Review: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
by Jenners • 08/28/2010 • 3.5 Stars, Dystopia, Fiction, L Titles, P Authors, Young Adult • 21 Comments
A meme concept by That’s A Novel Idea
2 words that describe the book―Disaster Diary
3 setting where the book took place or characters I met
- Setting: a small town in Pennsylvania (probably during the time of the George W. Bush administration based on the snarky comments in the book)
- Miranda is your typical 16-year-old girl―dreaming of a date to the prom, obsessed with a local figure skater who has a shot at making the Olympics, resentful of the homework her teachers pile on, conflicted about her parent’s divorce and father’s remarriage, confused about the changes in two of her best friends in the past year. But suddenly, all these “petty” problems become unimportant when a cataclysmic event takes place that changes life for everyone on the planet.
- The moon has always been an ever-present fixture in the sky―something Miranda and everyone else takes for granted. So when scientists announce that the moon is going to be hit by a meteor, everyone is excited to see what happens. Treating it like a party, Miranda and her family gather outside to watch this historic event. But when the meteor hits, the results are catastrophic and severe. Suddenly, “life as we knew it” is gone as the moon―a new closer, ominous looming presence in the sky―makes its presence known in ways scientists never foresaw.
4 things I liked or disliked about the book
- The book is written in diary format so we experience the disaster from Miranda’s point of view exclusively. We experience the fall-out of the moon disaster as Miranda does―from scrambling for food at the grocery store to the slow shrinking of her daily world. This was both a strength and a weakness of the book, in my opinion. On the one hand, you get to see Miranda’s world change from her point of view. On the other hand, you don’t get the “big picture” of what the moon is doing to rest of the world, which I kind of wanted. However, this is a series of three books, and I understand that the next book provides a different view of events.
- I’m not sure whether something like this could really happen, but I think Pfeffer came up with some “neat” ideas of what the fallout might be if the moon got knocked out of its orbit. If you like dystopic disaster stories, this one is a doozy. I’m sure the scientist types might be rolling their eyes at some of the events in the book, but if you just go along with it, it is a freaky little ride.
- Pfeffer does a good job of getting inside Miranda’s head. I thought Miranda’s reactions and emotions seemed like those of a typical teenager. Despite the disaster, Miranda still manages to clash with her mom. She has moments of weakness and shame, and moments where she steps up to the plate. She feels anger for what is happening to her and resentful about the decisions her mother makes to protect her younger brother Jonny. It was refreshing to have a character who wasn’t a perfect person; Miranda is flawed and messy and very human. As such, I could relate to her. (Even if she does forget that she was asked to the prom! Thanks, Alyce, for pointing this out.)
- Miranda’s friend Megan was bothersome to me. We learn that Megan has found religion and gotten heavily involved with her church. I felt unsure what Pfeffer was trying to do with this character. At times, it seemed like an attack on religion or religious types. At other times, it seemed like Pfeffer was simply presenting another type of reaction to contrast Miranda’s viewpoint. The parts with Megan were a bit odd to me, and I’m not entirely sure what I thought of them.
5 stars or less for my rating:
I’m giving the book 3.5 stars. If you love Young Adult dystopian books, you’ll probably love this book (and series) to pieces. I totally see the attraction of the book, yet I didn’t fall in love with it or feel like I have to rush out and read the next book right away. Of course, I was someone who liked Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games series but didn’t love it (which didn’t stop me from preordering Mockingjay). If reading about end-of-the-world type stuff from a realistic teenager’s point of view is your thing, this book would be a must read. I guess it isn’t necessarily my thing. I’ve been on a pretty good reading streak lately (at least three 5 star books in the past few months) and this book just didn’t get me as excited as the books I recently read by Michael Chabon, Jeffrey Eugenedies and Marcus Zusak. And as far as dystopia, I much preferred the personal dystopia that Joshua Ferris created in The Unnamed, which I also recently read.
The Whys and Wheres: I borrowed this book from the library after seeing it mentioned on so many blogs, most recently at At Home With Books. (Alyce reviewed all three books in the past month, and I guess she kind of hypnotized me into starting the series, which I probably will finish eventually).
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This has been on my wish list for a while, but I haven't rushed to read it so far. Someday…
I notice that many book bloggers are attracted to YA fiction. I think I may have to see what all the excitement is about. Thanks Jenners!
I'm thinking of reading the trilogy for Bart's Book YA dystopian challenge this year. If I do, I'll let you know what I think.
I've read something somewhat similar to this years and years ago but I remember how much I enjoyed it so I'll probably try this one eventually… I just added it to one of my desktop lists.
I will definitely have to read these…I do love YA AND dystopian so two major pluses where this book is concerned! And the moon being hit by a meteor – not that's a new one! Must read this one!
I have this one to read yet. Love your two word description.
i read this one but haven't gotten to book 2. i liked it but read online that the premise is absolutely impossible and the moon would never do something like what's described in the book.
whew. i'm still scarred from watching 'the day after' as a little kid and don't think i'd be so good with apocalypse survival.
I am not sure this sounds like one for me. I just finished "Little Bee" and "Wives and Daughters (Susan Gaskell). I am loving having a Kindle. I am also obsessed with "Shuffled Row," the word game that Kindle offered free. I spend WAY TOO much time doing that, and now feel that I must ration the time I spend gaming. No wonder are children are addicted to online games! Good grief. molly
I really loved this book, but I couldn't bring myself to read any of the sequels. Especially after seeing so many negative reviews of the third and final book. About Pfeffer's portrait of Megan, I know many readers weren't happy with it, but to me she seemed to be a person and not a poster-child for all Christians. Of course, as a non-Christian it's easy for me NOT to feel misrepresented. But I actually remember reading somewhere that Pfeffer is a Christian herself and that the other books deal with faith more positively.
The semisweet chocolate squares stack nicer, if you're trying for neatness in your disaster pack (tee hee).
I'm sure I can't fully imagine what would happen to the Earth if the moon were struck by a meteor. The first thing I thought of were the changing of the tides and the length of day and night – the whole calendar would be useless as it is.
After that, I got nuttin'.
Have you ever read The Giver by Lois Lowry? Now that's a YA book that got me thinking.
I did not like this book at all.
Ok, it bothered me that the science is total junk and we are suppose to just ignore that. I thought that was very lazy of the author.
But most of all I hated the message..in a terrible situation, don't work with others, look out for number one, thake no positive action, just hide out and hope Some One Else will save you.
And yes, I hated the snarky political coments.
I found it very negative, very cynical..honestly not something I would give to a young person to read.
But I know it is a minority opinion in BlogLand.
I think the journal/diary format could be quite fun, especially if there were several books about the same event, all written from varying perspectives. Just think… the sequels could be endless!
I've just finished reading a book that used journal format, only this one used 2 people's journals so you saw each side of the story and it actually ran pretty well.
Well you already know how I feel about the book!
I agree with Rebecca in recommending the second book, which I also preferred over the first book. I feel like I need to go back and change my rating of the first book to reflect that even though I loved it, I liked the second book more. I hardly ever do that, but maybe I'll knock it down to 4.5. Mmmmm… something to think about.
Dystopian novels aren't much of a fave with me so I think I'll pass. Your review was excellent as you point out the what worked for you and what didn't. Have a great weekend!
I have to admit, the diary format is what did this book in for me. There was one scene where she was writing as smoke was still pouring into her house, as she was dragging her family from the room, which is completely unrealistic. The diary didn't sound like real thoughts. I'd rather it have been done first person present tense like The Hunger Games, not bothering to explain HOW the first person POV is coming across to us. There was too much justification in it, and I just roll my eyes when I think of a person being able to write down pages and pages of dialogue from memory in their diary. That's not how people write at all!
When I read this last November, I thought it was okay, but since that time I've grown to like it less and less. I haven't read any further in the series.
I rather like the idea of it being written in diary form. That said, I'm more of an Unnamed girl.
Who forgets she was asked to the prom???
No SM5 this week. I'll try really hard to get one next week.
Sounds like a promising read – the fact that it is written in diary form puts me off a little though.
Not reading much YA and not really into dystopian so I don't think this would be my sort of thing at all.
I enjoyed this book, but I MUCH preferred the second book – which is city-based and profits a little more of the wider scope you're looking for (though it is still based around a single character).
It seems you're only so-so on this first book, but if you happen to stumble across the second in your travels, I'd give it a go.
I loved this because it got me thinking about all the things I should stock up on in the event something like this ever happened!!! Such as, chocolate chips!