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
Title: The Here And Now
Author: Ann Brashares
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
RATING: 3/5 STARS
The Cover Contessa's Review:
I want to thank Delacorte Press and Net Galley for providing me with an early copy of this book to read and review. I loved Brashares Traveling Pants books so I thought I would give this a try. And it's a bit of a sci-fi read, which I totally love, so I was happy to jump right in. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.
Blurb from 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 love this cover. It's just so pretty. The colors are completely eye catching. I love the effect of the triangles on the cover, as well. Even without reading the blurb I would pick this up just on the shear look of it alone!
Prenna, I really liked her character. She is relatable as a teen girl. Given her strange circumstances, I think she fits in rather well. She very free spirited and wants to experience the world, despite the rules that have been set out for her. She is not above breaking those rules to try and see what's out there. But breaking those rules can cause all kinds of problems she does not even understand. She has a certain vulnerability to her that makes her charming and her determination to figure things out is endearing.
Ethan is the perfect companion for Prenna. He's a friend for sure, has been for a long time. Someone she can trust and hold on to. But then he is so much more. He cares about her and wants to protect her. And he knows that she is different, that she is not who she says she is. He is certainly loyal and he wants nothing more than to be with Prenna. I love that he's sexy, in a bit of a nerdy kind of way. It's his smarts that really win me over!
There is certainly some swoony romance in this story, which makes me like it all the more. I enjoyed watching the relationship grow between the two characters. But it's not too much. And you know from the start that Ethan has a pull towards Jenna, from the very first chapter.
Brashares makes her book fast paced with action that keeps you enthralled and wrapped in the story. It's different and exciting. I love the mystery. And the Sci fi elements is wonderful. I love time travel. It's not too intense and there's definitely not confusion. She incorporates a lot of twists and turns you won't see coming.
I ran the gamete of emotions in this one. I was happy and sad. The ending was appropriate, even if I was a bit sad for what had to happen. I definitely wanted to cry, throw the book across the room and then just scream. But I knew that there was no other way for it to go down. It is totally engaging. Not necessarily for fans of time travel, but the sci-fi element is prominently there
Blurb from 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 love this cover. It's just so pretty. The colors are completely eye catching. I love the effect of the triangles on the cover, as well. Even without reading the blurb I would pick this up just on the shear look of it alone!
Prenna, I really liked her character. She is relatable as a teen girl. Given her strange circumstances, I think she fits in rather well. She very free spirited and wants to experience the world, despite the rules that have been set out for her. She is not above breaking those rules to try and see what's out there. But breaking those rules can cause all kinds of problems she does not even understand. She has a certain vulnerability to her that makes her charming and her determination to figure things out is endearing.
Ethan is the perfect companion for Prenna. He's a friend for sure, has been for a long time. Someone she can trust and hold on to. But then he is so much more. He cares about her and wants to protect her. And he knows that she is different, that she is not who she says she is. He is certainly loyal and he wants nothing more than to be with Prenna. I love that he's sexy, in a bit of a nerdy kind of way. It's his smarts that really win me over!
There is certainly some swoony romance in this story, which makes me like it all the more. I enjoyed watching the relationship grow between the two characters. But it's not too much. And you know from the start that Ethan has a pull towards Jenna, from the very first chapter.
Brashares makes her book fast paced with action that keeps you enthralled and wrapped in the story. It's different and exciting. I love the mystery. And the Sci fi elements is wonderful. I love time travel. It's not too intense and there's definitely not confusion. She incorporates a lot of twists and turns you won't see coming.
I ran the gamete of emotions in this one. I was happy and sad. The ending was appropriate, even if I was a bit sad for what had to happen. I definitely wanted to cry, throw the book across the room and then just scream. But I knew that there was no other way for it to go down. It is totally engaging. Not necessarily for fans of time travel, but the sci-fi element is prominently there
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.
I have been very intrigued about this one, and after your review I feel like I ought to give this one a chance, even if it has a few flaws here and there.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
It was good, not wonderful, but definitely a nice read! Thanks for stopping by!
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