Review: The Here and Now

Title: The Here and Now

Author: Ann Brashares

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Published: April 8, 2014

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Prenna had traveled to our time with her community back eighty years to escape the plagues in her time. The community had rules to protect themselves and to protect those called time natives, people from our time. One of the rules forbid them from becoming intimate with a time native. Prenna fell in love with Ethan the first boy she saw after making the trip.

I think time travel is one of those concepts in literature that is very hard to do convincingly while also having things turn out well for the characters. This book did a better job than most of the others I have read, but then again not everything ended in a completely happy manner.

I would have liked to have gotten to know Ethan better. A couple of times his future from Prenna's perspective was hinted at. I would have liked to know what happened to him after the story ended. Did he still go into the same field of science? Did he stay with Prenna or move on and get together with someone else? There is no hint of a second book at this time, so I don't know if I will ever find out. With the way things ended I think I would be disappointed with a second book. The author would either need to contradict herself, back track on the premise she set up or change one of the main characters.

Overall I gave this book 4 stars out 5.