Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Life As We Knew it is the first of four books in the Last Survivors series. I enjoy dystopian stories and disaster movies, so I knew I would like this series. And I do....but....
There's always a but, isn't there.....so let's get that "but'' out of the way before I talk about what I like about this series.
It is not possible for an asteroid to strike the moon and knock it closer to the planet earth. I looked up multiple scientific articles on it written by astronomers, scientists, astrophysicists.....and they all basically said it's not a possible scenario. Even if an asteroid measuring 600-miles across hit the moon, it would not alter its orbit. It would just add another huge crater to its surface. It would take a moon-sized object hitting the moon to have a big enough effect on it to wobble it even just a little bit out of its current path.....and that hard of a strike would most likely just obliterate the moon, not shove it into a closer orbit with our planet. The logical side of my brain had a difficult time engaging with this story at first while it was mulling over the moon strike scenario. I had to put the book down, look up the facts and sift through a lot of science before I could return to the story.
In the end, the impossible (or highly improbable) nature of the disaster itself did not hurt my enjoyment of this book. The real impact of the plot is not about what would happen on Earth if the moon was in a closer orbit....but what would happen to humanity and society if there was a permanent, disastrous change to the climate on our world. What would happen in the months and years following an extinction level event? And how would a family deal with surviving surrounded by constant danger, death and uncertainty? This book paints a very real picture of what daily life could become following such an event. Miranda learns quickly about death, starvation, sickness, uncertainty, natural dangers, and loneliness. Things we take for granted now would be of greater significance in a world where modern society no longer exists.
The series is written for the Young Adult audience so there is no graphic sex, violence or grisly death scenes. But, Pfeffer pulls no punches. Death, illness and human frailty are at the forefront of this story. I wouldn't recommend this series for kids under 13. The theme would be a bit too much for younger kids. There is no miraculous happy ending offered, or sweet love story to cover up the stark horrors. This isn't that sort of YA story.....this is hard hitting and thought provoking. I found myself thinking about how my family would react to a similar incident. Could we survive? And, what would happen in the small town I live in if we were all suddenly cut off from modern conveniences and society? Would we all band together to survive? Or would things rapidly descend into violence? I hope I never have to find out.
Life As We Knew It is a story about love and hope in a time where all hope seems lost. So despite the disaster itself being far-fetched, I found myself completely lost in this story. I couldn't put the book down and stayed up until 3 am to finish reading. Excellent start to a series....I am definitely reading the other 3 books!
Susan Beth Pfeffer is the author of several YA books. Check out her blog: http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/
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