Mod 4 Life as we knew it

Pfeffer, Susan B. Life As We Knew It. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006. ISBN 9780152058265

Summary:

Sixteen year-old Miranda is a typical teenager at the end of her sophomore year. She works hard in school, hangs out with her friends, follows her heartthrob on the Internet, and is looking forward to driving. Her dad’s new wife is pregnant, and her mom is dating a new man, Peter. The big topic on the news is that an asteroid is supposed to collide with the moon. In a party-like atmosphere, the whole town turns out to watch the impact. But it wasn’t what was expected. “But the moon wasn’t a half moon anymore. It was tilted and wrong and a three-quarter moon and it got larger, way larger, large like a moon rising on the horizon, only it wasn’t rising.” Miranda’s typical teenage life comes to a screeching halt. Worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions lead to food shortages, gas shortages, and climate changes. Miranda and her family shift into survival mode until things return to normal. And they will return to normal…won’t they?

Analysis:

Life as we knew it is written in a diary format that keeps the readers involved in the day to day struggles of Miranda, her family, and neighbors. It is a well-written futuristic fantasy novel that makes the reader ask, “What would I do if this happened to me?” Miranda’s plight becomes more and more personal as the setting closes in from the town to the neighborhood to the house to one room. Miranda also develops as a character from the carefree teenager interested only in driving, friends, and dates to the one who is increasingly responsible for the survival of the family as family members succumb to injury, illness, and malnutrition. Amazon.com says this is a “haunting book that documents one adolescent's journey from self-absorbed child to selfless young woman.”

Reviews:

School Library Journal 2006

…readers will be left stunned and thoughtful.

Voice of Youth Advocates 2006

this novel reminds readers of the wild power of nature that far outstrips human ability to either predict or control it.

Booklist 2006

…readers will respond to the authenticity and immediacy of their [Miranda and her family] plight. Each page is filled with events both wearying and terrifying and infused with honest emotions. Pfeffer brings cataclysmic tragedy very close.

Awards:

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

CCBC Choices

Junior Library Guild Premier Selection Junior Library Guild Premier Selection

Connections:

For information about the author visit susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/

For information on preparing for a disaster visit http://www.ready.gov/

To view a meteoroid hitting the moon visit http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/13jun_lunarsporadic/

If you liked this book, you might enjoy:

Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz

Nightrise by Anthony Horowitz

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

School’s Out Forever by James Patterson

Passager by Jane Yolen

Rowan and the Travelers by Emily Rodda

Cover photo:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9780152061548&imId=53228696