I was quite excited to read this story. A time-travelling book? "A History of the Future"? How could I go wrong?

Unfortunately, for me the characters and events in the present were not engaging and realistic. They were more of a vehicle for delivering a didactic story from the future.

Climate change is an extremely important and pressing problem, and I applaud the desire to wake people up to what is happening - and to imagine a hopeful future for those who are able to survive. I'm afraid the execution was just lacking for me.

Unfortunately Hope, a History of the Future by G.G. Kellner simply wasn't for me. I did not like the writing style and thought the device of a story within a story was poorly executed since only one of the storylines was even slightly engaging, the other was populated by characters so flat that the most interesting one was a cat.
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A lyrically poetic story about a moment that the past and future collide in the most fantastical and terrifying ways. A family in 2037 find a book that seemingly was published, or is going to be published, in 2200, detailing humanities journey towards The Great Change and beyond. Mankind will have to endure great wars, climate shifts and devastation before they can finally attempt to build a world of peace and harmony with nature and each other.

This speculative eco-fiction was full of character, mysterious magical elements and most importantly, a seemingly timeless cat named Plato. We jump through time and space, to wildly reimagined real-life events in richly complex detail.

However, this was definitely an erratic read, jumping from perspectives, places and times without time to think, and around a third of the book filled with reimagined real-life documents like the Human Rights Declaration which could be of interest to some but left me thinking there was a lot more story than there was.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & G.G Kellner for this ARC

It publishes in 3 days and I am so glad I was able to read it.

Some parts of this book made me feel sick to my stomach as someone who does worry about climate change and the world's current affairs. But it made way to hope and what we can do to be better and do better.

It's confronting and it's captivating and 100% worth the read.

Thank you so much for the read

In this climate change novel meets speculative fiction, we're introduced to both a doomed fate and societal and cultural reclamation fueled by a catastrophic global reckoning with the fact the "The Time Before" was a sprint toward self-destruction. Heavy-handed in its messaging, but obviously what the world requires in order to take real action on the real life issues we face, the family who discovers the book from the future is also thinly developed, a tactic that I believe was intentional so as to create an "every-family" of the present for more universal resonance. We're meant to be able to see ourselves in them, not to have the scene brought to life for us. They could be anyone. They could be us. They are us.

I think other reviewers may be missing the veiled brilliance here - nuances of POV and intentionality of the way the book is written. The basic structure and "YA feel" of the way the book within the book's story is presented follows what it would probably look like for a society rebuilding to record events and capture to stories so they're not lost for posterity. Basic points. Economy of words. The symbolism of Hope/Plato and Alala, key animal totems in the book, underscores a prescience we humans haven't yet fully developed. Reading this book reminded me of listening to the song Imagine. A Utopia? Yes. And possible. The belief that it can and *should* be so it's what's missing for most people. I loved the fictional juxtaposition with actual historical documents. There are overt as well as deep and meaningful lessons here, if the reader is capable of seeing them.

The book started off with a really great hit. The description and cover are also pretty intriguing.
Whats more to like? - A book about a book or moreover a diary,

No this one's not from the past, but from Future.
But the sad part it the book could not hold off with the story when we progressed further. Grace's experience with the diary were a little predictable. Strange part is I saw the 1st episode of Solos. Coincidence at its best there too Anne Hathaway was trying to communicate with her future self.. n here the story was going on similar lines - only for the fact that nothing much apart from surrounding buildup happened here.
And that led to an overal not so wow reading experience. Maybe I will re read this somewhere time with afresh mind ... hopefully for better results

I did have a beautiful line that captured my attention:
"Water, water, cleanse my mind, Make me peaceful, make me kind. Water, water, cleanse my soul, Make me peaceful, make me whole."

Hope, a History of the Future certainly has a unique storyline that could intrigue readers, however, I had a difficult time getting into the novel as it got to be a lot.

Thank you to SparkPress & NetGalley for its ARC.

Thank you to NetGally and SparkPress for the advanced review copy of this book!

A family finds a mysterious book that appears to be from the future. As they take turns reading it, they learn about “The Great Change,” a global event in which the world goes from being war-torn and crushed by climate change to a peaceful and just planet where the environment is protected by law and war is outlawed.

I was initially drawn to this book by the cat on the cover and the premise of the story. I, unfortunately, struggled to get through this book and did not think that the story was executed as well as it could be. I thought that the family that found the book was a little odd; their dialogue was very superficial and monotone and they did not seem to contribute much to the actual plot. I personally would have preferred if the story was solely told from the POV of survivors of the the Great Change and those living in the future rather than having their stories be a plot of a book within a book. Additionally, I was left unfulfilled by the ending and wished that we got some more answers about Plato’s involvement with the book, where the book came from, etc.

Overall, I think that it’s a very interesting idea for a novel, but the writing and the execution just didn’t do it for me.

This is going to be a tough review for me to write. I think the author of this book, G. G. Kellner, has the best of intentions when writing, Hope: a History of The Future. Her warnings about the devastating consequences of Global Warming are sincere and heartfelt. She is presenting a possible future where the world is in chaos. With rising sea-levels comes flooding of low laying lands. Higher temperatures mean food shortages, and instability. And society has completely broken down.

However, there is no actual story in this book.

What I Didn't Like:

There are two families presented. In the near future there is Joyce and her blended family. Joyce finds a book that purports to be a history of the world and that it is written in the year 2200. The future. Joyce, and eventually her whole family, read about what happens in the future, and seriously believe this is a magical book that is telling them about what will happen. It would have been an eerie twist if there had been references to any of the family in the magical book. If that happened, it would have at least been plausible for the characters to believe this was a real document about the future. However, this doesn't happen. All they can talk about is global warming. You barely get a chance to know who these people are or anything. They have no other purpose in the story than to react to the book.

In the book Joyce is reading, there is a history of what happens through a diary of someone's great-grandmother. Again, there is very little character development. All the characters talk about is climate change. The main characters in this part of the story go on a long journey on a boat to escape what they fear is happening. While their tale of survival is compelling, there was very little character development during what would be a life-altering experience. In their two (or three) year trip, there was zero friction between the characters. No one got on each other's nerves. There was no self-doubt about if they were doing the right thing. I found that to be wildly unrealistic.

Plus, the society that eventually forms out of this is a ridiculous utopia. There is no money, everyone adheres to a Universal Bill of Rights, and (again) there is absolutely no conflict. Overall, I found this novel to be preach and heavy-handed. In a story, the characters have to change over time. This never happened. There are other books where climate change is a major theme, but there is an actual story. Check out Gravity is Heartless by Sarah Lahey. These books are character driven and are really wonderful.

This story was quite delightful, and an easy read, but not quite my cup of tea. I always find climate change related fiction a little bit unnerving, and I wouldn’t have chosen to read this novel if I knew that this was the main theme.

The characters were charming, though, and I especially enjoyed Plato the cat. So, not my cup of tea, but I’m sure many other readers who prefer this genre will absolutely love this novel.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Spark Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Climate change books are relatively new to me, but I'm really enjoying them. This one is a work of fiction and tells a cautionary tale of what may happen if we (humankind) continue on the trajectory we're on without taking measures to improve the climate. That may sound all doom and gloom but this novel is actually pretty light. What I loved is the hint of magic that is threaded throughout as the story largely takes place through a mysterious book that was published in the future. I also really enjoyed reading some of the historical documents the author included as she makes the point that we already have some of the groundwork laid for necessary change. As a cat-lover, I liked the inclusion of the character of Plato/hope. I felt that the book left me with a lot of questions but I think that's the point- to compel us to action so that we can finish the story.

This was a quick enjoyable read about a heavy topic. It gave me real Fern Gully vibes and I think its perfect for Earth Day 🌎

Hope, a History of the Future is a story of a family that finds a strange book from the future. The book tells of climate disasters and how things changed over time. I found it ok., it was a very quick read, and did not go deep into characters or anything. The different family members kind of freaked out and cried an awful lot over things that were not really explained. The story does jump around a lot so be prepared.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Since this is a book within a book, to avoid confusion I'm going to refer to the book the characters read as "the History."

This was a warm, fuzzy book. There was hardly any conflict in this story since various family members read parts of the History out of order so we know from early on that things will turn out alright in the end. The History read much in the style of a legend/myth/fairytale, which I liked but I know not everyone does, so it's important to realize that most of the History is told in this style.

This book can be categorized as climate fiction since the main events that happen in the History are brought about by the disastrous results of climate change. However, it's surprisingly hopeful (which, okay, I suppose you can guess that by the title of the book) and is not just a warning about the worst-case scenario of what could happen in the future, but also the story of how humans might be able to rebuild from disaster with love and respect for each other and the world.

This was a decent book, so I gave it 3.5 stars. Mostly what prevented a higher rating was personal preference--I thought it was alright but I would have preferred something with more depth or mystery. It could get boring at times and it felt like more of an easy comfort read than something you read to really think about or chew on. The dialogue and characters' inner thoughts, especially with Joyce and her family, weren't great and felt awkward or cheesy many times. We also didn't get to really know Joyce and her family that well, and I wonder whether the story would have been improved if there was more of a connection between them and the History, or if it felt like they had more of a personal stake in it other than just reading and reflecting on it.

In all, not entirely my type of book, but I don't regret having read it and was a decent, comforting read.

A unique concept that I enjoyed, but got a little lost since the book was a bit convoluted. Engaging storyline though, just has to push myself to get through it.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A unique concept…… The book was thought provoking as it really opened my eyes to the scary and endless possibilities of what could happen if we carry on treating the Earth and each other in the way we currently do.

I really tried to make it through this book but it just wasn’t for me and that’s fine! Not all books are for everyone. Dnf @ 30 %

This climate fiction book has an interesting premise: a book on the history of the effects of climate change on society, published almost 200 years in the future, keeps insinuating itself on a present day family. As different members of the family read the parts of the book that they find it open to, we learn how our current climate crisis develops, how the world falls apart, and rebuilds itself. The story of the family and their encounters with the book is not as interesting as the book within the book. The discussion/lesson on climate change seems a bit heavy handed at times and the family narrative is distractedly stiff. I would have preferred just to read the book within the book. The premise is interesting, but in this work, it distracted from the future it was portraying.

I stopped reading about halfway through. Going by the writing style, I felt that the book was written for younger readers, possibly teenagers. The language was plain and unengaging. The story bounced from the present to a near future to a farther future that did not make sense. The storytelling wasn’t very good and what should have been compelling wasn’t. When I got to the stage where I asked myself why I was still reading this book, I stopped reading. Thank you to Netgalley and SparkPress for the digital review copy.

Stories within a story. That's what initially drew me to the book. It was about generations and legends and family. The premise is really interesting and cool, and normally I really enjoy non-chrononilogical storytelling. However, I found Hope, A History of the Future to be confusing. I got lost between different characters' POVs and the amount of jumps between the timelines. The actual stories from the Grandmother were beautifully written, though, and that helped maintain my interest in it.

I want to preface this by saying I truly do hate giving this book a 1-star rating, it may be closer to a 1.5. I so wanted to enjoy this book, the premise was interesting, I thought it was going to be a good length to explore both the readers and the "history" portions of this story. There was my first mistake. The page count that you see on this book is inaccurate. The novel itself is just around 200 pages and the remaining 100 pages are full of unabridged historical documents like the US Constitution. Why? Did it need to be a certain length for publication? This felt utterly unnecessary though it feels like the author and publisher thought this was critical and potentially groundbreaking...?

While this premise was interesting, half of this story was utterly unnecessary. The family "finding" the history of the future was poorly fleshed out, their encounters with the book rang pretty hollow. They barely questioned if this was real and just all started crying. I found myself skimming through the pages where the only characters that felt different from each other was one who was sick and one who smoked.

The more compelling pieces of Hope exist within the History of the Future; however, even that was not without its faults. It just felt like a saccrine attempt at taking a brief view into the future so that all learn lessons and fix things before the "Great Change."

SPOILERS
The logic of a collapse of human civilizations that can somehow turn around and without power, communications, resources,etc. manage to found a utopian world government in 100 years crumbles if you think about it for more than a second. Also Hope/Plato the cat... was it immortal? The author would like us to believe the same cat pops up in 2030 and 2200 based on the ending. Who was the woman next door to the family? Why was she even added? Also *oooooooo spooooooky* after the family reads this 2 dimensional doom and gloom vision of our potential future the pages mysteriously turn blank