Review: "The Here and Now" by Ann Brashares

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.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book.

So, I liked this book okay, overall, but...

I really liked the middle - there was some action, some romance, the plot was really taking off, and then the end kind of fizzled out.

One weird thing I noticed - a lack of contractions.  I don't know about you, but when I read, I kind of speak the words in my head.  With fewer contractions, there was a lack of flow - everything seemed stilted.  At first I thought this was deliberate - since Prenna is from the future, it makes sense that she would speak differently.  But Ethan spoke that way too.  I don't know.  Like I said, weird.

How about the characters?  Again, they were okay.  Prenna had some feisty moments.  Ethan also had a few "wow" moments, but I definitely didn't fall in love with either of them.  I'm not sure if there will be a sequel, but if there was, I probably wouldn't read it, simply because I don't care enough about Prenna and Ethan.

My rating: