Publisher: Razor BillPages: 356
Rating: 2 stars
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. [Description from BarnesandNoble.com]
My Review:There were several reasons I decided to read this book. 1) I’m addicted to Facebook. There. I’ve admitted it. 2) It takes place in 1996, one year after I was born, and I thought it would be interesting to see what it was like to be a teenager in the 1990s and how it differs from being a teenager now.
I wish I was writing a rave review. I really do. But I didn’t like The Future of Us, and for several reasons. Since I’ve already compiled one list today (see above) I might as well compile another:
1) Too much sexual content. It dominated the book. When they weren’t focusing on Facebook, they were focusing on sex. It was disgusting and irritating to find that a book I thought was about two teens discovering Facebook is so distractingly focused on sex. I don’t know if it’s realistic for teens to be so focused on that, but it was unnecessary and distracting from the real focus of the book.
3) The ending. Wait, what ending? The one that didn’t exist. Oh yes, that ending.
4) It felt cliché. It was just another story of a girl and a boy who are besties and don’t realize they like each other until after they suffer much pain and regret. Let’s get a little more creative, people.
Phew. Sorry if that sounded cruel, but I just expected a little more from a New York Times bestselling author and a Printz Honor winning author.
Maybe this proves that two heads aren’t always better than one.
Quick Content Review:
Sexual: Heavy
Language: Mild
Violence: None
I totally agree with your review, I had heard so much good stuff for this book that I just HAD to read it, then when I finished I was like, "what in the world was that?". The characters really annoyed me, they just seemed so....dead. You never connected with them, with other books (like Hunger Games :)) you really felt for the characters, with Emma and Josh, they were just......there. Oh well, I guess every book can't be totally awesome
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