Life As We Knew It

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Book Review by Chris L

Set in a dystopian and post-apocalyptic world, Life As We Knew It is a story about survival and family. Miranda, the protagonist has her world is thrown into utter chaos after an asteroid hits the moon and shifts it out of orbit. The moon is moved closer to earth causing many catastrophic disasters. Miranda and her family are forced into survival mode as they struggle in this new world especially as it changes from bad to worse. Miranda is willing to sacrifice everything for her family and as things get worse they need it more and more. Life As We Knew It is about family coming first, cherishing life and how you should be thankful for what you have.

Written as a diary of a typical teenage girl, Life As We Knew It  is a very captivating story. The young adult book is a bit slow in the beginning but overall is hard to put down. What is amazing about the book is that you can almost pretend that the characters in the story are real. For the most part the book is very interesting and engaging. There are multiple scenes that you can say are full of emotion with lots of drama. Though immature and prone to tantrums, Miranda becomes a character that you can understand and build a sort of connection to, especially as she is forced to grow up quickly. The struggles in the book seem realistic and so do the characters. A sample quote from Miranda that highlights some of the struggles is this : “I feel myself shriveling along with my world, getting smaller and harder. I'm turning into a rock, and in some ways that's good, because rocks last forever. But if this is how I'm going to last forever, then I don't want to.” ( Pfeffer 236)  in the story you start to develop a sort of empathy towards Miranda. Life As We Knew It is a great read that is hard to put down.

I would recommend this book to all dystopian book lovers. The book is well written and engaging. There is a lot of emotion, drama, and struggle in the book. It is a book that is all about survival, family and sacrifice. The characters are realistic and you will enjoy the world of Life As We Knew It.  Additionally, to quote Ms Orloff, this book will make you want to stock up on canned goods. I hope you have fun reading!