Review: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer Posted by Tiffany at 7:23 PM

Title: Life As We Knew It
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer (author's blog)
Publisher: Harcourt (site)
Pages: 337 (paperback)
Price: $7.49 Book Depository $7.99 (and 4-for-3) Amazon $8.09 B&N
Rating: 4/5
Series: The Last Survivors: Book 1
Synopsis:
It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore year in high school, and her journal reflects the busy life of a typical teenager: conversations with friends, fights with mom, and fervent hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a collision course with the moon, it hardly seems worth a mention in her diary. But after the meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas shortages, along with extreme weather changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town; and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry, and finally resigned, as her family is forced to make tough choices while they consider their increasingly limited options. Yet even as suspicious neighbors stockpile food in anticipation of a looming winter without heat or electricity, Miranda knows that that her future is still hers to decide even if life as she knew it is over.


Initial Thoughts: I love this cover, with the beautiful night scene and the giant moon, but what sold me on the book was the post-apocalyptic theme. I liked that it focused on how  the world ended instead of just how people were coping afterward. 


Review: This book was amazing. It was written in a stark, terrifying voice. As Miranda's life becomes more and more desperate, you feel like you're right there with her. Every time I put this one down, I had to shake off the tension and hopelessness that you feel as you read. There wasn't an awful lot to Miranda, she was a simple character. What really makes this book is the way people around her begin to throw off their civilized masks and commit acts of desperation. By the end of the book, you are almost completely without hope that any of the characters you've come to love will survive. The writing style is simple, no-nonsense, and addictive. I couldn't put this one down. In short; go out and get this book, you'll love it. It will scare you, break your heart, and leave you wondering what you would do in her shoes. Can't wait to read the sequel, The Dead and The Gone.

Other books in this series:
The Dead and The Gone(Book 2),
 This World We Live In (Book 3)