Life as We Knew It

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Book Overview

New York Times bestseller! A heart-stopping post-apocalyptic thriller that's "absorbing from first to last page."*

When a meteor knocks the moon closer to earth, Miranda, a high school sophomore, takes shelter with her family.

Told in a year's worth of journal entries, Life as We Knew It chronicles the human struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152061541
• ISBN13: 9780152061548
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.9" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

One of my favorite books

I've decided to re-read my favorite series as a child and this did not disappoint my memory. Young or old, this is a great start into the genre of post-apocalyptic survival.

Wonderful!

Page turner!!! Couldn’t put it down. I bought this one and read it within 3 days reading before bed and bought the rest of the series the day I finished it. I lived the concept and I loved them characters. Wonderful story. Recommend for readers of any age!

An amazing read

I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy how it was written in a journal/diary entry. However, it made me connect with the Miranda, and I could feel her emotional distress as she is going thru a situation that was supposed to be something interesting....to an event that changes her life. I one day wish to be as brave as Miranda.

Fast, easy read, exciting

Going to buy the other two books in the series since this one was so good. You became Miranda and you feel it all. Sorry I can't remember the names of another similar book that was done as well. It was about a sky cloak. Who should read the book, pretty much anyone.

Really Good!

I couldn't put it down. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. It makes you think a lot about your own life and what you would do in this situation. The characters were a but bland though, and none of them had very good physical descriptions. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

"Remember Life As We Knew It"

At that second, I think we all realized that it was Our Moon and if it was attacked, then we were attacked. As the hype built, everyone around the world got excited about a meteor colliding with the moon, but this wasn't any meteor. When the meteor smashed into the side of the moon it knocked it off its orbit, sending it closer to Earth. The moon's now greater gravitational strength caused tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcano eruptions which killed millions and sent the world into a state of panic. All electricity was lost, gas delivery came to a screeching halt, and food became scarce. Miranda, a 16 year-old in Pennsylvania, found her self in the middle of all of this, not to mention her everyday problems. With sickness spreading and the sun's light blocked out by volcanic ash, she was in for a rough summer and an every rougher winter. Many families head south where things were supposed to be better, but Miranda's family stayed. As Miranda watched friends, family, health, education, and countless other things wither away before her eyes she held onto the most important thing, hope. Life As We Knew It is the well written journal of Miranda, giving the reader a first hand look into her life. I recommend this book to everyone. What really drew me into this book was the fact that it was written in journal entries. This allowed me to know what Miranda thought, and let me know things that she wouldn't tell anyone else. For example, she didn't really show how excited she was that Dan asked her to the prom until she started writing. She also went into a lot more detail about things, such as her trip to the hospital, in her diary than her the dialogue. The journal entries allowed me to see the full story and not just what she wanted everyone else to know. Another thing that I loved was how the story had different elements from so many different genres. I understand why it is considered science fiction (because the meteor crashed into the moon which changed the tides, blah blah) but that's not the only genre it can be put in. It could also be considered realistic fiction because all of this is makes sense and could really happen. Another genre it could be put in is thriller because of the number of frightful scenes, such as Miranda's trip to the pot office in the last entry to see if they have any letters from her dad. This book had enough science fiction themes to be counted as science fiction, but enough elements of other genres to keep it from being a nerdy book about the moon's effect on Earth. The thing that kept me attached to this book was how it got in my head. It's hard to understand, but for example, after reading the entry about "Crazy Shopping Day" I expected to go downstairs and see food piled all over the place. Once you get into the book it all seems so real and you think you're living it. It's one of those books you need to read with some bright lights on to make you realize you have electricity. It's the only book I've ever read that di

A Thriller for All Ages

"When it got closer to 9:30, things got really quiet. You could sense we were all craning our necks, looking towards the sky. Jonny was at the telescope, and he was the first one who shouted that the asteroid was coming. And then it hit. Even though we knew it was going to, we were still shocked when the asteroid actually made contact with the moon...but the moon wasn't a half moon anymore. It was tilted and wrong. It got larger and was smack in the middle of the sky, way too big, way to visible..." Miranda and her family's life get flipped upside down when an asteroid hammers the moon out of orbit, leaving the Earth in the collision course of the moon. Life as we Knew It, which is written in the form of Miranda's diary entries, is a suspenseful novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Miranda, the main character in the story, brings thrills into the book and makes you think about what you would do if you were in her position. The story's events are unpredictable and catch you by surprise. One day, stormy clouds could be pummeling down snow in Miranda's quiet neighborhood, and the next day, volcanoes could be erupting countless amounts of ash into the atmosphere. You will long to read about what happens next in this extraordinary story of love, fear, and mystery. Life as we Knew It is a well written novel, filled with twists and turns that left me hanging onto the book. The thrilling storyline pulls you in teaches the reader about the terrible situation the characters have to face. Susan Beth Pfeffer clearly shows the fear and anxiety in each of the characters hearts. The detail of her descriptions makes you travel into the story and feel the emotions of the realistic characters. All in all, if you long for a suspenseful novel that leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat, this novel is sure to impress. Life as we Knew It is a book with a thrilling storyline and realistic characters. This book made me laugh and weep onto the pages. I will surely read this story again and again.

A haunting, powerful YA disaster novel.

Miranda is a typical teenager, and her diary reflects that: changing friendships, fights with her mom, and homework. When she begins to hear reports that an astroid is on course to crash into the moon, she barely pays attention. But when the collision shifts the moon off its axis, Miranda's world is changed forever in an instant. Massive tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanos wipe out millions, and all of the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to dissapear: food, water, gasoline, and contact with the outside world. Miranda records her family's struggle to survive in her diary, and we follow as things go from bad to worse. This is an utterly compelling, impossible-to-put-down disaster book. It feels like something that could happen to us, right now. It feels real. This is a quiet book. We don't see New York submerged, and we're not witness to the volcanos - all we see is Miranda's family, stockpiling food, rationing batteries, and clinging to each other. We see them grow and mature and adjust. This is a haunting book. It's been three days since I finished it, and I still can't get it out of my head. I literally could not put it down. Buy this book. Buy it now, and then set aside some time and start to read it. It is just that good.

Great Reading!

This book caught my eye and when I read the dust jacket, I thought my teenage granddaughter would really enjoy it, and it helped that this is a Junior Library Guild Selection. I wanted to read a few pages for myself and when I did, I quickly became consumed by this wonderfully written story. I have not read Susan Beth Pfeffer before, but if LIFE AS WE KNEW IT is any indication of her other works, then I would highly recommend them all! This fictional story is told in the first person of a 16 year old girl just finishing her Sophomore year and is written in the form of her journal. As the school year is coming to a close, all the buzz is around a meteor that is on a collision course with the moon. It was hailed as a big event in that it could be seen quite easily from earth with a simple pair of binoculars. The event turned out to be far more than a unique viewing experience, but rather a cataclysmic event that would alter human history. The collision would alter the moons orbit of the earth, moving it much closer than its' current orbit, causing catastrophic tidal waves, volcanic activity like never before, earthquakes, and sending humanity in a struggle for survival. This book is particularly appropriate for young adults, but older readers will enjoy it as well. The young subject, Miranda, is followed as she faces life from an entirely new perspective. I believe readers both young and old will come away being much more appreciative of the tremendous luxury and freedoms we enjoy. Along the way, the book also stresses the importance of family, preparation, cooperation, sacrifice and many other virtues that we could all use a reminder of now and then. I do have two very minor complaints about the book. It doesn't particularly cast a stellar light on Christianity as its' primary references to faith revolve around one of Miranda's friends who becomes a religious fanatic and her Pastor who is, as Miranda describes him, despicable. There is also a slight inflection of politics when Miranda's mother states that they are not yet desperate enough to get their news from Fox News and that the president is a moron. But those brief left leaning references soon pass and the rest of the book is so well written, even the staunchest of conservatives will easily overlook them. I don't want to give away any more detail, so let me just summarize by saying, I highly recommend this book. I really enjoyed it and believe my granddaughter will too.

Hope against hope in a world of lunacy.......

In this new novel "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer, the author of the highly regarded "The Year Without Michael" and many other books, a cataclysmic astronomical event threatens the very existence of the world and all of humankind. An event like this is too immense to imagine in any detail, but the story is told from the point of view of one 16 year old girl living in Pennsylvania, and the apocalyptic event is viewed from the perspective of one person in this seemingly isolated corner of the world. Miranda begins her diary entries with the usual teen business of school, friends and family with a little digression into figure skating fandom. The forecast collision between asteroid and moon seems like a fun event, as well as an excuse for homework assignments from her teachers, in other words, of interest but not particularly interesting. But the unexpected happens and the collision knocks the moon out of its normal orbit around earth and terrible things begin to happen. Life as Miranda knew it changes quickly and relentlessly from one of normality to a frightening spectre of violent death and terrible deprivation. As suddenly as this happens in parts of world where tsunamis, earthquakes and floods wipe out huge areas of land and people, the changes in Miranda's world occur more gradually but relentlessly. Miranda's world becomes more and more focused on the tragedy and the effects of the global climactic change, and her frame of reference as a teen in a world of school, friends, sports and the future, shrinks down to the day to day survival of herself and her family of four. Miranda struggles to maintain her identity, her physical existence and her hope in the face of frightening odds against her. The novel is a dark microcosmic view of a small town family facing the worst that life can throw at them, but it never loses hope even in the face of hopelessness. Miranda muses at one point in the book that she might as well enjoy today no matter how bad it is, because tomorrow was going to be worse. And yet there are little joys, rays of hope, tantalizing moments of what passes for normal in the midst of an ever darkening prognosis for survival. Miranda remains true to who she is and her family shows the strength of their commitment to each other throughout this ordeal. There are no fairy tale endings to this book, but it does end on a hopeful note and the reader is left with the conviction that better days may yet be ahead. There are moments of humor as well as despair, moments of anger as well as love and a compelling story line that makes it hard to put the book down. Miranda's fate becomes a personal issue, we want to know what happens to her and her family and we care. This is the author's best book to date, sure to be a classroom classic and popular with teens as well as an engrossing read for adults. Don't miss this one!