''The Future of Us'' is a 2011 contemporary fiction novel written by

Jay Asher Jay Asher (born September 30, 1975) is an American writer and novelist. He is best known for writing the bestselling 2007 book ''Thirteen Reasons Why''. Early life Asher was born in Arcadia, California, on September 30, 1975. He is half Jewish. ...

and

Carolyn Mackler Carolyn Mackler (born July 13, 1973 in Manhattan) is an American author. She has written ten novels for teens and young people, including ''Infinite in Between''; ''Not If I Can Help It''; '' The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things'', which ...

. The novel was published on November 21, 2011 by Razorbill, a division of Penguins Young Readers Group.

Plot

Josh and Emma are about to discover themselves—fifteen years in the future. It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long—at least, up until last November, when everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since then, but when Josh's family gets a free

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

CD-ROM in the mail, his mom makes him take it to Emma so she can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook, which hasn't been invented yet. Josh and Emma are looking at themselves fifteen years in the future. Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates—it's all there. And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change. As they grapple with the ups and downs of their future, they're forced to confront what they're doing right—and wrong—in the present. They end up discovering that they have feelings for each other and eventually start a life together.

Reception

The novel has received mixed to positive reviews. The film option rights for the movie version of the book has been sold to Warner Bros.

Characters

Josh Templeton is a friendly, somewhat awkward redheaded kid. Emma Nelson is a friendly, more social character.

References

2011 American novels Fiction set in 1996 Collaborative novels Novels about social media Novels about time travel Novels set in the 1990s Razorbill books {{2010s-specf-novel-stub