Review
One Computer + 1 AOL disc + 2 Teenagers = Facebook Drama
The Future Of Us is set in the 1990’s, so, being a 90’s child myself, I was immediately invested. I loved the 90’s references to movies, tech and television shows. The plot was intriguing. Two teens access Facebook and see their post from 20 years in the future. The setting plus the plot set this up to be an epic book. Unfortunately, it was not. The book was good, don’t get me wrong. It just didn’t live up my expectations. There are three things that I didn’t like about this The Future Of Us.
1 - It was definitely on the older YA side for me as far as the language and the references to sex.
2- The story went on waaaayyyy too long. Emma continues trying to change her future, even when everyone else has given up on it. Even when it becomes clear that she will never find the happy ending that she’s seeking on Facebook (moral lesson here). Even when I’m done with the story, she still goes on. And on. And on. Not that I minded her continuing to try, but the outcome isn’t always interesting. Then again, how much can you do when you are literally fighting your future Facebook statuses.
3- Too much filler. I am all for a well-rounded story, and there is something to be said for character development and setting. However, this book has a lot of unnecessary scenes and dialogue. I don’t mind dialogue, but none of these scenes moved the story forward or deepened my connections to the characters. It was just… filler.
Overall, the book was good, but not great. With a little more action, more conflict, less filler, and some sort of a chase scene, it would have been epic.
BLURB
Josh and Emma are about to discover themselves--fifteen years in the future
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 everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD-ROM 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 Facebook . . . but Facebook hasn't been invented yet. Josh and Emma are looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.
Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates--it's all there. And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change. As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right--and wrong--in the present.
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 everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD-ROM 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 Facebook . . . but Facebook hasn't been invented yet. Josh and Emma are looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.
Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates--it's all there. And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change. As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right--and wrong--in the present.
