Mundie Moms

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Book Review: The Future of Us by Jays Asher & Carolyn Mackler


Published by: RazorBill
To Be Released on: November 21st, 2011 TOMORROW
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars: I Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.

Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM.Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future.Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out. -quoted from Goodreads

This book is a complete blast from the past, from colored monitors, to AOL, to the 90's music, to disc men, to discussions about the internet back then. Boy do I feel old now. Everything that was discussed in this book were things I vividly remembers discussing myself. This book is written in such a way that I totally connected with it. The fact that I was the same age as the characters during the mid 90's made it easier for me to understand them and connect with them on a variety of levels. It made me reminisce and it had me laughing out loud numerous times with the things that the characters say. The music that's mentioned though out the book was perfect! Those songs totally took me back, and I totally laughed at Hootie and the Blowfish. I totally forgot about that group, and I liked their music back then too.

This is really a fascinating premise for a book- seeing your future through an online site that doesn't yet exist. In the 90's I can't imagine what it would have been like to see glimpses of my future 15 years from then on Facebook, which of course wasn't even around at that time. This story centers on Josh and Emma, who have a long history together, are close and next door neighbors. Through an AOL CD Rom (snickers at that) discover Facebook and their futures 15 years from then. Can you imagine seeing who you marry, where you live, and what you're doing? Not to mention pictures that are posted from your present year of school with you friends, and some of those pictures aren't yet developed 15 years in the future? I would have freaked out more than they did had I seen all that, and I would have been just as intrigued with the future as they were. I couldn't help but laugh at the mentions of future movies that were mentioned, texting and Netflix.

I understood Emma's fascination and need to keep checking her future statuses. It would be hard not to obsess over it. The thing with Emma is that she gets so caught up into what she's doing in the future, that she loses herself in the here and now. She forgets to have fun, and be herself. Josh on the other hand gets a little bit obsessed, but not to the extent that Emma does. He tries to help her see that it's the future and things can change. I liked that through this realization, Emma's character starts to grow up more and change. I'm a huge fan of character growth in a story, and both characters definitely changed for the better. Josh and Emma are fun characters to get to know, and I of course loved the 90's flash backs (memories.....).

I also enjoyed the fact that this story is written in alternating points of views. It made it easier to get know each character and understand their thought process. You definitely don't need to have been a teen in the 90's to enjoy this book, but if you were you'll enjoy it even more. This is a book that will connect with teen readers are a variety of levels. It's a good read and one I'd recommend picking up.

Infernal Devices Clockwork Prince 31 Day Celebration: Day 15, One Line Teasers


It's day 15 of our 31 Days of Clockwork Prince, which means we're about half done and that much closer to the release date!!! We're continuing with our one liner teasers from CP. Each one line teaser is taking completely out of context. It's fun having a mix up of different character quotes, and seeing which character you guys think is talking.

"Every night I lay here on your sofa and I waited to hear your step in the hall, and I wondered where you were"

In My Mailbox #98- The Children's Book Edition

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren were bloggers post about what they received the previous week in the mail to review, what they bought, borrowed, were gifted etc. Here's what arrived this week:

For Review:

Slide by Jill Hathaway, published by Balzer & Bray, to be released on March 27th, 2012

Balthazar by Claudia Gray, published by Harper Teen, to be released on March 6th, 2012

Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig, published by Katherine Teagan Books, to be released on March 13th, 2012

The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams, published by Walker & Company, to be released on January 3rd, 2012, signed, came with some cool swag we'll be giving away

Dancergirl by Carol M Tanzman, published by Harlequin Teen, to be released on November 15th, 2001

39 Clues Cahills vs Vespers, The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman, published by Scholastic, released on August 30th, 2011, already read & reviewed, donating this copy to my son's school's library

39 Clues Cahills vs Vespers, A King's Ransom by Jude Watson, published by Scholastic, to be released on December 6th, 2011

39 Clues Cahills vs Vespers, Card Pack #1


Bought: (not pictured)
This week I had to resist the urge to splurge on books at my son's Scholastic Book Fair, which was harder than I thought it would be. I was surprised I only purchased a few books, which were for my kids. I can't say no to buying them books.

* Lego Ninjago: Official Guide, published by Scholastic
* Ten On The Sled by Kim Norman, published by Scholastic
* Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows, published by Scholastic
* The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett, published by Scholastic


GIFTED (not pictured):
Thank you to Ms Sophie, my kiddos received a box full of awesomeness with these beginner and advanced reader books:

Dancing Class by Amanda Haley
Baseball Ballerina by Kathryn Cristaldi
The Giant Jelly Bear Jar by Marcia Aboff
Disney Princess, The Sweetest Spring
Disney Princess, Ballerina Princess
Disney Princess, Sealed with a Kiss
Amelia Bedelia Under Construction by Herman Parish
Thank You, Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Best Friends in Fairyland by Daisy Meadows
The Rainbow Faeries by Daisy Meadows
Littlest Red Riding Hood
Disney Princess, The Princess & The Frog, Kiss the Frog
Hello Kitty Spring Is Here by Kimberly Weinberger
Tangled, Kingdom of Colors
Fancy Nancy and the Boy From Paris by Jane O'Connor
Fancy Nancy Sees Stars by Jane O'Connor
Fancy Nancy at the Museum by Jane O'Connor
Pinkalicious School Rules! by Victoria Kann
Pinkalicious Pink Around the Rink by Victoria Kann
Olivia and Her Ducklings
Olivia Trains Her Cat
Oliver Takes a Trip
Disney Princess, The Beauty of Nature
Disney Princess, Enchanted Tales
Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
Stanley, Flat Again by Jeff Brown
Hank, The Cowdog by John. R Erickson
The Boy's Book, How To Be The Best at Everything


THANK YOU to Sophie, Harper Teen, Harlequin Teen, Scholastic and Ivy Adams for this week's awesome reads! What goodies did you receive this week?

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