The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (Razorbill, 2011)

Summary from publisher:
It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives.  They've been best friends almost as long -- up until last November, when everything changed.  Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets an America Online CD-ROM in the mail, his mom makes him bring it over so Emma can install it on her new computer.  When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook...but Facebook hasn't been invented yet.  Josh and Emma are looking at their profiles fifteen years in the future.  Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updated -- it's all there.  But it's not what they expected.  And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change. As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right -- and wrong -- in the present.

From the moment I heard about this book, I thought it was an interesting premise.  I remember the first time I signed on to AOL.  It was my first year teaching, and I was using my FIRST computer, a Macintosh desktop machine that seemed to take up my whole desk.  I can only imagine how I would have reacted if facebook or Twitter opened up and gave me a window into my future.

Asher and Mackler do a great job of alternating Emma and Josh's voices.  I liked how they developed these characters and the friendship.  It's not easy for these two to stay friends, as their futures seem to get in the way of the budding romance between them.  While parts of the plot are predictable, I enjoyed this book immensely.  It was a fun read, something I needed after a couple of weeks of heavy reading for my committees.

Both boys and girls will enjoy this story about a friendship-turned-more and how small decisions can have a larger ripple effect.