Future Shock

Briggs, Elizabeth. Future Shock. 2016. 265p. ISBN 0-8075-2682-7. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

Elena Martinez has bounced from foster home to foster home ever since her alcoholic father killed her mother in a fit of rage when she was seven. Now two months away from turning eighteen, Elena knows she needs to find work and quick, otherwise there will be no future for her. Elena possesses an eidetic memory, which means she remembers everything she sees, does, or read. This capability scares others, however, so she rarely reveals it.

Life in the foster system is rough, so when she is approached by Aether Corporation to participate in a secret project that will pay her handsomely, she is thorn. On one hand the money would set her up to do pretty much anything she wanted, including going to college. On the other hand, the risks involved are very high. Aether wants her and four other foster kids to travel to the future, retrieve any technology and information they can, then travel back. They will be travel 10 years ahead, and stay there for 24 hours. The only restriction? They can’t contact themselves otherwise  it could cause future shock and break their present selves.

Now Elena must depend on four other kids, including gorgeous and mysterious Adam, to keep safe for 24 hours. But many things can change in one day, and knowledge of the future will forever alter her perception of the present.

Fans of time traveling stories will enjoy the tight storyline and hints that are dropped throughout the book but only comprehensible in hindsight. Traveling to the future is an interesting twist on the time travel theme. Recommend this book to readers who liked Ruby Red. Elena and Adam's story continues in Future Threat.