REVIEW: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us

by Jay Asher, Carolyn Mackler

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.
By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.  summary from GoodReads

What a fun book!  I kept telling my daughter about this book while I was reading it.  She loves time travel and I knew this book would be right up her ally.  Unfortunately, I told her too much because she then proceeded to steal my book from me and read it before I could finish it!!  I had to move on to a different book while she read my copy.  She did get it finished in one day though, so I got back to it the next morning.  I just finished it tonight.  I am definitely going to order this one for our school library.  A fun read that makes you wonder about what would happen if you really could see your own future.  Would you be happy with what you saw?  Would you attempt to change it? 

REVIEW: Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

Everyone has a secret. But Lucy’s is bigger and dirtier than most. It’s one she’s been hiding for years—that her mom’s out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. She’s managed to keep her home life hidden from her best friend and her crush, knowing they’d be disgusted by the truth. So, when her mom dies suddenly in their home, Lucy hesitates to call 911 because revealing their way of life would make her future unbearable—and she begins her two-day plan to set her life right.With details that are as fascinating as they are disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy’s desperate attempt at normalcy. Her fear and isolation are palpable as readers are pulled down a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen’s life will have readers completely hooked.

For those who have finished DLS, there is an "AFTER" chapter on the website www.cjomololu.com. Contains many spoilers, so only for those who have read the book.  --from GoodReads


This book was soooooo good!  I loved it.  I could not imagine living like the main character did.  This book is super short and I read it very quickly.  The author did an amazing job of describing the characters and the setting.  The house!  I could picture it so clearly, and just cringed thinking about the smell.  I even loved the inclusion of little T.J. who is a 9 year old neighbor of Lucy.  This book is a nominee for the Eliot Rosewater award for 2011-2012.  Eliot Rosewater awards are chosen by teens through a nomination and then ballot voting process.  My school library is working in conjunction with our local public library to make these books available to teens and facilitate the collection of ballots.  I'm excited to read all of the nominations.  The Other Wes Moore that I reviewed a few weeks ago is another of the nominees.  Matched by Ally Condie is also on the list.  I read that one this past summer, and liked it a lot.  But so far, my personal favorite has been Dirty Little Secrets.  Eliot Rosewater awards are given in Indiana.