The Here and Now by Ann Brashares Published by Delacorte on April 8th 2014
Genres: Young Adult
Goodreads
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.
I am a sucker for a cute romance and anything that has to do with time travel so when I first read the synopsis for The Here and Now, I was definitely excited to read it. I’m glad to say that my excitement did not go unwarranted and that I really enjoyed The Here and Now. I’m going to organize this review by sub-categories because SO MANY THINGS TO MENTION!
The writing. I absolutely adored the writing style in The Here and Now. It was interesting, very captivating and not too lyrical that I found it annoying. I loved how real the writing felt, I was able to visualize everything that was happening in the novel.
The world-building. Prenna and a bunch of people time travel to the past to escape their plague-filled world. It’s fascinating because when going back in time, the group makes a bunch of rules that keep modern-day society and themselves safe. I really enjoyed reading about what happened in the future and how the plague started. The future that Prenna came from felt so real and I really admired that.
The plot. I’ve always loved time travel, always. And when Prenna starts questioning the rules that she has to follow after escaping to our present, the book gets a whole lot more interesting. I loved all the suspense, mystery and things that Prenna has to solve. I really enjoyed the time-travelling elements and the explanations behind certain events but I was confused sometimes. I also felt that the plot was very slow at certain parts of the book but it flowed smoothly overall.
The characters. I loved Prenna which is surprising since I usually hate female protagonists. I loved that Prenna was head-strong, determined and that she was willing to go against the rules to do what was right. I especially admired her decision at the end of The Here and Now and I completely agree with most of her decisions.
The romance. The romance was very interesting in The Here and Now. Usually, a book starts off with a girl meeting a guy and then things happen and *bam* romance. But The Here and Now was completely different. The book starts off with Prenna already having a crush on a super sweet and awesome guy she’s been friends with for about three years. Ethan (friend mentioned earlier) was super awesome and totally sweet. The thing to keep in mind is that Prenna’s interest in Ethan is totally wrong because of the previously mentioned rules that everyone from the future has to follow. They’re not allowed to ‘be intimate’ with anyone from the future because who knows what kind of harmful viruses and bacteria they might have.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Here and Now. I loved the world-building, the writing style and the main character. The romance was also very enjoyable and entertaining. I highly recommend this book for those obsessed with time-travel and who are in need of a cute and awesome romance novel.
