Life As We Knew It

Life As We Knew It
Book 1

Susan Beth Pfeffer

Synopsis:
Miranda thought that the meteor that was going to hit the moon would just be an excuse for her teachers to give more homework, and in the days leading up to the event, this premonition is coming true. However, as Miranda, her mother, and younger brother Jonny watch the collision, they are terrified as the moon moves significantly closer to Earth! The next day, after a few classes at school (and a monstrous thunderstorm), Miranda is pulled out of class by her mom to go get as many groceries as possible. Things were worse than anyone could have imagined. Reports of massive tsunamis, earthquakes, and increased volcanic activity have sent Miranda's world into chaos, and her life will never be the same...

My Thoughts:
This book was much better than I expected. It has been sitting on my shelf for a number of months now, but I was never motivated to pick it up until I wanted something to read after finally finishing East of Eden but didn't want to wait for a library book. As it turned out, it is a fantastic story. Really, it is quite realistic, seeing that at any moment something could collide with the moon and send it closer to Earth. On top of that, the side effects of tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes make a lot of sense. What I really liked about the book was the way society reacted. Since the characters in the story are living in the same society as we are, it makes the story much more believable and realistic compared to some futuristic dystopias. Also, you can picture the madness in grocery stores and angry citizens at the events. Though most of the book takes place in Miranda's house and would have the potential to get boring or repetitive, the way it is narrated though Miranda's diary keeps the focus on interesting, unique events. That writing style worked very well for this story. Overall, it was a great book!

Questions for Thought:
1. Were an meteor supposed to (innocently) hit the moon, would you make an event of it, or simply watch from home and keep the rest of the evening normal?

2. Once you had seen the moon move closer, what would you do? Just proceed like normal until you really knew what happened?

3. Were you Miranda and were rushing for supplies in the grocery store, what would you go for first? Your favorite food that may be in the middle of a large crowd, decent preserved food with a somewhat smaller crowd, or try to get lots of cans that nobody wants, like vegetables, while there isn't much competition?

4. Once things really started looking bad, would you try to head to a better part of the country, or would you stay at home and hope for the best?

5. Were you the government, what would you be doing to try to help in such a large disaster?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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