Life as We Knew It

A haunting look at what happens to a small town girl and her family when a world-wide natural disaster happens. The book is very realistic, but not graphic. Violence is hinted at, but not present. Well done, but it still gave bad dreams! ( )

Miranda is an ordinary sixteen year old girl living in a small town in Pennsylvania with her mother and younger brother when it all begins. Her entire town turns out to see what is supposed to be a simple night time display – a small asteroid crashing into the moon. Instead, the collision sends the moon off its normal orbital course, which wreaks havoc on the earth’s climate, and consequently, “life as we knew it.” Miranda’s mother immediately understands the implications of what is happening, and to Miranda’s shock and confusion, immediately begins to stock up on canned foods, dry goods, and other necessities. As the days progress, Miranda begins to realize just how difficult things are, and are becoming. School becomes less and less structured; teachers and students leave or are stricken by illness, and the cafeteria runs out of food.

I liked the concept of this novel, and thought it did an excellent job in portraying how the American public might react to a futuristic catastrophe, but oddly enough, I did not find Miranda to be a very likable character. I much rather sympathize with her mother, who is doing all the planning and foresight and stockpiling. Despite picking up on what is happening and the consequences of each natural disaster, Miranda seems to be purposely oblivious to much of what is going on, and reacts selfishly whenever her mother or older brother take steps to preserve what remains of the family’s livelihood. Overall, though, Miranda has a good relationship with her family, and her mother does the best she can to provide structure and healthy boundaries for all of her children in this tumultuous situation, setting rules, goals, and encouraging them to continue their studies. ( )

This was a fascinating story that failed solely due to weak characterization. I loved the idea of examining the (possible) end of the world due to natural disaster and the lack of control that humans have over it. When the moon is moved out of its orbit by a meteor, weather patterns and the frequency of natural disasters are dramatically affected. The resulting run on grocery store, gas stations, lack of sunlight, dead crops, loss of electricity, etc. make for an interesting backdrop to a family's struggle for survival. I enjoyed seeing their reaction to the uncertainty of their future, their will to live and resourcefulness to survive. And the diary format should have been the perfect way to peek into teenage Miranda's emotional life, but she just felt so flat. She wasn't a unique character at all and I just couldn't relate to her at all. ( )

Life on Earth changes suddenly for humanity when a large asteroid strikes the moon, knocking it closer to the planet. The tides change, weather gets more violent, and volcanoes begin erupting. One day 16-year old Miranda is a typical teenager....and the next she finds herself fighting for her life. What would happen if society ended? Miranda keeps a daily diary about what happens after the abrupt end of modern society.

Life As We Knew it is the first of four books in the Last Survivors series. I enjoy dystopian stories and disaster movies, so I knew I would like this series. And I do....but....

There's always a but, isn't there.....so let's get that "but'' out of the way before I talk about what I like about this series.

It is not possible for an asteroid to strike the moon and knock it closer to the planet earth. I looked up multiple scientific articles on it written by astronomers, scientists, astrophysicists.....and they all basically said it's not a possible scenario. Even if an asteroid measuring 600-miles across hit the moon, it would not alter its orbit. It would just add another huge crater to its surface. It would take a moon-sized object hitting the moon to have a big enough effect on it to wobble it even just a little bit out of its current path.....and that hard of a strike would most likely just obliterate the moon, not shove it into a closer orbit with our planet. The logical side of my brain had a difficult time engaging with this story at first while it was mulling over the moon strike scenario. I had to put the book down, look up the facts and sift through a lot of science before I could return to the story.

In the end, the impossible (or highly improbable) nature of the disaster itself did not hurt my enjoyment of this book. The real impact of the plot is not about what would happen on Earth if the moon was in a closer orbit....but what would happen to humanity and society if there was a permanent, disastrous change to the climate on our world. What would happen in the months and years following an extinction level event? And how would a family deal with surviving surrounded by constant danger, death and uncertainty? This book paints a very real picture of what daily life could become following such an event. Miranda learns quickly about death, starvation, sickness, uncertainty, natural dangers, and loneliness. Things we take for granted now would be of greater significance in a world where modern society no longer exists.

The series is written for the Young Adult audience so there is no graphic sex, violence or grisly death scenes. But, Pfeffer pulls no punches. Death, illness and human frailty are at the forefront of this story. I wouldn't recommend this series for kids under 13. The theme would be a bit too much for younger kids. There is no miraculous happy ending offered, or sweet love story to cover up the stark horrors. This isn't that sort of YA story.....this is hard hitting and thought provoking. I found myself thinking about how my family would react to a similar incident. Could we survive? And, what would happen in the small town I live in if we were all suddenly cut off from modern conveniences and society? Would we all band together to survive? Or would things rapidly descend into violence? I hope I never have to find out.

Life As We Knew It is a story about love and hope in a time where all hope seems lost. So despite the disaster itself being far-fetched, I found myself completely lost in this story. I couldn't put the book down and stayed up until 3 am to finish reading. Excellent start to a series....I am definitely reading the other 3 books!

Susan Beth Pfeffer is the author of several YA books. Check out her blog: http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/ ( )

mediocre, some good parts. pretty forgettable. Felt like something that got pushed off of Tumblr onto a printing press. ( )