Feb 16, 2013

Life As We Knew It (The Last Survivors #1) by Susan Beth Pfeffer


Goodreads Summary:

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 a 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.

My Thoughts:

I love movies about natural disasters. I like seeing the events themselves and the many things that happen immediately after. Fear, panic, crime, death, and more. I watch them all while hoping I don’t have to experience anything like it in my lifetime.

Life As We Knew It is surprisingly the first book about natural disasters that I’ve read. Unlike disaster movies, in this book, you get to see the long term effects from the events. What would have happened if The Day After Tomorrow hadn’t ended when Jack rescued Sam, Laura, and the others at the library? Sure, the movie has a happy ending, but what would it be like living in the aftermath of everything that happened? Would they have experienced what Miranda and her family did in Life As We Knew It?

I also think it’s because of my love of all things Walking Dead that I kept expecting the worst every time Miranda or one of her family members left the house. To what lengths are people…to what lengths are your neighbors willing to go for food or supplies? I know that very early in this book I had the urge to stockpile supplies just in case an asteroid really did move the moon closer to the earth someday.

If you’re looking for a gripping tale about what could be then definitely check this out. Maybe it will even encourage you to start your own mental check list of everything you would do in the event of a natural disaster.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Life As We Knew It on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

Stop back Tuesday for my review of the sequel, The Dead and the Gone.

The timeline of the second book runs parallel to Life As We Knew It so you don't really have to worry about spoilers if you read summaries and reviews for both books.

2 comments:

  1. I love the movie - The Day After Tomorrow! Yeah this is actually a lot like that! I know a lot of people who run to the store buying water at every snowstorm threat. I have always thought these people were ridiculous! mmmm, maybe not!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A lot of people around here do that too.

    ReplyDelete

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