Seventeen: How did you come up with the premise for The Here and Now?

Ann Brashares: It started with a germ of an idea: What would happen if a girl from the future came back to our time? What would happen if she fell in love with a person from the here and now? And that germ turned into an actual germ—a germ carried by mosquitos, who are ubiquitous in a warming, changing climate that brings plague and destruction into the later part of our century where Prenna's life begins.

17: What are some similarities and differences between The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Here and Now?

AB: Both books focus on love—both romantic love and other kinds of love. I also hope they share the same emotional intensity. All these books involve a bit of magic, but they are all grounded in reality and the characters are pretty naturalistic. Of course they're different, too! The Here and Now has a tightly focused storyline, whereas The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books involve a lot more characters, so the narrative jumps more. 

17: What is the main character, Prenna, like?

AB: Prenna is a girl who values honesty, bravery, and a deep emotional connection. As the book begins, she isn't allowed to be or have any of those things. Part of the story is Prenna fighting for the freedom to get to be herself.

17: What do you hope readers get our of reading The Here And Now?

AB: First and always, I hope it's a pleasure. I hope it's a great read and I can't help but hope it's stimulatin in a deep way. This is a book about a girl who falls in love, and it's also a book about a girl who knows the fate of the world 80 years from now. It's not really an easy fate. She saw and suffered terrifying things before she came to live here. The world's fate isn't all that mysterious or difficult to predict, it turns out. She wonders how we could all stand by and let it happen.

The Here And Now will be released in April 2014.

This Is A Developing Story

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