The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

I really wanted to read The Future of Us based purely on the premise.  I was in high school in 1996.  I had AOL. While I have completely blocked some parts of my high school experience from my memory- there are still plenty of awesome things that I remember from those years.  Reading this book brought it all back and made me think about how I got to where I am now.  What could have been if I'd known then what I know now.  Here is the Goodreads blurb:

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.

This book was great.  It brought back all of the parts of the nineties that I missed.  It was also funny to see all the ways they looked at what was happening in the future.  They had no idea what Glee was or why it was their life.  The premise was great.  I found it entertaining and thought provoking.  What would we do if we knew a little about our future?  Facebook only shows a slice of life and probably an imperfect one.  Josh doesn't really try to change his future because he figures it's pretty great but Emma wants hers to be perfect.  She makes choices to keep some things from happening.  Emma is like so many of us were- more worried about perfect than happy.  She is so worried about having the perfect life, the perfect husband, the perfect boyfriend.  Emma doesn't see how lucky she is to have Josh and their friends.  I think Josh was my favorite character in this book.  What a great read!

You can click here to add The Future of Us to your Goodreads.  You can find out more about Jay Asher and his work by checking out his blog.  You can find Carolyn Mackler on her website or follow her on Twitter.  The Future of Us earns 5 Fairies for a great book that brought back nostalgia and make me think.