Life As We Knew It Review

Release Date: October 1, 2006
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Age Group: 12+
Pages: 337 (Paperback)

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.




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This is, if nothing else, a thought provoking and kind of scary book. It was also very stressful. Sometimes, when we ate I would feel guilty, because Miranda had barely eaten lately.

This is certainly a new type of dystopic sci-fi. Because usually it's all fault for being overly conservative and some people find the subject of those books too preachy, but this book isn't like that. Because, in this case, there was nothing that we could do. Even the Amish would've been screwed. The plot was enough to keep me interested and enthralled throughout the book, even with the slow parts.

for the first half of the book or so, the main character, Miranda, is an unlikable character. She's too whiny and teenagery. But, there is so much character growth from her. So much that it's ridiculous. I love how she rose to the occasion when necessary and it really shows how everyone one can be a hero. So by the end I loved her, and her family.

This book is written in the form of a diary, so Susan Beth Pfeffer's writing doesn't get to overly shine, but it is pretty good. Not very descriptive, but not dumbed down either.

This book is a little slow at times, but quickly picks up and makes a fast read. It's companion book, Dead and Gone, which takes place in NYC (where there's a lot more going on than in Miranda's area) will definitely be something that I'll be picking up. Overall, I really enjoyed it and it will probably be something that sticks with me for a long time.