Title: The Here And Now
Author: Ann Brashares
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: April 2014
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone; possible Series
Synopsis can be found here.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review:
Prenna James has always followed the rules. The rules are in place to keep them safe. So they can do what they came here to do. You see, Prenna, and her community, are from a distant future that is plagued with disease, death and poverty. They have come back, to our year, to try to change that. Or so, the community members will have everyone believe.
But Prenna is different and her long friendship with Ethan, an ordinary but super smart boy, makes her believe that things can change. With a trail of clues and ominous words from a familiar time traveler, Prenna and Ethan are maybe the most dangerous of everyone on the planet. Because a future girl and a time native can’t fall in love…
I loved her adult book My Name Is Memory. ( I think you should read that right now.) In fact, I’ve been waiting years for the sequel and still, no word on it! Ahh!
So when this book popped up on the upcoming releases, I had to pick it up.
There are a lot of great things about the story. I really loved the creepy cloud the committee has over everyone. If someone steps out of bounds, they mysteriously disappear, or go to boarding school, or die in a mysterious fishing accident. The committee has strong overtones of cult life and leadership, instilling fear into the hearts of the population for “their own safety”. The adult committee members are vague and not very well drawn out, but the few descriptions that are given make me recoil whenever they slinked their way into a scene.
Prenna and Ethan are sweet and adorable. I liked their youthful love, the friendship and how it grew into more. While Ethan isn’t a particularly strong male lead, there is something about him I found intriguing. And Prenna’s growth through the book is natural, going from fearful and shy to downright brave and adventurous.
The story is somewhat predictable, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. I can see it being a good start to a series, as the end is left pretty open and filled with potential. It’s right on the edge of moving forward. Like all time travel books, there are always problems with the continuity of the story, the cause and effect of events that you go back in time to avoid will no doubt affect the very initial event that had to reeling back in time to begin with. Sadly, that is still the case here but I was happy to look past these things and continue on.
So while The Here And Now didn’t hold the intense emotional response I was looking for, it’s still a very solid book from a talented writer. I read it in only two days, foregoing much needed chores and partying to see what happens to Prenna and Ethan.
I think you’ll like it.
Rating 7 Would Recommend
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
great review. I am glad to see you liked this book. I have seen a bunch of mixed thoughts and feelings on this book. I don’t mind predictable but some do.
Hi Jenn! Thanks for reading. Yeah, I liked it. I think if it’s done well and keep my attention, then I like to continue on. Sometimes, the first book is hard because there’s so much set up but once the series gets going, it’s worth it! 🙂
YAY I have this one coming up to review – just haven’t gotten to it yet and I’m so glad you liked it! I love the creepy cult aspect of the committee, I might have to bump this one up.. I kept putting it off because I was wary it was gonna be too much focused on the romance, but you’ve intrigued me enough about the other things to make me want to read it NOW! So, thanks for that! 😀 I hope I like it as much as you have!
And I wasn’t aware this author had written any other books, so I’m definitely going to be checking out her other book you loved! mwuahaha
Oh April! Thanks for stopping by! I really love My Name Is Memory, but her SIsterhood of the Traveling Pants series is the most popular I think! Let me know what you think!