Dial Up, Download Your "Future"

Submitted by bookshelf on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 7:54pm

Review By Book Lover Teresa Williams

Hello youth of today: 1996 has dialed up and wants you to know what it was like before the digital age.

Dear teen of the 1990s (like myself): care to scroll down memory lane to before everything about every thing was easily accessible with the click of a mouse and conversations took place in person instead of on "walls"?

"The Future of Us," by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, follows teens Emma and Josh who inexplicably manage to download Facebook onto Emma's computer when they use an AOL CD-ROM to connect to a new thing called the Internet. Then, Emma and Josh must decide how to handle the information they uncover about their future selves and determine what changes need to be made in their current lives in order to have the futures they truly want.

I was in high school in 1996. If I could have used one of the numerous AOL CD-ROMs I received in the mail to download Facebook and glimpse my future...I don't think I'd byte. I like to learn as I go and I don't like to play with lives. Also, I've seen how people can be crushed by one online post or a single person not friending them on Facebook. And, since I'm one of the few people my age not on Facebook, I doubt it would help me, either.

Though new to me, I like Mackler's writing style. I love Asher's literary voice. He captures the voice of the teenage mind and the truth of what makes people tick. I thought the ending was a little soft, but it's still a fun read.

Teens of today, you are likely to laugh at the idea of having to strap a discman to an arm to listen to tunes as you run or that people used to have to get off the phone in order to dial up to the Internet. However, the story still confronts fundamental issues teens grapple with: romantic rejection, feelings for a close friend, divorced parents, peer pressure, sex, popularity, appearance versus reality...you get the idea.

Readers that grew up during the time period may fondly recall such norms from our youth, but also remember the not-so-great parts: slam books and verbal malicious gossip that ran rampant throughout the hallowed halls of high schools instead of being viral before lunch. We may also remember how our choices then shaped our current lives.

So, no matter your generation, grab a copy and see what "The Future of Us" downloads for you.

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