Life As We Knew It

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Review by Kavya P

For my choice book this past fall, I chose to read Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This book was one of the best dystopian young adult books I’ve read in awhile.

The book is the first part of a trilogy called “Last Survivors”. Life As We Knew It centers around a teenager named Miranda and how her life changes during an astronomical catastrophe. The Moon moves closer to Earth after being hit by a meteor and the repercussions are major. Volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis plague the Earth. All stops are pulled out and Miranda’s happy Pennsylvania life changes to a life of hoarding food and distrust.

I liked this book because it’s told through the diary entries made by Miranda. She details all that happens and what’s she’s feeling which gives the reader a very surreal feeling of what’s going on. This is an apocalyptic story through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old in the modern world. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Swiss Family Robinson or Hatchet as it’s premise is similar to those books.

If you’re thinking about reading this book, you will definitely enjoy it because it’s a reasonable length of only 350 pages. I read the first two books in the series, and I think that the first book is just fine by itself. You don’t have to read the rest of the series to find out what happens. This book is a great read, and you will not be disappointed that you read it.