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The Future of Us  By  cover art

The Future of Us

By: Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler
Narrated by: Steven Kaplan, Mary Ellen Cravens
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Publisher's summary

It's 1996, and less than half of all American high-school students have ever used the Internet. 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, 15 years in the future.

Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.

©2011 Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler (P)2011 Penguin

Critic reviews

"A clever, timely story that will attract any teen with a Facebook account." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about The Future of Us

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating concept, entertaining story

This was weirdly unbelievable, but a lot of fun to listen to. The basic idea is that a boy gives a girl a free AOL CD In 1996 and when she logs on, she finds herself looking at FaceBook 15 years into the future. She sees her own profile and believes that her future self is unhappy so she changes current decisions and then logs on again to see if her future is any better. Her friend Josh likes what his future looks like, so he keeps trying to stop Emma from changing things.

The story was fun and unique. I really enjoyed it. One of my favorite scenes was when they read a Facebook comment that said something like "Looking at the planets....poor Pluto" and Josh says "What the hell happened to Pluto?" Funny.

I bumped off one star for just a couple of quirks that weren't quite right. For example, in 1996, the GUI Internet was a little further developed worldwide than the AOL-only version in the book. The characters acted like the Internet was new. Also, there were a few times when the author led the characters toward unnatural decisions that I had a hard time swallowing. Nothing huge, just like when they realized they could see their futures, rather than diving into everything in the short online time that they had, they suddenly decide "Let's not look anymore today." It wasn't realistic. If you could see into the future and you're not sure if the web page will be there the next time you log on, are you going to just turn it off? It's not a huge thing, but enough that I couldn't justify a full five stars.

I'd definitely recommend the book, even for adults who were around 15 years ago and remember the time period.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Very interesting Story

The concept of the story is very predictable and makes common sense. I'm actually surprised I have not seen many books based on Facebook like this. I found the fact that the story takes place in the 90's quite funny. The AOL era, floppy disk, and not everyone having a computer: time was interesting. What I did not like was the ending. You don't know what happened and if anything did come true. Your left not knowing the story based on present day. Since the story had a lot to do with future, it was ok not knowing how that ends. However not knowing the characters present life.. the book just ends. In a nutshell; it's like this..a boy meets a girl. In the future their not together. But in the present they seem to want to be together. In both sides of the story, you never find out what happens. Very bad ending!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great for 90s kids. super cute story.

I am glad that my 15yr old recommend this book. As a 90s kid I really enjoyed all the funny references.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable Book!

What did you love best about The Future of Us?

The innovative concept of two teenagers in the 90's accessing Facebook in 2010.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Future of Us?

When Josh first brings over the AOL CD-ROM was such a fun flashback to what so many of us experienced 15 years ago.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was the first time Emma and Josh start to explore Facebook together.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was moved by the scene in which Emma first discovers that Josh is no longer her Facebook friend in 15 years due to actions she has taken trying to change her future.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Who knows what the future holds

This book does a great job of illustrating the importance of living in the here and now, and being grateful for what you have.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this book

I loved all the 90s references and it made me think about what I post on social media. Great book!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good

This book kept me very interested. I love how I can relate to it being years ago and current day.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

wasn't bad

this was a great tween to teen book. I would listen to the audio on my way to work, at work, at on my way home. it was a good listen and I love this author for his book "13 reasons why", so I decided to give this title a chance. it was different and the story wasn't hard to follow. unlike 13 reasons this one seemed aimed more towards a younger audience which isn't a bad thing. I would recommend this one to my younger friends over people my age and my mother who is a reader.

there are some things about the book I wish they would have maybe touched more on. like the feelings the two main characters acted like didn't exist. but over all it really was a decent book. not so thing I would read a second time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun and Interesting

It was cute. Perfect for teens. A good message about not worrying about what's to come...but living in the moment. My only complaint was the male narrator- he was too monotone. The girl was terrific.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good

It was a good story and my only problem was with the characters. Don't get me wrong I loved them but they would exasperate me sometimes

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