Friday, October 5, 2012

Book Review: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: What a story! I really enjoyed how Pfeffer set up the story to begin with an event that everyone watches for fun...and turns into a story about learning to live in a world that is vastly different from the way it has always been. Miranda is a great character, she has moments of selfishness and rebellion, and she regrets the mistakes that she makes during her time post-meteor. I also appreciated that it was suspenseful without the violence. That's not to say that no one died in this book...millions of people did. The author simply managed to do this in a way where the reader doesn't see them happen, while still allowing the reader to be emotionally involved. 


Nit picks: This book is done in a journal format. At some points in the story this worked brilliantly. At others, however, I was left feeling that the journals were written in a way that felt more like a regularly formatted novel. It tended to throw me off a little bit. 


Life As We Knew It

By Susan Beth Pfeffer
Published by Harcourt Children's Books
337 Pages
Rating: A

10 comments:

Tales of Whimsy said...

I must try this one. :) Great review.

Melissa said...

I am so glad to see somebody else reading these books! I loved them and think they're pretty underrated. I don't know if they just didn't get enough push from the publisher or what. Are you going to continue the series?

Kami said...

I really liked this one. It made me want to stock my pantries, and crave chocolate chips.

M.A.D. said...

Lol - it made ME want to stock pantries, chop wood, and hoard warm, thick blankets! ;D

Definitely underrated! My daughter and I love this series, and can't wait for the next in the series <3

SarahS. said...

This sounds good, I might have to check it out. Great review.

Unknown said...

I want to read this! Great review :)

Unknown said...

This book looks very interesting. I love the fact that the author doesn't concentrate at the apocalypse very much and she lets us enjoy how it affects the characters' lives. LOVED your review,

Bookish in a Box said...

This sounds so cool! (No pun intended.) Journal formats were one of my favorites growing up, but it bugs me a bit when they're more "novel" than "journal entry".

Unknown said...

Hm, I don't know how I feel about journal format, but it sounds interesting. Love dystopian :)

Zemira said...

I want to read this book. Seems very interesting.

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