The Here and Now by Ann Brashares (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received an advanced e-arc of the book from the publisher via NetGallley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

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.

My thoughts-

Lately I have not been able to get enough of the young adult genre. When I saw there was a new ya novel by Ann Brashares of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame, without even reading the plot synopsis I knew I would want to read it. When I did read what it was about, I was even more excited. I am a sucker for time travel stories and I really don't think there are enough of them out there. I felt like even though this book was written in present day, Prenna's descriptions of the future that she is from, the book had kind of a dystopian vibe. I thought it was a unique twist on things since she was not living in the dystopian world, but trying to acclimate herself to her new environment while trying to follow the many rules set before her by the elder people who traveled with her. I loved the beginning of the story by the pond when Prenna arrives, that set up let me know this would be a book that I would enjoy. There were a lot of elements to this book, it was not just a YA novel, which I appreciated. There was some mystery and suspense and of course the expected romance. I thought one of the most interesting things about The Here and Now was accompanying Prenna on her journey to figuring out things that she just believed blindly, might not exactly be 100% true. I enjoyed her interactions with Ethan, but I felt that something was lacking there. That may be due to her trying to keep her distance because of the rules even though she is clearly attracted to him, but I am hoping that if this becomes a series, the relationship between the two will be further developed. If this is a stand alone novel, I would not be fully satisfied because I feel like there is more to explore with these two characters and that more crazy stuff could happen because of the way it ended. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books with time travel, romance, or suspense or anyone who likes reading novels from the young adult genre.

About the author (from Goodreads)-

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.

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The Here and Now will be released on April 9, 2014. You can pre-order a copy Amazon.com.