Midbreak IOTM

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The Future of Us is an amazing book that features a girl named Emma,
her crew; Josh, her ex best friend, Kellan, her current best friend,
Tyson, Kellan's ex boyfriend/her best friend, and a crazy -8 years into the future-
invention called "Facebook". Josh and Em have been best friends since
they were kids, best friends and neighbours, they were inseparable till last
November, where everything changed. Josh, reading the moment wrong,
leaned in to kiss Emma and she said the one thing that might have permanently
damaged their friendship; "I can't...you're...you're Josh." And with that,
things went downhill and he never stepped foot into her house or bedroom
ever again...at least until he gets a new AOL disc in his mail and his mum forces
him to take it to Emma to see if she wants to install it into her computer. She does.
But when she does, she sees something strange on her computer screen. Her
name. Not only that, but her relationship status! Photos of her, little updates that
talk about her kids(!) and her husband (!!). Convinced that this is an elaborate
prank pulled by Josh, she calls him over and begs him to enter her room. Reluctantly,
he does. He doesn't have a clue about this strange webpage called "Facebook" and is
also convinced that this is just a prank, a near impossible, elaborate prank, sure, but
a prank nonetheless. It's not until Emma discovers photos of her, Josh, Kellan and
Tyson on the beach that she realizes it's not a prank. This webpage is her future. These
photos are for real. She knows that because she hadn't developed the beach pictures
yet. Upon hearing that the webpage is for real, the two head back to sleep and agree
to discuss more about it in the morning. Josh follows Emma to school everyday and
goes to her room everyday after school. They begin to get closer again and try to unravel
the mystery of their future. Emma, unhappy with her husband begin to make little "ripples"
that would affect her future. After a while, they decide to look up Josh Templeton, and
sure enough, there's a page all about him, his "profile picture" grinning up at them. His
relationship status? Well that's where things get a little complicated. It says there that
he's married to Sydney Templeton. Let's just clear a few things up. Sydney is the hottest,
most popular girl in the school who hasn't given Josh the time of day, or even a brief smile,
or glance ever before and it says here that he's married  to her? With kids? While Josh
pursues his own line of happiness with Sydney, Future Emma is taking a downfall. With her
husband rarely around and a kid to feed and take care of, Future her is once again, unhappy.
Determined to change that, she continues making ripples until she lands up with yet another
husband. Meanwhile, Josh impresses Sydney by taking a stand for her in class and she asks
him out. She begins to really like him and asks him to go to the bonfire with her. At this point,
things are beginning to get more than a little complicated between Josh and Emma, and
readers can easily figure out that they are meant to be with each other. It frustrated me a lot
as I at first had thought they they were meant to be "just friends" but as the story traveled on,
it became apparent to me that they were perfect for each other, if only they could see that.
And I thought they did! When Emma kissed Josh, I thought-this is it! They're going to see the
light! Instead, Josh dismisses it as a way to get her another husband and accuses her of "playing"
with him. Angry, frustrated, and hurt, Emma retreats to her bed and begins to think about Josh,
their time together, and how stupid she was to reject him. Kellan realizes her dilemma and tries
to get Josh to see that Emma really loves him. Meanwhile, a guy named Cody who Emma has
liked for a very long time, asks her to take a ride with him. Needless to say, it ended in a makeout
session and when he tried to take it further, Emma stops him, and storms out of his aunt's house.
Back in her house, Josh, regretting the whole "playing with his emotions" line, runs down when
he hears Emma's car pull in, but it isn't Emma, it's Kellan, driving her car home while she's away with
Cody. Kellan blames Josh for Emma being with Cody and Josh couldn't bear thinking of Emma in
Cody's car. At the bonfire, Kellan drags an unwilling Emma there and Josh and Sydney are hanging
out together. Emma's heart is breaking and she attempts to leave early. When she does, Josh and
Sydney are snuggled in a blanket under the night sky together, but while this is happening, Josh
realizes that although it's stupid and irrational, he doesn't like Sydney, in fact his heart belongs to the
very girl he called a tease-Emma. When he leaves and retires back home, Kellan and Tyson wake
him up and "kidnap"him and Emma, telling them it was apparent that neither of them were happy.
Taking them to GoodTimez Pizza store-their childhood hangout-, they hang out in the ball pit and while
Kellan and Tyson grab some things to eat from the kitchen, Josh and Emma hold hands and then kiss
in the pit. Facebook is gone as Future Emma decided to cancel her account, and the couple believes
its gone for the better. Hugging in the pit, they both whisper that they hope this changes everything. I was
extremely happy when the couple came to senses about their love for each other and I think this is
an amazing book.
"A page-turner"- Kirkus Reviews
"A clever, timely story that will attract any teen"-Booklist
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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SB