Review: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Source: Bought

What would you do if an event of cataclysmic proportions took place right now? How would you survive? That’s what Susan Beth Pfeffer’s book is all about. This book shows a rapidly deteriorating world as seen by Miranda a teenage girl from Pennsylvania.

A meteor hits the moon and everything changes for Miranda an her family. Tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes cause destruction all around and the only thing she can do is to survive one day at a time. She keeps a journal were she writes about her family. In the beginning her journal entries are more frequent, but as time passes or when things get bad the entries become less continuous. This is a process of transformation for Miranda. When the journal entries begin she is immature and self-centered., but as time goes by, she morphs into a selfless young woman. At the book’s ending things are bad but at least they find hope in little changes, like minutes of electricity or bags of food.

When the event(meteor) takes place, her mother decides to get food and supplies. She’s the kind of person who usually works well at emergencies. At first, I thought of her as an alarmist, but later her precautions paid of. By the other hand, Miranda is the one who thinks that things are not that bad until she experience them for herself. Her entire family grows together having the same goal, survive or at least help the most capable to continue living.

This is a good story but it fell short . The ambience and the stress of that kind of world is never tangible on the story. In a world without food, water and things necessary to live, people will fight for everything. I expected people trying to break in on their house but it never happened. No deaths on her family by widespread epidemics. Well nothing at all. I don’t know , maybe some people perceive a nearly end of the world as an opportunity to be gentle and obedient ,and of course, wait in line. Maybe the following books will show a more crude world to the reader.

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