by Ann Brashares
"Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.
Thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking, The Here and Now is a twenty-first-century take on an impossible romance. Ann Brashares’ first novel for teens since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is 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.
Meet 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 she falls for Ethan Jarves. "
The Here and Now follows seventeen-year-old Prenna as she and her mother, two members of a community of people from the future who have traveled back to the 21st century in an attempt to save the world from climate change and disease.
The world building in The Here and Now is solid and well established; the oppressive nature of the counselors of the community that Prenna is a part of is expressed through surveillance measures and restrictions. Prenna's rebellious and questioning qualities are revealed as she defies the limitations of the governing system, making her a likeable character in her individual and intelligent thinking. Questions about the current treatment of the world by the human population -- very relevant and important ones -- are raised throughout the novel. Prenna expresses her surprise; that people in the 21st century indeed are aware of the troubles they are causing to the planet, however they do not make an effort to truly change things. These overarching themes were strongly supported and were, in my eyes, the true value of the novel.
The greatest of all restrictions, however, from Prenna's perspective, is the one preventing her from having intimate relations with an outsider to the community. Prenna meets Ethan upon her travel through time, and over the course of four years their relationship develops to a romantic point. Unfortunately, Prenna and Ethan's experiences were not well developed or available to the reader; in effect, the relationship seemed to have developed very quickly and, at times, unrealistically, due to the fact that the four years they knew each other were not explored in the storyline.
The resolution, I found, was far too convenient, and happened too quickly. I felt this was true for the entirety of the story; that it could have been more thoroughly explained, with greater build up, and with more information about the community and Prenna's family.
Although the closing paragraphs of the novel were meaningful and well written, I felt unsatisfied with the open ended portion of the story. Overall, I enjoyed The Here and Now, and appreciated its messages and concerns for our planet. As a story, however, the novel could have been longer, more elaborate, and ultimately more believable.
3/5 stars.
