that doesn't even bother me -- when it's done the right way. Sara Zarr does it well. Elizabeth Scott does it well. These authors, in this book, failed on every account.
As a contemporary novel, it fails.
As a science-fiction novel, it fails.
As a fantasy novel, it fails.
As a snap-shot of the 90's, it fails.
This reads like a bad PBS special, or that Groundhog Day rip-off Nickolodean ran after Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide ended. I'm calling Miranda Cosgrove and Nathan Kress to star in this because at least they'd make it interesting. And that's not saying much.
I'm not even a real 90's kid, and this reads like a fake rendition of what the 90's were.
I have so many issues with this novel, I have to make a list.
1. Emma
If you're suddenly given a portal into your future Facebook account, what do you do?
a) Look into the politics of the future.
b) See how you can make a quick buck off of future companies by investing in the stock market.
c) Find out who wins the future Superbowl/World Series/March Madness so you can win a bunch of money.
d) Worry about who your future husband is 24/7.
Once you've changed your future and you're happy with your husband, what do you do now?
a) Figure out possible career paths for yourself.
b) Check up on your family.
c) Use knowledge of the future to your benefit, while avoiding the butterfly effect.
d) Whine because you want a hotter guy.
After you've generally screwed everything up to the point where you're depressed and living in an unhappy marriage, what do you do now?
a) Leave the future alone because, you, idiot that you are, can change it simply by not marrying who your Facebook page says you will.
b) Realize that the future is constantly changing and that there are millions of outcomes that become void once you're aware of them.
c) Realize that because you've seen this outcome, that means your future self wants it.
d) Whine about how unfair everything is.
Now that you've really fucked up your future, you decide to kiss your best friend, who absolutely adores you, in the hopes of having a drastic change in your future. What do you do when he calls you out on your bullshit?
a) Apologize
b) Ask him out.
c) Feign confusion.
d) Blame him and make him apologize to you.
If you answered d) to any of the above, please defriend me and stop reading this review. I have no patience for you in my social sphere.
Emma is quite honestly one of the most shallow characters I've ever had the displeasure to read about. Her thoughts revolve around guys, 24/7. Which guy is hot, which guy isn't, and who she's going to marry. Seriously, her big (one chapter) resolution was about how she never gave herself to her boyfriend completely and she resolved to be more committed. Eh, no. Her real problem is that she was a shallow bitch who didn't really care who she used to get what she wanted. And she didn't really have goals outside of getting a hot husband, unless you count her fleeting commitment to getting into a decent college, which is dropped halfway through the novel to focus on her relationships.
There's nothing wrong with a novel that focuses on relationships -- when those relationships are interesting. The character development here is barebones at best.
2. Kellan
The award for biggest hypocritical misandrist goes to Kellan, Emma's best friend. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less about her plot line. And, strange enough, it's never resolved.
Just remember this bit of wisdom -- if a girl is leading you on and jerking your chain left and right, don't ever think about moving on because she might want you back. And if you go on a date, she has the right to be pissy, especially when she decided, that very week, to break up with her boyfriend and go on a date with another guy she talks about constantly. Because you're her back up plan. Don't ever forget that. It's not manipulation. It's love, girls and boys.
3. Sydney
I liked Syd. Unfortunately, she's the placeholder girlfriend. Why Josh likes Emma over her, I have no fucking idea. Sydney is hot. Sydney is nice. Sydney is rich. And Sydney is way more interesting than Emma. In fact, I wanted to know the details of her relationship with Rick and what might have lead to her being the only girl in their class to stand up for No means No and Yes means Yes.
4. The Plot
Plot lines are mentioned and dropped like 2012 republican candidates. It's ridiculous. One moment, Josh is worried that his brother might be gay. The next? Nothing. One moment Emma think Kellan is pregnant. The next? Nothing. As for the main plot line? The only reason I finished this book was because I wanted to know if Emma would be unhappy in her future, and if Josh would move on. That's a piss poor way to keep the story moving.
5. The End
There was no end. It's like someone left out the third act because they were too lazy to finish writing the book. And I'm guilty of that. But I expect more from Printz honor authors and NYT Bestselling authors.
6. The Science, or Lack of
If you're reading this because you want a decent spec fic read, don't bother. This is a Degrassi special that desperately wants to fit in with the Animorphs.
This is why people don't like YA. Along with Across the Universe, this novel is everything that's wrong with the genre. Instead of focusing on, I dunno, the story, the characters, or, hell, an interesting romance, we're once again given a boring tale of Mr. And Mrs. White Teenager and their Oh So Dull First World Problems. Save yourself the effort. Just go watch The N.
February 18, 2012
Like youth, it would see, time travel is wasted on the young. How else to explain the idiotic uses the teenage simpletons in The Future of Us find for the gift of a glimpse into the future?
If, in 1996, you were given a window of the year 2011 via a magical link to your Facebook profile, would you, A) search as many profiles as you could to find out what happens in the worlds of politics and finance in order to ensure your financial future, B) seek out information on friends and family not only to satisfy your curiosity about what is going to happen to all of them, but to discover if they have any tragedies looming in their futures that you could help prevent, or C) look at nothing beyond your own profile and relationship status and obsess about it endlessly while showing just about zero interest in why and how you have managed to access an internet wormhole into the future or anyone other than your own stupid self?
The Future of Us takes a fun -- if slightly Adam Sandler-ish -- concept and does absolutely nothing interesting with it. It is, in fact, the opposite of interesting, in that it is monumentally dull and insipid. Sorry, I know. Young adult novel. Maybe if I was 14, I would find nothing more fascinating than reading about unrequited love between two teenaged friends. Then again, if I wanted to read that, there was always mydiary journal.
So here we have a story told in alternating chapters by two insufferable narrators: Josh is a sad sack who has never gotten over his failed attempt to turn his friendship with best buddy Emma into that ever elusive "more." Emma is a BOYS BOYS BOYS I LOVE BOYS WHICH BOY IS CUTEST? Oops, sorry. Don't know what happened there.
After a run-of-the-mill AOL CD (but the first of many, many irritating "OMG THE '90S!" moments) mysteriously connects her to Facebook, Emma discovers that in 15 years she will be BOYS BOYS BOYS. God. That is annoying. In 15 years she will be trapped in a loveless marriage. Maybe -- she is really reading a lot into innocuous status updates like "Went to hubby's favorite restaurant last night." (WHY AREN'T WE GOING TO MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT CLEARLY I AM A FEW HOURS AWAY FROM DROWNING THE KIDS IN THE BATHTUB AND SETTING MYSELF ON FIRE). Distraught, she shares her secret with Josh, whose own profile reveals that he eventually marries the hottest girl in school; he immediately gets a boner that doesn't go down for the rest of the book. From there, the plot involves Emma constantly trying to "fix" her future via nonsensical butterfly-wing-flapping type cause-and-effect manipulations, even as Josh tries to maintain the status quo while holding a book over his crotch and trying to convince himself he is so totally over Emma (RUN RUN AWAY NOW). I assume you have guessed how it ends from reading this paragraph.
Ignoring the fact that the setup is so half-assed (come on, you don't want to even attempt to justify the Facebook thing? The CD wasn't discovered in a mysterious disappearing Radio Shack? Don Knotts didn't provide tech support?), the vaguely amusing concepts at its core are wasted on the two dullest, least inquisitive and most narcissistic teenagers imaginable ("Ha ha," you say, "that is all teenagers!" then adding, "Ow, stop punching me in the face!"). Seriously, after spending several hundred pages doing nothing but reading their own status updates, they make a pact to not look at anything else on the site because... because... because the co-authors didn't want to put that much effort into exploring their premise, I guess.
Anyway, that's all beside the point, because what really annoyed me about this one is how self-satisfied it is. Clearly after coming up with the idea, the authors were content to build the entire plot around winking at the audience, as such: remember 1996? Remember how we didn't have DSL or smartphones or google or social networking? WASN'T THAT WEIRD? This is accomplished through constant cheesy '90s references, littered with brand names and awkward cultural signposts. There are a lot of sentences like, "I strapped on my ROLLERBLADES® and slipped the new DAVE MATTHEWS® CD® into my DISCMAN®" Or characters have conversations like the following (loosely paraphrased but not at all exaggerated):
PERSON A: I have no problem with gay people. My dad and I love Ellen DeGeneres, and he thinks she's gay.
PERSON B: Ellen DeGeneres isn't gay!
Or like when someone goes, more or less, "It's like Vice President Gore was saying the other day, the World Wide Web will be a gateway to blah blah blah." Yeah, teens in the '90s LOVED quoting the vice president! My friends and I couldn't stop! Screw The Simpsons; we'd have Al Gore quote-offs every day at lunch! (Confidential to Al Gore: No offense. You were pretty boring for a decade or so there.)
And that's not even getting into the constant mistakes with the timeframe, like repeated awkward mentions of fancy new DVD technology a year before it was even test-marketed, let alone widely available at rental stores (they didn't even bother to look up when Wayne's World came out on DVD! WHY BOTHER IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO AT LEAST GOOGLE IT ARGH).
Also, no one said "baby bump" in 1996. They just didn't.
If, in 1996, you were given a window of the year 2011 via a magical link to your Facebook profile, would you, A) search as many profiles as you could to find out what happens in the worlds of politics and finance in order to ensure your financial future, B) seek out information on friends and family not only to satisfy your curiosity about what is going to happen to all of them, but to discover if they have any tragedies looming in their futures that you could help prevent, or C) look at nothing beyond your own profile and relationship status and obsess about it endlessly while showing just about zero interest in why and how you have managed to access an internet wormhole into the future or anyone other than your own stupid self?
The Future of Us takes a fun -- if slightly Adam Sandler-ish -- concept and does absolutely nothing interesting with it. It is, in fact, the opposite of interesting, in that it is monumentally dull and insipid. Sorry, I know. Young adult novel. Maybe if I was 14, I would find nothing more fascinating than reading about unrequited love between two teenaged friends. Then again, if I wanted to read that, there was always my
So here we have a story told in alternating chapters by two insufferable narrators: Josh is a sad sack who has never gotten over his failed attempt to turn his friendship with best buddy Emma into that ever elusive "more." Emma is a BOYS BOYS BOYS I LOVE BOYS WHICH BOY IS CUTEST? Oops, sorry. Don't know what happened there.
After a run-of-the-mill AOL CD (but the first of many, many irritating "OMG THE '90S!" moments) mysteriously connects her to Facebook, Emma discovers that in 15 years she will be BOYS BOYS BOYS. God. That is annoying. In 15 years she will be trapped in a loveless marriage. Maybe -- she is really reading a lot into innocuous status updates like "Went to hubby's favorite restaurant last night." (WHY AREN'T WE GOING TO MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT CLEARLY I AM A FEW HOURS AWAY FROM DROWNING THE KIDS IN THE BATHTUB AND SETTING MYSELF ON FIRE). Distraught, she shares her secret with Josh, whose own profile reveals that he eventually marries the hottest girl in school; he immediately gets a boner that doesn't go down for the rest of the book. From there, the plot involves Emma constantly trying to "fix" her future via nonsensical butterfly-wing-flapping type cause-and-effect manipulations, even as Josh tries to maintain the status quo while holding a book over his crotch and trying to convince himself he is so totally over Emma (RUN RUN AWAY NOW). I assume you have guessed how it ends from reading this paragraph.
Ignoring the fact that the setup is so half-assed (come on, you don't want to even attempt to justify the Facebook thing? The CD wasn't discovered in a mysterious disappearing Radio Shack? Don Knotts didn't provide tech support?), the vaguely amusing concepts at its core are wasted on the two dullest, least inquisitive and most narcissistic teenagers imaginable ("Ha ha," you say, "that is all teenagers!" then adding, "Ow, stop punching me in the face!"). Seriously, after spending several hundred pages doing nothing but reading their own status updates, they make a pact to not look at anything else on the site because... because... because the co-authors didn't want to put that much effort into exploring their premise, I guess.
Anyway, that's all beside the point, because what really annoyed me about this one is how self-satisfied it is. Clearly after coming up with the idea, the authors were content to build the entire plot around winking at the audience, as such: remember 1996? Remember how we didn't have DSL or smartphones or google or social networking? WASN'T THAT WEIRD? This is accomplished through constant cheesy '90s references, littered with brand names and awkward cultural signposts. There are a lot of sentences like, "I strapped on my ROLLERBLADES® and slipped the new DAVE MATTHEWS® CD® into my DISCMAN®" Or characters have conversations like the following (loosely paraphrased but not at all exaggerated):
PERSON A: I have no problem with gay people. My dad and I love Ellen DeGeneres, and he thinks she's gay.
PERSON B: Ellen DeGeneres isn't gay!
Or like when someone goes, more or less, "It's like Vice President Gore was saying the other day, the World Wide Web will be a gateway to blah blah blah." Yeah, teens in the '90s LOVED quoting the vice president! My friends and I couldn't stop! Screw The Simpsons; we'd have Al Gore quote-offs every day at lunch! (Confidential to Al Gore: No offense. You were pretty boring for a decade or so there.)
And that's not even getting into the constant mistakes with the timeframe, like repeated awkward mentions of fancy new DVD technology a year before it was even test-marketed, let alone widely available at rental stores (they didn't even bother to look up when Wayne's World came out on DVD! WHY BOTHER IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO AT LEAST GOOGLE IT ARGH).
Also, no one said "baby bump" in 1996. They just didn't.
December 6, 2011
The hypocrisy in this book is absolutely immeasurable. Emma dates guys based on how hot she thinks they are, or how good their hair looks. She does not care a single ounce, nor even LIKE the guys she dates. She simply dates them so she can have a boyfriend and doesn't once consider their feelings. Does her bff Kellen condone her for this? No. Does Kellen even acknowledge this? No. And yet when Josh agrees to ONE date with Sydney, Kellen is all on his butt telling him he's a jerk for accepting when he doesn't even know if he likes her and that no girl deserves to be hurt like that.
In Kellen's world:
1. It's okay for girls to use guys.
2. It's not okay for guys to use girls.
3. You're already supposed to be in love w/ someone before your first real date.
4. A guy should wait around and date no one while the girl he likes dates the whole world without a thought to his feelings.
Emma goes off to frolic with Cody. Does Kellen get angry at her for this? No. She just worries about her. But Josh is not allowed to date people, even though Emma has already rejected him. What the heck?
Emma kisses Josh in order to change her future. She does this KNOWING that Josh has a crush on her, and does not care that she's playing with his feelings. Does she apologize for this? No. Guess what? JOSH apologizes to her for calling her on her bullsh*t, and it's made out like HE was the bad-guy in the situation. How this was co-written by a man I'll never know. I'm hoping he had no say in the lady's half of the story because otherwise he's down on his own gender, which is just sad.
Emma is just so freaking annoying. She shows no development. The book and authors seem to think her behavior is okay. I was praying for Josh to move on from her. But no. She actually decides to break up with her boyfriend because he got a hair-cut, and she thinks to herself that the only reason she dated him was because he had nice hair. She's shallow and utterly unlikable, but she gets away with it because of her gender.
But really, what does it matter? The characters are all so fake and flat, it's difficult to care. Josh is utterly static, even moreso than Emma. Emma ALMOST learns something, but Josh is just...nothing. Emma realizes that she has POSSIBLY made mistakes--but not of course toward Josh, whose feelings she never ONCE considers throughout this whole novel because she was too busy dwelling on herself and throwing self-pity parties like a pathetic little whiny loser with no life. Josh learns nothing, develops not at all, and is just there to aid Emma in her supposed learning quest that never actually occurs.
In Kellen's world:
1. It's okay for girls to use guys.
2. It's not okay for guys to use girls.
3. You're already supposed to be in love w/ someone before your first real date.
4. A guy should wait around and date no one while the girl he likes dates the whole world without a thought to his feelings.
Emma goes off to frolic with Cody. Does Kellen get angry at her for this? No. She just worries about her. But Josh is not allowed to date people, even though Emma has already rejected him. What the heck?
Emma kisses Josh in order to change her future. She does this KNOWING that Josh has a crush on her, and does not care that she's playing with his feelings. Does she apologize for this? No. Guess what? JOSH apologizes to her for calling her on her bullsh*t, and it's made out like HE was the bad-guy in the situation. How this was co-written by a man I'll never know. I'm hoping he had no say in the lady's half of the story because otherwise he's down on his own gender, which is just sad.
Emma is just so freaking annoying. She shows no development. The book and authors seem to think her behavior is okay. I was praying for Josh to move on from her. But no. She actually decides to break up with her boyfriend because he got a hair-cut, and she thinks to herself that the only reason she dated him was because he had nice hair. She's shallow and utterly unlikable, but she gets away with it because of her gender.
But really, what does it matter? The characters are all so fake and flat, it's difficult to care. Josh is utterly static, even moreso than Emma. Emma ALMOST learns something, but Josh is just...nothing. Emma realizes that she has POSSIBLY made mistakes--but not of course toward Josh, whose feelings she never ONCE considers throughout this whole novel because she was too busy dwelling on herself and throwing self-pity parties like a pathetic little whiny loser with no life. Josh learns nothing, develops not at all, and is just there to aid Emma in her supposed learning quest that never actually occurs.
October 12, 2011
What a great combination Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher make when it comes to delivering a highly entertaining and heartfelt story. This was pure awesome, and I hope these two authors continue to combine their magic with great stories and fun loving characters. Well done!
Set in 1996, Emma gets a computer from her father as a gift, and her best friend Josh comes over with a CD that gives her 100 free hours on AOL. Remember those days? Yeah, I do too. ^^ When they log on, they discover this interesting site called Facebook and as they surf through the site they stumble across their profile page 15 years into the future. WT?!? What we get next is a fun adventure these two characters take on in the hopes of achieving their “perfect” future.
Future of Us did a great job of showing how a small decision we make today can have a ripple effect into our future. I couldn’t stop but ask myself, if I knew what would happen in the future, how would that change the decisions I make today? Also, as I was reading the profile updates, it was funny but not surprising to see how bold and revealing some people get on Facebook, willing to expose their lives, feelings and events for everyone to read and comment on. Yeah, I know it happens but when it’s put down on paper for entertainment, it’s definitely facepalm-worthy.
Emma and Josh are an awesome pair of protags and I liked how Asher and Mackler told their story through alternating POVs. Their narrative was filled with fun dialog and moments that had me cringing in a light hearted way. Loved it!
All fun and enlightening stuff that kept me highly entertained for the few hours it took to breeze through this book. Definitely a true hit for YA Contemporary fans.
Thank you to Alexa for lending me her ARC and to her and Crystal for ink-staining the book with their thoughts and reactions. I felt like we were reading it together. What an awesome experience! XD
Set in 1996, Emma gets a computer from her father as a gift, and her best friend Josh comes over with a CD that gives her 100 free hours on AOL. Remember those days? Yeah, I do too. ^^ When they log on, they discover this interesting site called Facebook and as they surf through the site they stumble across their profile page 15 years into the future. WT?!? What we get next is a fun adventure these two characters take on in the hopes of achieving their “perfect” future.
Future of Us did a great job of showing how a small decision we make today can have a ripple effect into our future. I couldn’t stop but ask myself, if I knew what would happen in the future, how would that change the decisions I make today? Also, as I was reading the profile updates, it was funny but not surprising to see how bold and revealing some people get on Facebook, willing to expose their lives, feelings and events for everyone to read and comment on. Yeah, I know it happens but when it’s put down on paper for entertainment, it’s definitely facepalm-worthy.
Emma and Josh are an awesome pair of protags and I liked how Asher and Mackler told their story through alternating POVs. Their narrative was filled with fun dialog and moments that had me cringing in a light hearted way. Loved it!
All fun and enlightening stuff that kept me highly entertained for the few hours it took to breeze through this book. Definitely a true hit for YA Contemporary fans.
Thank you to Alexa for lending me her ARC and to her and Crystal for ink-staining the book with their thoughts and reactions. I felt like we were reading it together. What an awesome experience! XD
September 17, 2018
This book did not feed my 90's nostalgia as I hoped it would. Besides some very generic cultural references which served to assure the reader that, indeed, the events are happening in the 90's, there wasn't much effort to create some sort of 90's atmosphere. However, the whole "time-travel via internet" premise is awesome, and the execution wasn't too bad. The novel does get its message across, both in relation to how even small decisions at a young age can greatly influence your future, and also the commentary on oversharing on social media. After reading this, I'm wondering what my younger self would think if she saw a glimpse into my current life? Even though I didn't really like the characters (especially Emma) I'm glad I got left with some food for thought, at least.
January 14, 2012
Emma and Josh get their first AOL disc in 1996, and once they log on, they are somehow able to login to Facebook. They can see their future on their Facebook pages and change the future simply by changing small things they do in their current lives.
When I first read the synopsis I thought this was an extremely unique and fun plot. I still do. Then they move into the actual butterfly effect aspect and things just seem silly. Can your whole world change just because you spill some water on the ground? hmm I don't know.
Despite the fact that I found some of the things happening to be absurd, this book was still great. It took me back to 1996 through vivid description of the current events, music, movies and more. I didn't stop reading until the end. Read in a few hours, and although the ending was cheesy and predictable it was still a very entertaining book. I loved the pace, and thought the characters were great. The plot was well done with many little things popping out from every direction. Fast and fun, and apparently Warner Bros. bought the movie rights! I would love to see this as a movie, because it had the feel of the movie "Butterfly Effect" (but not as intense, and with teens) which is one of my favorite movies.
I'm not sure how much this book will be enjoyed by everyone, though. I personally loved it purely because it offered an opportunity to revisit my early teens, and I could totally relate to Emma and Josh. For everyone who isn't at least say 25 or 26, however, this book may not do much for you.
Recommended to everyone who grew up in the 90s as well as anyone just looking for a short, quick read with an awesome premise, that takes you back to the beginning of computer mania.
When I first read the synopsis I thought this was an extremely unique and fun plot. I still do. Then they move into the actual butterfly effect aspect and things just seem silly. Can your whole world change just because you spill some water on the ground? hmm I don't know.
Despite the fact that I found some of the things happening to be absurd, this book was still great. It took me back to 1996 through vivid description of the current events, music, movies and more. I didn't stop reading until the end. Read in a few hours, and although the ending was cheesy and predictable it was still a very entertaining book. I loved the pace, and thought the characters were great. The plot was well done with many little things popping out from every direction. Fast and fun, and apparently Warner Bros. bought the movie rights! I would love to see this as a movie, because it had the feel of the movie "Butterfly Effect" (but not as intense, and with teens) which is one of my favorite movies.
I'm not sure how much this book will be enjoyed by everyone, though. I personally loved it purely because it offered an opportunity to revisit my early teens, and I could totally relate to Emma and Josh. For everyone who isn't at least say 25 or 26, however, this book may not do much for you.
Recommended to everyone who grew up in the 90s as well as anyone just looking for a short, quick read with an awesome premise, that takes you back to the beginning of computer mania.
January 11, 2012
Logging on to your future Facebook account, 15 years ago? Now that would have been interesting! This is what happens to Josh and Emma after Emma gets her first computer in 1996.
Growing up in the 90s, I got a real nostalgic feeling while reading this. Talk of Walkmans, VCRs and scrunchies was simply amusing. I did feel there were a few unnecessary parts thrown in only to add more '90s detail, but they worked to dig up old memories. It's not a deep, emotional read like Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, this is a lighter, much more fun, story.
From the dual perspective of Josh and Emma, you'll realize that seeing the future may not be as fun as you'd think. The mere fact of having dual gender point of views gives the book a fresh vibe. Josh and Emma are both great characters with normal teenage insecurities, which grows tenfold after seeing what their future holds. Time travel can be a touchy subject for me. I often find big loop holes that make the story illogical. However, Asher and Mackler constructed it smoothly and, under the circumstances, credibly. You don't like what you see? Make a new stain on the carpet - refresh: new future. I was always intrigued by the new developments in their lives. I even got anxious each time they logged on to see what was in store for them. As for their future selves being contemplated in 1996, that was incredibly fun due to the true nature of it. If you would have been told, 15 years ago, that announcing on the Internet what kind of sandwich you ate that day was "the thing of the future" - seriously, you would have laughed!
-"I flinch. "What the hell happens to Pluto?""
Even though the outcome is predictable, the story is fun and unique, with a lot of charisma. I'm not sure how younger readers will relate to this book, but for those like me who grew up in the 90s era, you can't help but feel that this was written just for you.
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
Growing up in the 90s, I got a real nostalgic feeling while reading this. Talk of Walkmans, VCRs and scrunchies was simply amusing. I did feel there were a few unnecessary parts thrown in only to add more '90s detail, but they worked to dig up old memories. It's not a deep, emotional read like Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, this is a lighter, much more fun, story.
From the dual perspective of Josh and Emma, you'll realize that seeing the future may not be as fun as you'd think. The mere fact of having dual gender point of views gives the book a fresh vibe. Josh and Emma are both great characters with normal teenage insecurities, which grows tenfold after seeing what their future holds. Time travel can be a touchy subject for me. I often find big loop holes that make the story illogical. However, Asher and Mackler constructed it smoothly and, under the circumstances, credibly. You don't like what you see? Make a new stain on the carpet - refresh: new future. I was always intrigued by the new developments in their lives. I even got anxious each time they logged on to see what was in store for them. As for their future selves being contemplated in 1996, that was incredibly fun due to the true nature of it. If you would have been told, 15 years ago, that announcing on the Internet what kind of sandwich you ate that day was "the thing of the future" - seriously, you would have laughed!
-"I flinch. "What the hell happens to Pluto?""
Even though the outcome is predictable, the story is fun and unique, with a lot of charisma. I'm not sure how younger readers will relate to this book, but for those like me who grew up in the 90s era, you can't help but feel that this was written just for you.
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
November 21, 2022
I’ve always protected myself when it comes to love. And maybe that’s the problem. By not letting myself get hurt now, it ripples into much bigger pain later.
…
They were like two magnets who couldn’t decide whether to attract or repel.
The idea behind The Future of Us is a great one: kids in the 1990s somehow get access to their Facebook pages from 15 years into the future, and complications ensue. It’s the execution that’s lacking.
The authors made a deliberate choice not to make The Future of Us a heavy sci-fi story, and that’s fine. But if you’re going to use premise for a YA relationship saga, you better write interesting characters and interesting relationships, and this book falls short in that area. Emma is cartoonishly vapid, and Josh is kind of a lump. By the end, she’s realized that she’s been shallow about relationships, and he’s realized that he plays everything safe. But the road to get to those realizations? Half-finished threads about college and career paths, a gay brother, and a maybe-pregnant friend that are never resolved.
The Future of Us could have been so much better. It’s not bad, but there’s so much better YA and so much better sci-fi out there. I’d pass on this one.
September 7, 2018
Esperaba más de esta historia, es entretenida pero solo eso, los personajes principales no me engancharon y se me hizo una historia muy fantasiosa, creí que iba a ser una historia más profunda al menos la sinopsis prometía un poco más de lo que resultó al final.
January 20, 2012
The Future of Us was a big disappointment. Did this really come from the same, insightful writer of Thirteen Reasons Why? I haven't read anything by the woman he co-wrote it with, so I'm going to blame her for creating such a boy-obsessed, annoying, female protagonist. The male character isn't much better, but he likes the future that's been mapped out for him, so his shallowness doesn't shine through as clearly. He makes smarter choices throughout the book. Although, he can still be accused of thinking with his smaller head in quite a few situations.
I won't go into a huge re-hash of the plot. You've probably read the description in the summary, or in one of the other reviews posted here. The gist is: The two main characters who used to be best friends (said friendship ended when he misread her and attempted a kiss, only to be rejected), discover their future via Facebook, years before Mark Zuckerburg created the program, in the not so distant past of 1996.
Problem #1: There's a huge amount of 1996 nostalgia strewn throughout the book, which is perfect for someone like me, I was 21 in 1996, but troublesome for the intended audience, many of whom weren't alive in 1996. Is 1996 an interesting time period? Aside from being largely technology free, I don't know. I don't remember. The teens in the book are juniors, but the comprehension level is much younger. I'd say the content is appropriate for sixth grade and up, but it's difficult for me to judge. I have no idea what sixth graders are like these days.
Problem #2: When they read their Facebook pages, the only thing they care about is their significant other. The boy discovers he's married to a super hot popular girl, and he's fine with that. Through the magic of Facebook editing, which he knows nothing about, his life looks perfect.
The girl does not like the guy she ends up with. Her future self is incredibly forthcoming on her Facebook page. She shares details most people would only tell their closest friends: details about her husband sneaking around, stealing from her, etc. As well as TMI in regard to exactly how she is feeling.
I despise Facebook, and am not a member, but I used to be, and I never saw anyone sharing negative information. In Facebook world, everyone edits their lives into the most perfect, exciting existences one could ever hope to live, so I found her Facebook musings highly unbelievable.
They both spend the rest of the book trying to figure out what to do about their future relationships.
Problem #3: I know teens can be self-centered, but these two take the cake. They look up two other people - her best friend, who according to Facebook, gets pregnant in high school, and his brother, who has come out of the closet he is still in circa 1996. A minor amount of time is spent on these two issues, but nothing is resolved and they fizzle out.
They don't look up any of their other friends and family, nor do they look to see who's president, or what kind of state the world is in. Nope, it's all about their future loves, or lack thereof.
On the plus side, it was nice to read a YA novel that wasn't supernatural or filled with text messages, and it was nice to be reminded of a time when kids hung out outside, rode bikes, and weren't listening to their Ipod while texting and carrying on a conversation at the same time.
I won't spoil any more of the plot points, or how the book ends. I know there are a lot of Jay Asher fans who will want to see for themselves what a lame book this is.
Hopefully, Mr. Asher will go back to a solo writing career for his next project, and give us something to read that reassures us
Thirteen Reasons Why wasn't a fluke.
Proceed with caution.
I won't go into a huge re-hash of the plot. You've probably read the description in the summary, or in one of the other reviews posted here. The gist is: The two main characters who used to be best friends (said friendship ended when he misread her and attempted a kiss, only to be rejected), discover their future via Facebook, years before Mark Zuckerburg created the program, in the not so distant past of 1996.
Problem #1: There's a huge amount of 1996 nostalgia strewn throughout the book, which is perfect for someone like me, I was 21 in 1996, but troublesome for the intended audience, many of whom weren't alive in 1996. Is 1996 an interesting time period? Aside from being largely technology free, I don't know. I don't remember. The teens in the book are juniors, but the comprehension level is much younger. I'd say the content is appropriate for sixth grade and up, but it's difficult for me to judge. I have no idea what sixth graders are like these days.
Problem #2: When they read their Facebook pages, the only thing they care about is their significant other. The boy discovers he's married to a super hot popular girl, and he's fine with that. Through the magic of Facebook editing, which he knows nothing about, his life looks perfect.
The girl does not like the guy she ends up with. Her future self is incredibly forthcoming on her Facebook page. She shares details most people would only tell their closest friends: details about her husband sneaking around, stealing from her, etc. As well as TMI in regard to exactly how she is feeling.
I despise Facebook, and am not a member, but I used to be, and I never saw anyone sharing negative information. In Facebook world, everyone edits their lives into the most perfect, exciting existences one could ever hope to live, so I found her Facebook musings highly unbelievable.
They both spend the rest of the book trying to figure out what to do about their future relationships.
Problem #3: I know teens can be self-centered, but these two take the cake. They look up two other people - her best friend, who according to Facebook, gets pregnant in high school, and his brother, who has come out of the closet he is still in circa 1996. A minor amount of time is spent on these two issues, but nothing is resolved and they fizzle out.
They don't look up any of their other friends and family, nor do they look to see who's president, or what kind of state the world is in. Nope, it's all about their future loves, or lack thereof.
On the plus side, it was nice to read a YA novel that wasn't supernatural or filled with text messages, and it was nice to be reminded of a time when kids hung out outside, rode bikes, and weren't listening to their Ipod while texting and carrying on a conversation at the same time.
I won't spoil any more of the plot points, or how the book ends. I know there are a lot of Jay Asher fans who will want to see for themselves what a lame book this is.
Hopefully, Mr. Asher will go back to a solo writing career for his next project, and give us something to read that reassures us
Thirteen Reasons Why wasn't a fluke.
Proceed with caution.
June 28, 2018
Receita para um Futuro à Medida
Emma e Josh são dois adolescentes vizinhos e amigos de longa data. Dois garotos que vivem as experiências inerentes a esta fase da vida, sem nenhuma característica especial que os evidencie, salvo um pormenor peculiar -- foi-lhes concedida uma oportunidade de visualização do futuro -- 15 anos depois, Emma e Josh ver-se-ão casados (não um com o outro, mas com parceiros inadequados).
Ou seja, dentro de 15 anos, ambos serão vítimas dum futuro que não lhes pertence.
Tal visão irá obviamente perturbá-los!
Que estarão eles a fazer ou não fazer, para provocar tal calamidade?!
Estará a sua prática de vida desajustada da sua natureza intrínseca?!
Se uma teenager descurar a sua vida sentimental, entregando-se a relacionamentos inapropriados, é provável que o futuro the reserve algum Mr. Wrong!
E o mesmo alvitre se aplica a um teenager sucessivamente rejeitado por aquela que parece ser a tal!...
Se em jovens viverem um presente que não lhes pertence, em adultos serão certamente vítimas dum futuro desajustado!
Moral da história:
Um futuro adequado requer um presente apropriado, i.e., é suposto mantermo-nos fiéis ao que somos no presente, para prevenir um futuro contranatura!
Acções conscientes é a receita -- é tão fácil entender, quão difícil praticar ;)
Emma e Josh são dois adolescentes vizinhos e amigos de longa data. Dois garotos que vivem as experiências inerentes a esta fase da vida, sem nenhuma característica especial que os evidencie, salvo um pormenor peculiar -- foi-lhes concedida uma oportunidade de visualização do futuro -- 15 anos depois, Emma e Josh ver-se-ão casados (não um com o outro, mas com parceiros inadequados).
Ou seja, dentro de 15 anos, ambos serão vítimas dum futuro que não lhes pertence.
Tal visão irá obviamente perturbá-los!
Que estarão eles a fazer ou não fazer, para provocar tal calamidade?!
Estará a sua prática de vida desajustada da sua natureza intrínseca?!
Se uma teenager descurar a sua vida sentimental, entregando-se a relacionamentos inapropriados, é provável que o futuro the reserve algum Mr. Wrong!
E o mesmo alvitre se aplica a um teenager sucessivamente rejeitado por aquela que parece ser a tal!...
Se em jovens viverem um presente que não lhes pertence, em adultos serão certamente vítimas dum futuro desajustado!
Moral da história:
Um futuro adequado requer um presente apropriado, i.e., é suposto mantermo-nos fiéis ao que somos no presente, para prevenir um futuro contranatura!
Acções conscientes é a receita -- é tão fácil entender, quão difícil praticar ;)
December 30, 2011
So let me get this straight. It's the mid-90s, and you discover a magical AOL cd that gives you a version of the internet 15 years into the future. You are introduced to this frightening social website called Facebook, in which people overshare details about their life. So of course, the first thing you do is see who you're married to, because without the validation of a guy, you're no one. No checking if your grandparents are still alive. No checking if 9/11 happened. No checking if you have a career. Correct?
The anthro geek in me wants to scream at the complete disregard of how the internet and social networking changed how we interact with people. Back in the 90s, my parents thought I would be kidnapped by an internet stalker if I spent more than 30 minutes on the computer each day (oh, wait, that isn't true?!) Online dating would be for freaks and geeks only. Newspapers and print media have dwindled to give way to blogs, feeds, online magazines, tumblrs. We've reached a whole new level of celebrity stalking, internet memes, and the 15-minutes-of-youtube fame. And omg, you dare give your credit card information online to purchase something? What are you, stupid?
Before I even get into the train wreck of a characterization that is Emma, I just wanted to acknowledge that we have come a long freaking way in fifteen years.
Now: Emma. What. the. hell. So she checks her future facebook page, which would likely have more than just... her relationship status, right? We share lots of things on facebook, but this is CLEARLY THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS. She decides that her future husband is a dick, so she decides to not apply to the school that was her top choice so she'd never meet him. Bam! Next time she logs onto facebook, she's married to someone else. Except wait, he's a dick too, so let's try again...
This is one of those books that sounds like it has an interesting premise, but you have to really, really do it well to be able to pull off. Because really it's about whiny teenagers whining about their relationship problems in the 90s, which was so very obvious, because let me mention my scrunchie and my walkman and do all those hip things that hip people did IN THE 90s, guys! and look, nostalgia that actual teens will not understand!
I have no idea who would like this book. Teenagers today with their fancy smartphones will not get/appreciate the creaky modem sound that took 5 minutes to connect. Adults might appreciate the nostalgia factor, but be bored by the watered down, shallow interpersonal relationships.
The anthro geek in me wants to scream at the complete disregard of how the internet and social networking changed how we interact with people. Back in the 90s, my parents thought I would be kidnapped by an internet stalker if I spent more than 30 minutes on the computer each day (oh, wait, that isn't true?!) Online dating would be for freaks and geeks only. Newspapers and print media have dwindled to give way to blogs, feeds, online magazines, tumblrs. We've reached a whole new level of celebrity stalking, internet memes, and the 15-minutes-of-youtube fame. And omg, you dare give your credit card information online to purchase something? What are you, stupid?
Before I even get into the train wreck of a characterization that is Emma, I just wanted to acknowledge that we have come a long freaking way in fifteen years.
Now: Emma. What. the. hell. So she checks her future facebook page, which would likely have more than just... her relationship status, right? We share lots of things on facebook, but this is CLEARLY THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS. She decides that her future husband is a dick, so she decides to not apply to the school that was her top choice so she'd never meet him. Bam! Next time she logs onto facebook, she's married to someone else. Except wait, he's a dick too, so let's try again...
This is one of those books that sounds like it has an interesting premise, but you have to really, really do it well to be able to pull off. Because really it's about whiny teenagers whining about their relationship problems in the 90s, which was so very obvious, because let me mention my scrunchie and my walkman and do all those hip things that hip people did IN THE 90s, guys! and look, nostalgia that actual teens will not understand!
I have no idea who would like this book. Teenagers today with their fancy smartphones will not get/appreciate the creaky modem sound that took 5 minutes to connect. Adults might appreciate the nostalgia factor, but be bored by the watered down, shallow interpersonal relationships.
May 24, 2018
Um Futuro de Presentes
Afinal, como se constrói um futuro?
Cada instante nado e criado interage com uma grandiosa rede de outros instantes presentes (uns conhecidos, outros incógnitos), onde se gera um instante futuro, que será vivenciado no próximo instante presente. Este, por seu turno, irá interagir novamente com a fabulosa rede de instantes presentes (uns conhecidos e outros não), gerando-se um novo instante futuro que será experienciado no próximo momento presente, e assim sucessivamente, até às cinzas!...
Cada instante presente traz incipiente um momento futuro que será vivenciado num presente subsequente. O futuro é assim, gerado e vivido no presente.
Não há destino, há escolhas, e são elas as sementes do futuro!...
Os protagonistas desta história são dois adolescentes, aos quais será concedida uma espreitadela ao futuro.
E irão constatar o impacto das suas acções de cada dia num futuro longínquo.
Quem me dera a mim uma experiência dessas ;)
Escolhas ponderadas e conscientes é o que se espera destes dois, e que tal alerta seja extensível aos leitores deste livro, pois a vida tem daquelas coisas que nunca é demais lembrar!... ;)
Afinal, como se constrói um futuro?
Cada instante nado e criado interage com uma grandiosa rede de outros instantes presentes (uns conhecidos, outros incógnitos), onde se gera um instante futuro, que será vivenciado no próximo instante presente. Este, por seu turno, irá interagir novamente com a fabulosa rede de instantes presentes (uns conhecidos e outros não), gerando-se um novo instante futuro que será experienciado no próximo momento presente, e assim sucessivamente, até às cinzas!...
Cada instante presente traz incipiente um momento futuro que será vivenciado num presente subsequente. O futuro é assim, gerado e vivido no presente.
Não há destino, há escolhas, e são elas as sementes do futuro!...
Os protagonistas desta história são dois adolescentes, aos quais será concedida uma espreitadela ao futuro.
E irão constatar o impacto das suas acções de cada dia num futuro longínquo.
Quem me dera a mim uma experiência dessas ;)
Escolhas ponderadas e conscientes é o que se espera destes dois, e que tal alerta seja extensível aos leitores deste livro, pois a vida tem daquelas coisas que nunca é demais lembrar!... ;)
December 11, 2017
As we wrap up the year, I wanted one of the last books I read to be one of the books that's been on my TBR the longest, so I finally got around to reading this one. I thought the premise sounded intriguing - finding your Facebook account 15 years in the future and seeing what your future looks like, but I couldn't connect with any of the characters, which sometimes happens when I read YA since I'm not the target audience. I will say that the book was easy to read and interesting enough to hold my attention, but I felt like this one got a little too cheesy and predictable, and I found myself rolling my eyes a lot.
September 9, 2011
My review can also be found on my blog Collections.
this://bookwascute <--Okay, I know that was cheesy, but whatever! haha
I'm really surprised at how much I loved The Future of Us! Looking at other reviews and ratings on here and LibraryThing made me a bit wary, but I'm so glad I gave this book a chance! The book alternated between the POVs of Emma and Josh, who have been best friends since they were little kids. I really liked them both! Emma was a caring and good person, but she did come off as a little selfish and seemed unsure of what she wanted at times. But I can't fault her for that because who wouldn't be after finding out about their future? As for Josh, he was such a sweet and nice guy. I just wanted to hug him! Both of them grew throughout the novel. While it probably won't be a mind-blowing, life-altering story for readers (who probably already have expectations because of the authors' other novels), I still enjoyed it very much. It was funny and cute and hard to put down! I pretty much had a grin on my face the whole time I was reading, and I was extremely pleased with the ending.
The Future of Us is a fast-paced novel about two people who ultimately have to figure out what they want in the future for themselves and from each other. A light and really fun read. :)
August 23, 2012
It's taken me awhile to get this review up because I needed to think about some of the awesome things that happened in this book. I think it's one of the more realistic portrayals of teens that I've seen - even if these teens live in 1996. A lot of YA books I've read lately create situations where teens have to grow up too soon - books like Divergent, The Hunger Games, even Kieran Scott's "She's So Dead to Us" series look at teens in complex, life-or-death situations that force teens to make adult choices. Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler come at this book a totally different way. Both Emma and Josh are very much teenagers in their decision-making skills - they make rash decisions based on very little evidence, and because of that, this book feels very vivid and real.
The problem, of course, is that what they do really does affect their future selves - in both minute and life-altering ways that they can actually see. Characters struggling with knowledge of their futures is not an unusual sci-fi trope, but Asher and Mackler have created a concept that makes it new and relevant to a teenage audience. Moreover, they don't hold back. As we discover more about Emma and Josh's future selves, we discover more about Josh and Emma as people. Not everything they decide to do is moral or right, and certainly, the characters themselves do not necessarily condone what they've done. But Asher and Mackler have succeeded in creating realistic characters - and maybe that is more sympathetic and right than anything else.
I really enjoyed The Future of Us, and I think it might be a pretty interesting read for the classroom - I can see a month being devoted to "future studies" in a relationships/social studies class.
The problem, of course, is that what they do really does affect their future selves - in both minute and life-altering ways that they can actually see. Characters struggling with knowledge of their futures is not an unusual sci-fi trope, but Asher and Mackler have created a concept that makes it new and relevant to a teenage audience. Moreover, they don't hold back. As we discover more about Emma and Josh's future selves, we discover more about Josh and Emma as people. Not everything they decide to do is moral or right, and certainly, the characters themselves do not necessarily condone what they've done. But Asher and Mackler have succeeded in creating realistic characters - and maybe that is more sympathetic and right than anything else.
I really enjoyed The Future of Us, and I think it might be a pretty interesting read for the classroom - I can see a month being devoted to "future studies" in a relationships/social studies class.
July 5, 2011
I was really excited to receive an early copy of this book because it's is going to be a movie and also because it has one of the most interesting premise (premises?) of all the upcoming 2011 books. I am so glad it did not disappoint!
First off, these authors are amazing! I have read all of their works and really enjoy their writing styles. So combine them and you get such a genuine real insightful characters, you can't help but love.
Second, I freaking LOVED all the 90's references. Dave Matthews, discmans, AOL, Dial-up all these things warmed my heart and took me to that place when they all felt so new to me. And then when they would bring up 2011 current trends: Glee, Netflix, Harry Potter... the reactions of the characters where too funny! Example future Emma wrote some status about Glee and Netflix, current Emma says:
"I have no idea what I'm talking about, but if Netflix and Glee equals my life, I'm hoping these are good things."
Third, I really liked Emma and Josh next door neighbor/best friend thing that had going on and how feeling complicated it. At times I wanted to slap Emma for being so dense, but some people really are scared of changes and I believe Emma is that type. Josh is so sweet and I so wish I had a next door neighbor like him growing up.
I recommend this book to ALL contemp young adult fiction fans, whether you grew up in the 90s or not, I think you would really enjoy this book!
First off, these authors are amazing! I have read all of their works and really enjoy their writing styles. So combine them and you get such a genuine real insightful characters, you can't help but love.
Second, I freaking LOVED all the 90's references. Dave Matthews, discmans, AOL, Dial-up all these things warmed my heart and took me to that place when they all felt so new to me. And then when they would bring up 2011 current trends: Glee, Netflix, Harry Potter... the reactions of the characters where too funny! Example future Emma wrote some status about Glee and Netflix, current Emma says:
"I have no idea what I'm talking about, but if Netflix and Glee equals my life, I'm hoping these are good things."
Third, I really liked Emma and Josh next door neighbor/best friend thing that had going on and how feeling complicated it. At times I wanted to slap Emma for being so dense, but some people really are scared of changes and I believe Emma is that type. Josh is so sweet and I so wish I had a next door neighbor like him growing up.
I recommend this book to ALL contemp young adult fiction fans, whether you grew up in the 90s or not, I think you would really enjoy this book!
October 1, 2018
Reto 36- 2018 Book Challenge: Un libro ambientado en la década en que naciste.
4,5
Media estrella menos debido a que durante la segunda mitad Emma me pareció la persona más molesta de toda la tierra. ¬_¬ Y porque el final fue medio decepcionante. :P
4,5
Media estrella menos debido a que durante la segunda mitad Emma me pareció la persona más molesta de toda la tierra. ¬_¬ Y porque el final fue medio decepcionante. :P
January 27, 2016
The description is one of the most intriguing ones I've ever read and since I’ve already read 13 Reasons Why (and loved it) I was hoping I would end up loving this book as well. But honestly The Future of Us was a let down.
Get ready for a pretty negative review with lot's of spoilers (-:-(
Get ready for a pretty negative review with lot's of spoilers (-:-(
December 14, 2016
I really liked the premise of this book:
*1996
*Emma and Josh, two best friends going through a tough stage in their friendship
*An AOL CD
*Mysterious “Facebook” account that gives Emma and Josh glimpses into their futures
This story was right up my alley. I love stories that deal with alternate paths of their future based on seemingly small decisions. I think delivered a powerful message in a unique and interesting way.
Great read!!
*1996
*Emma and Josh, two best friends going through a tough stage in their friendship
*An AOL CD
*Mysterious “Facebook” account that gives Emma and Josh glimpses into their futures
This story was right up my alley. I love stories that deal with alternate paths of their future based on seemingly small decisions. I think delivered a powerful message in a unique and interesting way.
Great read!!
February 7, 2016
First of all this book has dual POV which is awesome. Books written this way give us the 2 sides of the story. We get to know better not only one but both of the main characters which in this book are Josh and Emma who are best friends ever since.
So the setting is set in 1996 where people are starting to use the internet. One day, Josh handed an AOL CD to Emma who just recently received a computer from her dad. Emma installed the CD and finds herself logged in to a FACEBOOK page 15 years in the future.
So this is kind of a time travel story but in a very different way. They get to see their future and can actually change it. Emma does not like her future while Josh is happy about it.
We get to see how they deal with their present life to affect their future.
Characters:
In the first half of the book, Emma was really irritating because of her impulsive decisions but when I went further to the story, she became less irritating and I am glad because I don’t like hating the main characters.
Josh is a lovable guy. He is so nice, reasonable and sensible. A boyfriend material!
Another thing that I really like in this book is how the characters were written. Josh and Emma are both 16 years old and they were written like they are supposed to be. Because honestly speaking, in most or some books, young characters tend to act maturely or they think better than adults, you know things like that. So, this book is really suitable for teenagers. They can relate so much to some parts, I am sure of it.
Gave it 5/5 stars. I totally enjoyed it. Recommending it to everyone!
So the setting is set in 1996 where people are starting to use the internet. One day, Josh handed an AOL CD to Emma who just recently received a computer from her dad. Emma installed the CD and finds herself logged in to a FACEBOOK page 15 years in the future.
So this is kind of a time travel story but in a very different way. They get to see their future and can actually change it. Emma does not like her future while Josh is happy about it.
We get to see how they deal with their present life to affect their future.
Characters:
In the first half of the book, Emma was really irritating because of her impulsive decisions but when I went further to the story, she became less irritating and I am glad because I don’t like hating the main characters.
Josh is a lovable guy. He is so nice, reasonable and sensible. A boyfriend material!
Another thing that I really like in this book is how the characters were written. Josh and Emma are both 16 years old and they were written like they are supposed to be. Because honestly speaking, in most or some books, young characters tend to act maturely or they think better than adults, you know things like that. So, this book is really suitable for teenagers. They can relate so much to some parts, I am sure of it.
Gave it 5/5 stars. I totally enjoyed it. Recommending it to everyone!
June 8, 2017
actual rating: 3.5
I loved the 90s vibes in this book <3 it's 1996 Josh and Emma have been friends for ages when one day he brings her a CR-ROM that has Facebook on it after she downloads it and logs in, it's her Facebook account 15 years into the future!
It was a cute short read, I liked how they were shocked by the things we have now lol, the black president, Ellen DeGeneres wasn't known being gay yet xD, cellphones weren't a major thing, and there were no smart phones and the way they used to connect to the internet lol not through wifi, and they used to watch Seinfeld and Fresh Prince of Bel Air... I miss the old days <3 90s were the best!
I loved the 90s vibes in this book <3 it's 1996 Josh and Emma have been friends for ages when one day he brings her a CR-ROM that has Facebook on it after she downloads it and logs in, it's her Facebook account 15 years into the future!
It was a cute short read, I liked how they were shocked by the things we have now lol, the black president, Ellen DeGeneres wasn't known being gay yet xD, cellphones weren't a major thing, and there were no smart phones and the way they used to connect to the internet lol not through wifi, and they used to watch Seinfeld and Fresh Prince of Bel Air... I miss the old days <3 90s were the best!
September 3, 2011
A funny time-capsule of a book, already dated before it's even officially released. The authors are certainly aware of the time-sensitive nature of the project, so they don't even make an attempt at timelessness or at not setting it in any particular timeframe. This is good, but I think that even in five years some of it will simply not make sense to young readers. Facebook and the internet are going to change that much.
The 1996 setting is overdone in places, with too many cultural references (I strapped my Discman to my arm with Velcro, that kind of thing), but either I got used to it or the authors let it go after a while. I'm the same age as the characters and for the most part everything seemed authentic, though Emma is more of a "now" name than a "then" name. But I'm pretty sure they missed the boat in one place, and it's kind of an obvious boat--there are a few references to DVDs being a new format. I don't think DVDs were around in 1996, certainly not enough to be used and talked about. The video stores weren't yet replacing videos with DVDs, in my recollection. A quick google search shows that apparently Evita was the first movie released on DVD, and that didn't come out in the theater until the end of 1996. Maybe someone will catch this in the ARC if it's not too late, because the references could be removed easily.
The facebook status updates from the thirtysomethings are a little stilted, I thought. And the teen readers may have zero interest in them... yeah, they're a lot like the status updates MY friends write, but they may seem funny to teenagers. But one of my favorite things is when Emma freaks out that she must be insane in the future, because only a crazy person would write that kind of stuff for the whole Internet to read.
I did keep having to let go of one thing, because really, there wouldn't have been any way around it if they were trying for veracity. Can you IMAGINE how long it would have taken to load facebook pages with a 1996 dial-up Internet connection?
The 1996 setting is overdone in places, with too many cultural references (I strapped my Discman to my arm with Velcro, that kind of thing), but either I got used to it or the authors let it go after a while. I'm the same age as the characters and for the most part everything seemed authentic, though Emma is more of a "now" name than a "then" name. But I'm pretty sure they missed the boat in one place, and it's kind of an obvious boat--there are a few references to DVDs being a new format. I don't think DVDs were around in 1996, certainly not enough to be used and talked about. The video stores weren't yet replacing videos with DVDs, in my recollection. A quick google search shows that apparently Evita was the first movie released on DVD, and that didn't come out in the theater until the end of 1996. Maybe someone will catch this in the ARC if it's not too late, because the references could be removed easily.
The facebook status updates from the thirtysomethings are a little stilted, I thought. And the teen readers may have zero interest in them... yeah, they're a lot like the status updates MY friends write, but they may seem funny to teenagers. But one of my favorite things is when Emma freaks out that she must be insane in the future, because only a crazy person would write that kind of stuff for the whole Internet to read.
I did keep having to let go of one thing, because really, there wouldn't have been any way around it if they were trying for veracity. Can you IMAGINE how long it would have taken to load facebook pages with a 1996 dial-up Internet connection?
April 28, 2016
4,5 stars <3
I want to start with honest note, so I must say that I took this book from library without much curiosity. Just people in Lithuania keep talking about it, so I thought - why not. Even if most of the time I feel disappointed of the book that I have chosen because of other people talks. To my surprise, this time was way different.
The story & style. I couldn't say that I was left mind blowed. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story a lot. However, I wanted something behind Facebook. I understand that that was the point - don't concentrate on what or where it came from. But I'm that kind of person, who like some answers. So yeah, I was left hanging on that one. I would enjoy to know, does that Facebook showed real future possibilities or the point was just to show Josh and Emma that they have to think about today not about 15 years from now. And that disk... where it actually came from? Who is behind that? Future Emma or Josh? Some aliens? I want to know!!! :D
However, even I can't get all I want to, it doesn't had any influence on my rating on "The Future of Us". It was well written, so I finished this book in a day. I liked how easy to read and light it is, even story develope about future plans, what isn't easy or light thing. Neither of us know what could possible go wrong tomorrow and Josh with Emma get ahead on 15 years! I mean, I would like to know about my life after all this time, but at the same time - I would hate it, specially, if my future wouldn't look good. Probably, I would react the same as Emma did. Talking about that...
The rest of the review here: https://gutreadingtime.wordpress.com/...
I want to start with honest note, so I must say that I took this book from library without much curiosity. Just people in Lithuania keep talking about it, so I thought - why not. Even if most of the time I feel disappointed of the book that I have chosen because of other people talks. To my surprise, this time was way different.
The story & style. I couldn't say that I was left mind blowed. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the story a lot. However, I wanted something behind Facebook. I understand that that was the point - don't concentrate on what or where it came from. But I'm that kind of person, who like some answers. So yeah, I was left hanging on that one. I would enjoy to know, does that Facebook showed real future possibilities or the point was just to show Josh and Emma that they have to think about today not about 15 years from now. And that disk... where it actually came from? Who is behind that? Future Emma or Josh? Some aliens? I want to know!!! :D
However, even I can't get all I want to, it doesn't had any influence on my rating on "The Future of Us". It was well written, so I finished this book in a day. I liked how easy to read and light it is, even story develope about future plans, what isn't easy or light thing. Neither of us know what could possible go wrong tomorrow and Josh with Emma get ahead on 15 years! I mean, I would like to know about my life after all this time, but at the same time - I would hate it, specially, if my future wouldn't look good. Probably, I would react the same as Emma did. Talking about that...
The rest of the review here: https://gutreadingtime.wordpress.com/...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2016
I've been reading a lot of Serious Books recently, between adult thrillers and YA books dealing with mental health issues and abusive relationships. And as a result, I've been feeling a little burnt out and in dire need of something fluffy. So when I picked this up at about 6pm and found that it was exactly what I'd been wanting, I sped through the entire thing cover to cover in the space of three hours (while watching season 2 of The X-Files for that real 1996 feeling).
The gist of this book is that in 1996, Emma gets the internet at home for the first time thanks to her next door neighbour and childhood friend, Josh, who brings over an AOL CD-ROM. When she signs up and logs in, it takes her straight to Facebook.
All of a sudden, she and Josh can see exactly what their lives will be like 15 years in the future. And they may not be entirely comfortable with what they see and what they learn about themselves along the way.
Essentially, this was really cute and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, Emma was kind of a pain in the arse who seemed to think that everyone's lives should revolve around her. But I read it so quickly and there were so many "Be Still My Teen Years" moments that I didn't really care.
That said, I'm curious to know how actual teenagers would like it, given the high 90s nostalgia factor...
The gist of this book is that in 1996, Emma gets the internet at home for the first time thanks to her next door neighbour and childhood friend, Josh, who brings over an AOL CD-ROM. When she signs up and logs in, it takes her straight to Facebook.
All of a sudden, she and Josh can see exactly what their lives will be like 15 years in the future. And they may not be entirely comfortable with what they see and what they learn about themselves along the way.
Essentially, this was really cute and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, Emma was kind of a pain in the arse who seemed to think that everyone's lives should revolve around her. But I read it so quickly and there were so many "Be Still My Teen Years" moments that I didn't really care.
That said, I'm curious to know how actual teenagers would like it, given the high 90s nostalgia factor...
September 20, 2012
The narrators of the novel are 16-year-olds, Emma and Josh, who live next door to each other and have been best friends for as long as they can remember. One day Emma is given a computer and an AOL CD-Rom with 100 free hours on it. Emma goes online and finds her Facebook page from 15 years into the future!
This novel was a nostalgia trip back to 1996 for me – when the Internet was brand spanking new and we all had to connect to it with painfully slow (and incredibly noisy) dial up, when we all listened to music on our Discmans and no one knew what an mp3 was, and when no one had mobile phones apart from the very rich. I was 15 years old in 1996 so this novel provided me with great memories of the 90's and it made me think about how much technology has changed and now much it has affected our lives.
The Future of Us is an interesting, entertaining and enjoyable read. Both the characters and the unique plot were very well developed. It's really about a journey of self-discovery and seizing the moment. Three and a half stars!
This novel was a nostalgia trip back to 1996 for me – when the Internet was brand spanking new and we all had to connect to it with painfully slow (and incredibly noisy) dial up, when we all listened to music on our Discmans and no one knew what an mp3 was, and when no one had mobile phones apart from the very rich. I was 15 years old in 1996 so this novel provided me with great memories of the 90's and it made me think about how much technology has changed and now much it has affected our lives.
The Future of Us is an interesting, entertaining and enjoyable read. Both the characters and the unique plot were very well developed. It's really about a journey of self-discovery and seizing the moment. Three and a half stars!
November 16, 2011
I’m recalling some pretty interesting funny things care of my family. The nineties as history?! There was my brother and his love for Wayne’s World, and low slung jeans puffy sweaters. My sister and her love of the group soul ballad. Boyz 2 Men, it mentions, but my sister was all about All Saints. And later still there was her fondness for the Backstreet Boys and their Quit Playing with-what’s it. I, on the other hand, had Captain Planet and Gem to focus on (wait, it will come back to you.) So in 1996 all I’m remembering is Saturday morning cartoons. And that Cricket doll (with a creepy resemblance to Chucky, the doll possessed by that psycho soul.) Why do I find it funny that it’s a time is marked by what people found popular? I feel a little like the nineties is too recent a past to be looked upon like it is the Past with a capital P, as in capable of being the subject of something so vague as in time travel, but hey.. .why not?
All that said, I thought the concept of this one quirky if not as well executed as say READY PLAYER ONE (Read that one now ). Emma gets a PC and logs on to the facebook fifteen years in the future. Isn’t there a danger of it becoming dated? Right now it’s quirky reading how someone in the past reads something so commonly occurring, but give it a few years, and THE FUTURE OF US will likely read odd. But that’s the point, right?
That aside, the people in the story are nothing new. I enjoyed Josh more than I did Emma. For one, she could be so insensitive and self involved. Josh on the other hand is pretty ordinary. Their reactions to the same thing emphasized these aspects of them. I’d have loved to see more of Tyson, especially how easy and jokey he could be.
So, they have a history and when one screwed up and so did the other; there’s really not that much to it. 1996 as history and facebook as the future are about all that’s different here.
Moving on.
2.5/5
PBT #3
All that said, I thought the concept of this one quirky if not as well executed as say READY PLAYER ONE (Read that one now ). Emma gets a PC and logs on to the facebook fifteen years in the future. Isn’t there a danger of it becoming dated? Right now it’s quirky reading how someone in the past reads something so commonly occurring, but give it a few years, and THE FUTURE OF US will likely read odd. But that’s the point, right?
That aside, the people in the story are nothing new. I enjoyed Josh more than I did Emma. For one, she could be so insensitive and self involved. Josh on the other hand is pretty ordinary. Their reactions to the same thing emphasized these aspects of them. I’d have loved to see more of Tyson, especially how easy and jokey he could be.
So, they have a history and when one screwed up and so did the other; there’s really not that much to it. 1996 as history and facebook as the future are about all that’s different here.
Moving on.
2.5/5
PBT #3
June 23, 2020
A ver, a ver... Tengo que admitir que, al leer la sinopsis, creì que me iba a encontrar con algo más flashero con el tema de Facebook y con el hecho de que en esos años no existiera. Siento que los autores podrìan haber utilizado más ese elemento ("Facebook"), siento que no se explotó del todo en la historia. Pero el libro me entretuvo, me divertí e hizo que me lea más de la mitad en una sola noche. Al principio sentía que no pasaba mucho. Luego de la página 130 te enganchas y querés saber exactamente qué hechos o situaciones son las que hace que las páginas de Facebook de ellos cambien de la noche a la mañana, en especial la de Emma. No voy a contar mucho más de lo que va la historia de ellos dos porque, si no estaría dando spoilers y la verdad perdería su atractivo. Punto negativo en la historia: el final lo sentì un poquito apurado, un epìlogo hubiera venido joyita.
Los personajes, a mi parecer, están muy bien construidos, especialmente Emma. Primero pensas que Emma es muy egoísta y frìa en algunos aspectos, pero a medida que va avanzando la historia empezas a entender porque es asì ella.
Josh es agradable, y como típico adolescente tiene pensamientos y toma decisiones de las cuales tenes ganas de matarlo. Pero es comprensible esas actitudes. Se hace querer,(y querer tener un Josh como novio).jajajaja
A mí el libro me enseñó que pase lo que pase, tomes la decisión que tomes, esas decisiones y pensamientos van a tener consecuencias de cualquier tipo en el futuro (cercano o lejano). Hay que vivir el momento y tratar de no preocuparse tanto por el qué dirán y por lo que te tocará vivir más adelante. Todo llega.
Si bien esperaba mucho más, me entretuvo y me dejó pensando bastante sobre algunas cosas. Totalmente recomendable gente.
Los personajes, a mi parecer, están muy bien construidos, especialmente Emma. Primero pensas que Emma es muy egoísta y frìa en algunos aspectos, pero a medida que va avanzando la historia empezas a entender porque es asì ella.
Josh es agradable, y como típico adolescente tiene pensamientos y toma decisiones de las cuales tenes ganas de matarlo. Pero es comprensible esas actitudes. Se hace querer,(y querer tener un Josh como novio).jajajaja
A mí el libro me enseñó que pase lo que pase, tomes la decisión que tomes, esas decisiones y pensamientos van a tener consecuencias de cualquier tipo en el futuro (cercano o lejano). Hay que vivir el momento y tratar de no preocuparse tanto por el qué dirán y por lo que te tocará vivir más adelante. Todo llega.
Si bien esperaba mucho más, me entretuvo y me dejó pensando bastante sobre algunas cosas. Totalmente recomendable gente.
January 20, 2012
If there was a device or a program that would let you give a preview of what your life would be 15 years from now, would you try it out?
Would you really like to know how life has turned out for you and the people around you?
When you find out that your life after 15 years sucks, would you try and change it in your present time?
Josh's mom told him to bring the AOL CD they received to Emma's place because she recently received her new PC.
They installed it.
Emma made her email address and then a mysterious website appeared.
It was Facebook.
But Facebook has not yet been invented in 1996.
What did they find in Facebook?
They found themselves looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.
After Thirteen Reasons Why, I was an immediate Jay Asher fan.
Anything that would have his name on it, I would definitely read.
That was one reason I opened this book which by the way I didn’t regret.
The concept of The Future of Us was creative.
Who would think of creating a story with Facebook in it but set fifteen years before it was even invented.
It was cool.
It was genius.
The writing style was great as usual.
The book was told in alternating POV's of Emma and Josh which really did the job.
It made me see both sides of the main characters.
It was original.
The feel of the book was really 90ish.
Discmans.
Dial-ups.
Dave Matthews.
It gave me a little bit of nostalgia.
No doubt the story was well thought of.
I have some issues with the characters though.
Let me start with Emma.
I hate Emma.
She was just so shallow for me.
She was so unlikable.
There was nothing about her that I liked.
If I was given the chance to look at myself 15 years from now, I wouldn’t obsess over who would be the person I get married to.
She was so unhappy that when she finds out that Josh was married to someone pretty, popular and rich while her future self was struggling with her marriage.
*Sigh*
She doesn’t know how to love anyone.
Her relationship with her exes? Not good!
She sucks.
Honestly, I hope Sydney ended up with Josh.
She didn’t deserve him at all!
Selfish little b*tch!
Although, I dislike Emma, I liked Josh.
He was nice and sweet.
He wasn’t the type of guy Emma would go for because he was decent.
Skanky Emma goes for the ones who like to take advantage of a girl. (ex. Cody)
Josh deserved better.
He deserved the future that he was supposed to have because he was decent.
No girl in the right mind would turn him down the way Emma did.
*Stupid, stupid EMMA!*
Josh was genuine.
I love Josh's character but there were some point in the book that I thought he was becoming like Emma.
He got a little obsessed with the future thing about him and Sydney that he acted stupid.
But he redeemed himself which I was really proud of.
I liked Kellan and Tyson.
Emma looked at Kellan's Facebook page but why not Tyson's?
She would have known the answer to her question about Kellan if she did.
Although I hate Emma for being who she is, I couldn’t blame her for obsessing over what happened to her in the future.
She focused a lot on his husband sure but still she wanted to make things right in her future.
I probably would have done the same if I was in her shoes.
But I think that was the moral lesson of this book, "We should let things take its course."
No matter how much we blame other people for what happens to us in the end we are all responsible for our actions.
The Future of Us was a very quick read.
It was fast-paced.
Jay Asher, you did it again.
I would give this a 4.
Maybe if Emma was a bit like Sydney, I would have liked her.
Would you really like to know how life has turned out for you and the people around you?
When you find out that your life after 15 years sucks, would you try and change it in your present time?
Josh's mom told him to bring the AOL CD they received to Emma's place because she recently received her new PC.
They installed it.
Emma made her email address and then a mysterious website appeared.
It was Facebook.
But Facebook has not yet been invented in 1996.
What did they find in Facebook?
They found themselves looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.
After Thirteen Reasons Why, I was an immediate Jay Asher fan.
Anything that would have his name on it, I would definitely read.
That was one reason I opened this book which by the way I didn’t regret.
The concept of The Future of Us was creative.
Who would think of creating a story with Facebook in it but set fifteen years before it was even invented.
It was cool.
It was genius.
The writing style was great as usual.
The book was told in alternating POV's of Emma and Josh which really did the job.
It made me see both sides of the main characters.
It was original.
The feel of the book was really 90ish.
Discmans.
Dial-ups.
Dave Matthews.
It gave me a little bit of nostalgia.
No doubt the story was well thought of.
I have some issues with the characters though.
Let me start with Emma.
I hate Emma.
She was just so shallow for me.
She was so unlikable.
There was nothing about her that I liked.
If I was given the chance to look at myself 15 years from now, I wouldn’t obsess over who would be the person I get married to.
She was so unhappy that when she finds out that Josh was married to someone pretty, popular and rich while her future self was struggling with her marriage.
*Sigh*
She doesn’t know how to love anyone.
Her relationship with her exes? Not good!
She sucks.
Honestly, I hope Sydney ended up with Josh.
She didn’t deserve him at all!
Selfish little b*tch!
Although, I dislike Emma, I liked Josh.
He was nice and sweet.
He wasn’t the type of guy Emma would go for because he was decent.
Skanky Emma goes for the ones who like to take advantage of a girl. (ex. Cody)
Josh deserved better.
He deserved the future that he was supposed to have because he was decent.
No girl in the right mind would turn him down the way Emma did.
*Stupid, stupid EMMA!*
Josh was genuine.
I love Josh's character but there were some point in the book that I thought he was becoming like Emma.
He got a little obsessed with the future thing about him and Sydney that he acted stupid.
But he redeemed himself which I was really proud of.
I liked Kellan and Tyson.
Emma looked at Kellan's Facebook page but why not Tyson's?
She would have known the answer to her question about Kellan if she did.
Although I hate Emma for being who she is, I couldn’t blame her for obsessing over what happened to her in the future.
She focused a lot on his husband sure but still she wanted to make things right in her future.
I probably would have done the same if I was in her shoes.
But I think that was the moral lesson of this book, "We should let things take its course."
No matter how much we blame other people for what happens to us in the end we are all responsible for our actions.
The Future of Us was a very quick read.
It was fast-paced.
Jay Asher, you did it again.
I would give this a 4.
Maybe if Emma was a bit like Sydney, I would have liked her.
December 5, 2011
I didn't like The Future of Us.
*****
PLAIN.
The Future of Us was a flop for me. I thought the “Facebook” theme would evolve into something more meaningful than it actually is, but it did not. The writing was unimpressive; the female lead was irritating; the love story is kinda all over the place. I hope you are not pining for The Future of Us because it is not worth waiting for.
Emma is obnoxious to Josh. She’s selfish and self-centered. I could not find a single thing to like about her! Although she did learned with the Facebook fiasco, her character was underdeveloped for me. Josh – Josh is the sole reason why this book has any stars at all. He knows he’s a wallflower but still he goes for the hottest girl in school. He’s honest to his feelings and he confronted his ‘go-with-the-flow’ attitude. Frankly, Emma doesn’t deserve even a glance from Josh. But hey, at least Josh called out Emma on her callousness with his feelings. Right on, man!
The Future of Us is a passable read, meaning you can pass/skip reading this. I read nothing from Mackler; I read 13RW from Asher but I did not detect his writing style and impact in this book.
*****
PLAIN.
The Future of Us was a flop for me. I thought the “Facebook” theme would evolve into something more meaningful than it actually is, but it did not. The writing was unimpressive; the female lead was irritating; the love story is kinda all over the place. I hope you are not pining for The Future of Us because it is not worth waiting for.
Emma is obnoxious to Josh. She’s selfish and self-centered. I could not find a single thing to like about her! Although she did learned with the Facebook fiasco, her character was underdeveloped for me. Josh – Josh is the sole reason why this book has any stars at all. He knows he’s a wallflower but still he goes for the hottest girl in school. He’s honest to his feelings and he confronted his ‘go-with-the-flow’ attitude. Frankly, Emma doesn’t deserve even a glance from Josh. But hey, at least Josh called out Emma on her callousness with his feelings. Right on, man!
The Future of Us is a passable read, meaning you can pass/skip reading this. I read nothing from Mackler; I read 13RW from Asher but I did not detect his writing style and impact in this book.
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