Book Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares
Genre: Young Adult (Science Fiction/Romance)
Date Published: April 8, 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press

An unforgettable epic romantic thriller about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins. 

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth. 

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves. 

From Ann Brashares, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now is thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking—and a must-read novel of the year.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares is a book that will appeal to the younger audience of YA readers. I think I would have enjoyed it more when I was in junior high, than I did now. It has the potential to be a lovely story if there is a sequel in the works, but this book felt a little too rushed. I feel like I'm missing some information and some things just didn't add up. So, hopefully there will be a sequel, because I'd really like to know more detail about some things. Prenna and Ethan were cute. I don't think they are in love yet. To me, it still seems like the infatuation stage, but I can easily see it growing into more. I have so many questions about the time travelers. First of all, why did they stop trying to fix the problems of the future? I knew there would be corruption among their leaders. There always is, but why? What's the motivation? I feel like we needed this detail to fully understand what was going on and why so many things were forbidden. This book has me curious, and if there is a sequel, I would read it to learn more.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares was kindly provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.

Ann Brashares grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with three brothers and attended a Quaker school in the D.C. area called Sidwell Friends. She studied Philosophy at Barnard College, part of Columbia University in New York City. Expecting to continue studying philosophy in graduate school, Ann took a year off after college to work as an editor, hoping to save money for school. Loving her job, she never went to graduate school, and instead, remained in New York City and worked as an editor for many years. Ann made the transition from editor to full-time writer with her first novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Ann and her husband live with their three children in New York.

To learn more about Ann Brashares and her books, visit her website & blog.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.