December 5: The Future of Us by Asher and Mackler

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A pair of inimitable young-adult authors have joined forces to produce an entertaining, thought-provoking book for teen readers. Jay Ascher and Carolyn Mackler, in The Future of Us, have used the changing technologies of the past 15 or so years to take two high school friends on a trip to the future that prompts them to look at the present in a different way—for better and for worse.

It’s 1996, and Emma has a new computer. Her neighbor Josh, a longtime friend who has become distant, shows up with a CD-ROM he received in the mail. They load the program on to the computer, and up pops—you guessed it—a Facebook page. Puzzled by all the “pokes,” updates and posts, Josh and Emma soon understand that they are looking into their futures. While Josh goes on to marry the girl he dreams of, but can’t talk to now, Emma finds herself unhappily connected and out of work.

Asher and Mackler’s tale of identity and time travel deftly illustrates the influence of changing technology on family dynamics—from the early days of the internet and that precious landline to the nuances of presenting oneself on Facebook. And since we all suffered through those painful teenage years, when the plates of the Earth seemed to shift if we ate the wrong cereal for breakfast, this winning author duo will have readers of all ages pondering the past, reflecting on the present, and imagining what may come in the future.