Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Author: Ann Brashares
Series: None
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi/Time Travel, Romance
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Source: Netgalley

My Rating: 3 Stars

Summary From Goodreads: 

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 Thoughts

When I first saw The Here and Now, I was drawn from its synopsis. I then got excited when I realized that it's written by the same author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling pants, which was a series that I loved. I was surprised by the genre difference though and started it hesitantly.

The plot of The Here and Now revolves around these "alien" species coming from a mosquitoes outbreak, which was definitely an unique aspect. Prenna travels back in time in hopes of changing history and stopping the virus from spreading. Although I'm not a huge fan of time travel some novels pull it off well for me and really stick to me, but sadly The Here and Now was not one of them. I had trouble engaging the book in the beginning, but things began picking up about a half to three fourths of the way. I really enjoyed the end of the novel, mostly because I didn't see that plot twist coming.

I honestly didn't connect to Prenna or Ethan for the majority of the novel. I actually liked Ethan more than Prenna just because she was kind of a bland character. Also, their relationship fell flat for me. I love romance in my novels, but I simply didn't feel the chemistry between the two. It wasn't quite instalove but it definitely could have been more developed/less rushed. 

Overall, The Here and Now had an unique plot that was definitely interesting but didn't blow me away. It might be something I recommend to lovers of Sci-Fi/time travel, but in the end I feel indifferent toward it.

                                                                                                                                                                   

                     

About Ann Brashares

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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.