Carolyn Mackler

Willa hates change, so when her father and her best friend Ruby’s mother announce in the middle of an ice cream parlor that they have been dating and have fallen in love, Willa doesn’t react well. Ruby thinks the romance is wonderful, but Willa thinks it’s the worst thing ever. Willa has Sensory Processing Disorder, so she has many routines and quirks that she doesn’t want to share with anyone, not even Ruby. Plus, what if their parents break up? What will become of their show more friendship?

This is a great middle-grade novel about adapting to change. Though each person’s experience of Sensory Processing Disorder is different, readers who have sensory issues are likely to relate to Willa’s experiences, as will readers who have experienced the complicated process of blending two families together. The writing is strong, and a small plot twist at the end made me smile. Recommended for kids and adults who enjoy realistic middle-grade fiction. show less

In spring 2023, in New York City, Mason writes a letter to Albert Einstein on his therapist's request, and throws the letter in his closet...where it disappears, only to be replaced by a reply letter from Talia, who lives in Pennsylvania in 1987. Once Mason and Talia have ironed out what's going on (closet wormhole for letters), they get down to the business of learning about each other's lives and helping each other with their problems. They set smart ground rules - no last names, no show more googling anyone - although Mason does supply some Yankees' scores so Talia can win bets with her older brother and get out of doing dishes for the week.

Household chores aren't the problem, though. Talia is dealing with a best friend who's pulling away from her to embrace being a cheerleader instead, and who won't defend Talia against anti-Semitic boys in her school. Mason misses his dad but is angry at him for leaving, worried about his mom's increased drinking, and also dealing with bullying at school, from a former baseball teammate. Seasoned with humor and a shared love of baseball, and finished off with a sweet final letter from 48-year-old Talia, this speculative novel is a total delight.

See also: You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

Quotes

I have a hard time not saying things that are true. (Talia, 29)

...what's cool changes all the time. (Mason, 37)

Meanwhile, I have to sit through Mrs. F teaching "Lord of the Flies" yet refusing to stop the bloodthirsty boys in her own classroom. (Talia, 119)

"People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." (Mason quoting Einstein, 159)

"Life is not about keeping away the bad stuff or only hoping for the good stuff. Because you can't control that. It's how you deal with the good and the bad that will define what kind of life you're going to have." (Mason's therapist Barb, 201)

You're right, the future is confusing. Or maybe every time period is confusing. Maybe being a person on this planet is confusing. (Mason, 219) show less

Oh, this book was such good fun! I was 12 in 1996, and only just starting to discover the internets (I wouldn’t start seriously using it until two years later), so I love reading about how different things were back then in terms of how there was no social media, only things like geocities and angelfire (anyone remember those?) as well as pop culture things (like music) that these characters listened to, things they did (skateboarding, though that hasn’t changed too much in the last 15 show more years). Really, though, this is not a book about a strange way of time travel, but making the most of the now, with the people you’re with, as well as being aware of the road not taken, and what ripples your choices may cause to not only what happens to you, but your loved ones. “The Future of Us” is precisely about that – the future of a boy and a girl, and how their actions will define them from this point forward (in 1996).

This story kind of starts out as a story about two kids just learning to use the internet and seeing themselves fifteen years from now, but it turns into the story of the relationship of Emma and Josh – a failed romantic move on his part, and her dating lots of different guys adds fuel to tension between them, tension that only grows once Emma sees her future with various men, and Josh ending up with his crush, having kids, and the little experiments that Emma does by herself to improve her future outlook when she doesn’t like what she sees on Facebook.

I have to hand it to Mackler and Asher for using Facebook as a brilliant plot device as a means to a window into how our interpersonal real life communication has been affected by the development of the Information Superhighway. A superdeveloped internet already starts biting its way into the way Emma and Josh interact with their friends and each other and it’s fifteen years away! The way Asher and Mackler made use of Facebook and social media as a mirror to the future was absolutely brilliant and I enjoyed every moment of it. They do a very good job of driving home the fact that the way we communicate with people in person has changed very drastically in fifteen years, and maybe that isn’t always a good thing. Sure, it’s improved speed to us being able to do stuff like shopping and sending messages for friends, but on the other hand, who sends letters any more? Not many. Or calling instead of texting? Again, those numbers are decreasing, too.

Eventually, with the way Emma uses Facebook to improve her future (in a very devious way, I might add – making for a character you like to dislike or don’t know what to do with, emotionally), has caused so many ripples in the future that Future!Emma decides to shut down her facebook account. What will this do for Emma, once she’s realized that Josh is no longer in her life, not even as a friend, fifteen years in the future? I won’t spoil any more here, because it’s a really great (if kind of easily foreshadowed) ending. It was great, and I definitely loved this book.

This is definitely the time for a book of this subject matter to be hitting the shelves, when we need to be reconsidering how we connect with each other and in what way, and how those choices might affect us. We do need to start thinking about the roads not taken when it comes to our relationships, and what we do now – that text we’re not sure about sending, that email we sent impulsively, or drunk-tweeted – and what it might do to our futures. And while you can literally drive yourself nuts thinking about the “what-ifs” in life, “The Future of Us” shows us we can do that without driving ourselves mad if we just think of the people around us, and how what we do affects them.

So maybe instead of sending that text, call your friend/sibling/parent/family member. Write a letter instead of an email. And pick up a copy of “The Future of Us” when it hits shelves this November. I guarantee you’ll start thinking of your own ways of communicating differently after reading this book. Definitely one of the best of 2011.

(posted to librarything, goodreads, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com) show less

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Posted by Laura Newcombe at 9:57 PM
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The Future of Us
by Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler
Rating:
Release Date: November 21st 2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: Young Adult >> Science Fiction >>Time Travel
Age Group: 12+
Pages: 356 (Hardcover)
Available Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Source: ARC for review
Buy this Book: Amazon

It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.

Emma just got her show more 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.
-Goodreads.com

Collaborations always seem like such a cool idea, but when put pen to paper, the idea can become…not-so cool. Conflicting ideas and different writing styles are frequent culprits of a collaboration gone wrong: but not here. Asher and Mackler have teamed up to create an absolute wonder that is sure to be one of the most talked about young adult books of the year. But isn’t that what happens when you combine two outstanding authors? It’s a formula that’s pretty straightforward and a guaranteed sure-fire hit (amazing authors + amazing idea = amazing book), and what a result it was!

The premise? Oh, boy! I mean, accessing your future through the internet, how awesome is that? Yes, please! And it’s an idea that will appeal to a range of ages, not just teens, being set in 1996 and including Facebook. I can almost hear everybody’s ears pricking up. Really, this duo was superb for the role. But you know you’re in good hands with two of the most intuitive and authentic voices in young-adult today.

The alternating point of views of the two main characters was beautifully written. The transition was so flawless sometimes you weren’t even aware of it! The plot was deliciously crafted, each character was appreciatively fleshed-out yet still real, and the writing was so well-balanced that you wouldn’t even suspect the writing role to be frequently exchanged.

This book is so rich with creativity and strong messages about embracing the moment and the life you’re living now; to appreciate the things you have, move away from the past, and worry about the future when you confront it. It has a little something for everyone, too, which is always nice. If you’re someone who enjoys a leisurely stroll down Nostalgia Lane with your Discman on, blasting Dave Matthews, then you will devour this book like comfort food. Or even if you are just someone who is investing themselves in an older era, because retro is, like, so in right now and, you know, the 90s are sooo old.

The Future of Us is a novel that offers so much in just the summary and does deliver on every level. It will stay in your hands all day until you have breezed through it and still want more. I was never bored, angry, mislead, and most certainly not disappointed. I guarantee you won’t be, either. show less