The Here and Now by Ann BrasharesRelease Date: 1 January 2015
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Rating:
Thrilling, exhilarating, haunting and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first-century take of an impossible romance.
There are rules.
Never reveal where you’re from.Never be intimate with anyone outside the community.And never interfere with history.
Seventeen-year-old Prenna James emigrated to New York when she was twelve. But 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. Prenna does as she's told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth and take the lives of her younger brothers. But everything changes when she falls for Ethan.
She might be able to save the world ... if she lets go of the one thing she's found to hold on to.
 I just could not take this book seriously, I’m very sorry. The Here and Now tells the story of a girl who is sent back in time with a small group of people so that they can escape their own grim future world. Because mosquitoes? And fever? Anyway, the gist of it is that in the future literally millions of people die from malaria to the point where the human race finds themselves on the Endangered Species List. It is probably not the best sign when a book’s plot reminds you strongly of a South Park episode:
I like to think I can accept a lot in the books I read but with this one, I just found it borderline hilarious all of the time. These characters escape a mosquito-ridden planet to go back in time and…do nothing…about it? Literally they have ~rules~ which forbid all the future people from interfering with the world as it is, which, okay, just head on forward to a mosquito-ridden future. Seems legit. And obviously there is a love story between a future girl and a boy from the past. ~love in the time of mosquitoes~
I mean you could always go and read this book for amusement but I struggle to find anything deep or serious in a story that so desperately wants to be.
Ah no, it’s gutting when you read a book that turns out to be rubbish! I can’t stand it when books fail to be realistic. Even with fantasy/sci fi, you still need to make your readers believe in what is going on!
Steph – http://the-darkness-will-never-win.blogspot.com
i know, right? i’m kind of glad i didn’t have many expectations going in but even still it was disappointing.
As a huge fan of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants back in the day, I was so excited for this, but I agree, it’s just wasn’t that great. I think maybe a few years ago I may have enjoyed this more and over time I’ve become a more critical reader, but oh well…
the sisterhood of the travelling pants was the only reason i requested this one XD no, i honestly think this is a terrible book at any age. ann brashares should stick to contemporary stuff and not try to ~science~ in her books
I was excited about this one but I think I may lower my expectations a little haha. If they aren’t even allowed to do anything to change the future, what’s the point?
idek they’re like ~immigrants~ as opposed to actual people from the future who could do useful things in the present. it was not very well thought out tbh
Being the impulsive person that I am, I decided that it would be a good idea to get this one off Netgalley without reading the reviews first. And then I went on Goodreads and holy cow, why did I get it? >< Maybe I'll read it one day but I'll have to go into it with lower expectations. 😛