-Susan Beth Pfeffer
“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.”
I read this book in March of 2020 and the story is still vivid in my mind. As the pandemic was just beginning here in the US, I saw many similarities between this story and the world around me. Typical dystopia encompass an entire world and/or how that world changed. This story pretty much encompassed one household and how they struggled to survive.
Quotes from the book:
“Do people ever realize how precious life is? I know I never did before. There was always time. There was always a future.”
“I've resolved to take a moment every day for the rest of my life to appreciate what I have.”
“Today... I am 17 and warm and well fed, I'm keeping this journal for myself so I can always remember life as we knew it... We're all alive. We're all healthy. These are the good times.”
The story is told in diary/journal-entry form, much like first-hand-accounts on the news after a disaster strikes - the personal stories draw you in and make you feel more for the victims. The entries are brief, much as you’d expect from a 16 year old girl. I enjoyed seeing Miranda, the main character, broaden her empathy and help care for her family.
The story progresses smoothly from a completely normal situation to a terrifying horror scenario where they are struggling to survive. Miranda's world progresses so slowly, so smoothly, that it's hard to even realize how nightmarish her life has become. I felt the tension slowly raise until I felt a little anxious myself - just at the possibility of how believable the story was. Life As We Knew It is the first book in a series of four, told from the point-of-view of existing characters and characters introduced in the second book. 2: The Dead and the Gone, 3: The World We Live In and 4: The Shade of the Moon.
Heidi Y.