Title: The Here and Now
Author: Ann Brashares
Pages: 288
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.
My Rating:
✰✰✰1/2
I received a copy of this book from Random House Children's and NetGalley
The synopsis of this book really stood out to me. I remember seeing someone explaining it and talking about a group of immigrants moving to America, but not from a different country, but time. It really sounded good and I was able to receive a copy of this book from Random House Children's and NetGalley awhile ago. I planned on reading it before it got published but unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that. I picked up this book weeks ago and couldn't really get into it. It wasn't the book, it was just that I wasn't in the mood to read a different book where there would be many new things to learn and understand.
I was only about 30% into the story when I decided to do Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon. I saw it as a perfect opportunity to submerge myself into this book and finish it. And I really ended up enjoying it.
The concept was very unique and the writing was very good. The plot was easy to follow as I continued and eventually I found myself not wanting to put it down! The main protagonist, Prenna, is apart of a group of time travelers who went back in time in an attempt to stop a deadly blood plague. The story didn't really focus itself around the plague that much in the beginning which I found strange. There was a lot of world building and back stories in the beginning of the book which wasn't too thrilling.
Since I really did like the writing, it was easy to continue, and thankfully, the story did start to pick up.
Prenna's character was very believable; her emotions and fears were realistic. I also enjoyed Ethan's character; he was sweet,charming and caring. Their relationship was great and didn't over power anything else. I did not think that their relationship was insta-lovey since they have know each for years and Ethan witnessed Prenna's arrival.
I do wish that we were able to see more of the side characters such as Katherine, Prenna's friend, who we don't really get to know. In the story, Prenna doesn't really have anyone by her side other than Katherine and Ethan.
I did think that at some points there was too much going on in the plot and somethings over powered others. I think this book was pretty similar to The Giver in some ways. For instance, all of the rules they have and how there's a lack of privacy made me compare the two. Both of which I thought were great.
I think Ann did a great job of writing this story especially since there are less than 300 pages in it. I really emerged myself into this story and really enjoyed it. In my perspective, it didn't seem like anyone was doing anything to prevent the plague. It was only when an old homeless man speaks to Prenna that makes her question her community which then leads to more events that ultimately lead to many big things.
There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews and thoughts over this book but I would recommend it.
Now talking about some spoilers:
There were some nice plot twists in the story that I really enjoyed. I do have to admit that it was strange how Prenna only recognized the old homeless man as her father when he was dying. The story of him did really make sense and I really liked how the time travel made him age much more than the others. The whole thing with Mona was a bit too much. Some things in the plot really did make things more confusing and too complicated. But I did think that everything about Andrew Baltos was interesting.
His suicide actually made me sad, even though he was a murderer. I did think that it would've been better if we found out about the start of the plague from someone who is really known in the book, not a character that has only been here for not that long.
I really liked all of the character development that Prenna went through. In that long discussion she has in the end with Mr. Roberts really showed that and it made me want to clap for her. Speaking of Mr. Roberts, I think he was a good antagonist but it seemed as if he gave up in the end. The ending did seem a bit too forced and fast; it wasn't a bad conclusion though.
I really love the moments that Prenna and Ethan shared, especially when they were at the beach and shopping. Their love relationship was great and did make me sad how in the end they can never get what they really wanted. I loved how together they went searching for clues and discovered her dad's belongings that he brought back. I think the time traveling trait of this book was extremely cool.
My overall thought: A suspenseful book with amazing writing and real teen angst.
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