I received this book for free from Library, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Future of Us by Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler Narrator: Steve Kaplan, Mary Ellen Cravens
Length: 6 Hours 58 Minutes
Also by this author: Thirteen Reasons why, What Light,
Published by Penguin on November 21st 2011
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Science & Technology, Social Themes, Emotions & Feelings, Dating & Sex
Pages: 368
Format: Audiobook, ARC
Source: Library, Publisher
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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.
Why Did I Listen To The Future Of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler?
The Future Of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler has actually been on my TBR since 2011 and I did not actually get around to listening to and reading it until 2016. I know at some point you just have to cut a book loose. However, I don’t quite have that skill when it comes to books I am interested in, but are not my number one priority.
Plus, I got this book at BEA 2011 and to assuage my guilt at being a bit too grabby hands, I keep meaning to read all the books I got from various BEAs. Yes, I am exactly the worst. However, this book genuinely appealed to me because I was a little kid in the 1990s, so I can remember a time before everyone had the internet and cell phones. So, the nostalgia factor really drove me to finally listen to this book.
What’s The Story Here?
Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler’s duet book follows Emma and Josh who are next door neighbors. One day, Josh’s family gets a free AOL trial CD-ROM in the mail. So, he goes over to Emma’s house to install it. Some of you might be a bit too young to remember those CDs, but we would get them in the mail and beg our parents to let us use the telephone for dial up and AIM. FYI, most of the time my parents said no.
Anyways, so Emma logs in and she’s taken to this website called Facebook. There she sees her future and it is one that she is continuously not satisfied with, so she keeps trying to change it. Josh, on the other hand, loves his future. He comes over to see Facebook too. And that’s where he learns that he marries the popular girl and has the amazing house. His life really just turns out great. Emma, though, the book revolves around if she’ll get it right or not as well as just how changeable the future is.
What Did I Think Of The Future Of Us?
So, the audiobook of The Future Of Us basically took me like less than 3 days to listen to. Granted, I was reading this during my 3 hour commute days. Still, it kept my attention the whole time. I found that I was really invested in Josh and Emma, but not OVERLY invested. Emma is a character where I wanted things to work out for her at the same time that I wanted to yell at her. I just wanted her to give the future a chance instead of constantly changing it when she doesn’t get exactly what she wants. I guess most of us would do as she does in the situation, but she continuously changes the future over and over and over and just won’t settle.
How’s The Narration?
The Future Of Us has dual narrators for Josh and Emma’s chapters – Steve Kaplan and Mary Ellen Cravens. Both narrators were new to me. However, I liked them. Their voices have a youthful quality, so I felt like it worked out pretty well for the audiobook. Also? The audiobook is super short. It is only 6 hours and 58 minutes long and if you listen to it sped up a little bit like I do, it’ll take you no time to get through the audio. In all, I am glad that I finally got to this book.
Other reviews of The Future Of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler:
- Steph The Bookworm – “a compelling read with a very unique and intriguing story line“
- Downright Dystopian – “I really enjoyed the story of this novel“
- Quinn’s Book Nook – “it just didn’t gel with me personally“
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I read The Future of Us quite some time ago and remember loving it because the year the book was set in why they were looking to the future was 1996 which was the year I was born. But I had never read anything before with such a premise and I loved it a lot!