The Here And Now by Ann Brashares

The Here And Now by Ann Brashares

Release Date - April 8, 2014

Publisher Website - Random House Canada
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 288 pages
My Rating - 3/5
**received in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

An unforgettable epic romantic thriller 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.

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. 

I knew the bare minimum going into The Here and Now. I knew it involved time travel, and romance. Both of these ended up being true. It also has some decent world building, and a mystery that ends in a race to save the world as the clock runs down. This ended up being a novel that had things I really liked, and things I wished were explored more.

The novel starts out incredibly strong. The first few chapters pulled me in, set the tone, and captivated me. The world of Prenna's people is fascinating. The strict, rigid rules they have to follow. The swift, unforgiving consequences of breaking them. They live in absolutes, but nothing is ever that easy. The danger she is in is palpable, and undeniable. As a reader, I felt the unease Prenna would feel. It's one of my personal favourite aspects of the novel.

Prenna's life has been filled with rules, and fear. Her minor acts of rebellion quickly turn into larger ones. She is someone that is driven to do the right thing, even if it's the harder choice. She doesn't sit back and accept what is told to her. She showed early on that she was not only questioning everything she had been told, but that she was actively willing to defy it. It's her strong moral compass that endeared her to me. She didn't back down, even if it meant she'd die. She was willing to pay that price for her convictions, and to help better the world for others.

There is a cautionary environmental element to the plot that, for me, seemed heavy handed at time. It's something that we need to discuss, and having it examined in this way was an interesting idea. I think, however, that it didn't quite work for me. It felt like it was presented in a strictly black and white manner, instead of the complex reality of the situation. 

The mystery Prenna has to unravel, and the eventual race to save the world was done rather well. Little clues are peppered throughout the story, and we learn things at a nice pace. I wish it had been slightly more layered, and that we spent more time on the 'why' of everything. Everything is laid out, but it felt a little too rushed, and almost as a afterthought to the romance itself.

The romance is certainly swoon worthy. Ethan is not only incredibly sweet, but is relentlessly supportive. He is there for Prenna, and anything she needs. Seeing his unwavering support made the romance even sweeter, because he lets her see the strength she has inside. He helps her see that she has the ability to stand up for what she believes in, and do what she feels is right. He believes in her, and because she's not used to having that, it helps her see things in a new perspective. The consequences of them being together are real, and the reality is that happily ever after may not be in the cards. The 'star crossed' aspect of their romance was fleshed out more than I was expecting, as the novel tackles what harm them being together could do. This plot point is resolved in an unusual way, and left me wondering if this perhaps might be the start of a series. 

The promising ending was contrasted with what, I felt, is a weaker lead up to that ending. The pacing felt off towards the end, and things were quickly tied up without the build up I wanted. Not everything is neat and tidy by the end and that felt right for this particular story. I wanted more from it though, especially some elements outside of the romance. The promising threads of certain story lines were not developed as much as they could have been, and it lead, for me, to a unsatisfying later half. The ending itself wrapped up the novel in a surprising, yet honest way. 

A novel whose romance easily swept me away, but left me wanting a little more on the plot side of things. All the elements were there, but I feel the novel to be fleshed out just a little bit more, particularly with the second half. Ann Brashares writing style is evident throughout, so fans of hers will certainly delight in this aspect of the novel.

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

I had a pretty insane mailbox/bookish week! Lots to show you....

If I Lie by Corrine Jackson (goodreads)

Listen To The Squawking Chicken by Elaine Lui (goodreads)
Here and Now by Anne Brashares (goodreads)

I was gifted If I Lie while at my bookclub! Super excited to read it since I've heard amazing things from Jamie (The Perpetual Page Turner/The Broke and Bookish).

From Random House Canada I got The Here and Now, and Listen To The Squawking Chicken for review! I am excited to read both of them! A big thank you to them for the review copies.

Something Real by Heather Demetrios (goodreads)
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (goodreads)

I borrowed Something Real from Emilie (Emilie's Book World) and Forever from Katherine (The Lady Critic's Library). Emilie has told me nothing but amazing things about Something Real, and I am wanting to finish up Maggie Stiefvater's trilogy in time for Sinner's release this August.

Compulsion by Martina Boone (goodreads)
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick (goodreads)

I got these two ebooks for review. A big thank you to Simon and Schuster for the chance to read these awesome sounding titles.

Happy weekend, and happy reading!

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
Release Date – June 14, 2011
Publisher – Random House
Pages - 349
My Rating- 8.5/10

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.

I loved the original Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series. LOVED. I was so excited to hear that there would be a book about Tibby, Carmen, Lena, and Bridget as adults. I always wondered what happened to them. I was satisfied where I had left them, and this is a classic example of be careful what you wish for (but more on that later).

Jumping into the story I immediately realized how much I missed the girls. I was happy to see that for the most part they hadn’t changed too much. They were just more grown up versions of what I remembered. The nostalgia factor was high. I was a transported back to when I first read the previous books and watched the movies. It was nice, and felt like catching up with an old friend (or in this case friends). It was nice to see what Kostos, Eric, and Brian were up to as well. The guys of the Sisterhood are pretty awesome (I have a huge soft spot for all of them for different reasons). It’s also nice to see which couples made it.

The writing style was typical of the other books. Some of the books in the Sisterhood series are better than others, and I think this book is one of the better ones. Is it perfect? No, but I think fans of the previous books will devour this one.

Now on to the “be careful what you wish for” part. I know a lot of readers want another book when their favourite series ends. We all want to go back and visit those characters that we love, myself included. I usually tend to forget that means our characters may have bad things happen to them. This book has an event that devastated me. I literally ended up crying for most of this book. I don’t mean little sobs either. I mean messy, on my bed curled up bawling. I had to stop reading. I don’t want to give anything away because I think it impacts you more if you are not expecting it. I will say that I think I reacted so strongly because the event happens to my favourite character, and I am around the age of these characters ( I am 30, they are turning 30 in the book) and was able to put myself in the same position. I couldn’t help but thinking of what it would be like if it were me.


I finished this book wanting to call my best friends and tell them that I love them. I want to make sure they know that every day. It’s cheesy but true. It highlighted how important true friendship can be in your life and made me cherish the ones I do have.

Waiting on Wednesday..Sisterhood Everlasting

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares



Here is the Goodreads synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends, Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one

I loved the previous Sisterhood books and had no clue that there was going to be a fifth book. I am really excited to get my hands on this! The cover is very different from the other Sisterhood books. I do like the cover a lot though. I am curious to see what it will be like without the pants.

Expected release date - June 14, 2011