SuitabookThe Here and Now
Ann Brashares
- Reading
- Pause after the premise is established to discuss secrecy, consent and the limits placed on relationships. Afterwards, revisit whether the story treats those restrictions as necessary, harmful or more complicated than either view.
- Themes
- Collective duty and personal freedom: Prenna and others from the future must obey rules intended to protect history and help prevent a later catastrophe. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Love under restriction: Prenna falls for Ethan despite a rule forbidding intimacy outside her community. The relationship is positioned as a major challenge to Prenna’s obligations, without enough information to determine whether the romance is idealised, criticised or left conflicted.
- Preventing future catastrophe: Prenna believes she can help prevent a future pandemic that kills millions and leaves the world in ruins. The premise frames future catastrophe as a reason for action and raises questions about responsibility across time, rather than establishing a detailed account of disease or prevention.
- Worth knowing
- The book may suit readers drawn to high-stakes future scenarios alongside a forbidden romance.