The Dead and the Gone

The Dead and the Gone
Life As We Knew It Series
Book 2

Susan Beth Pfeffer

Synopsis:
In Life As We Knew It, Miranda heard reports that New York was devastated, but she didn't know many of the details. In The Dead and the Gone, we hear what happened from the perspective of Alex, a hard-working Puerto Rican student at a prestigious Catholic school. Alex was never concerned about the moon being hit by a meteor. In fact, he nearly forgot it was going to happen. But when he is walking home the night of the incident and the moon grows huge, followed by a killer storm, he starts to get nervous. Once he gets to his apartment with his two sisters Bri and Julie waiting for him, Alex learns that tsunamis have started crashing against the New York coast. As a few days go by, Alex is concerned, having not heard from his parents since before the incident. His uncle Jimmy gives him lots of food from his grocery store, but Alex is still concerned. Though he manages to stay calm and keep his sisters under control at first, when people begin dying all around him, Alex begins to get scared...

My Thoughts:
As much as I enjoyed Life As We Knew It, this one just didn't do it for me. I'm not really sure why, since it should have been more intense than its companion, but something about the story couldn't keep my attention. My guess is that since I live in a setting more like Miranda's, I couldn't relate to Alex as well. The circumstances were even more dire since Alex's parents were gone, possibly dead, and there were many more plot twists throughout the book that in its companion. Really, there isn't too much else for this one that I have to share. I guess I felt that parts were unrealistic, such as Alex not being able to get food from apartments in his building. To me, once people left, knock on the door to make sure nobody's home, then find a hammer or something and break off the doorknob or something to find the food. In a twelve-story apartment (at least), Alex should have been able to find plenty of food or goods to trade.

Questions for Thought:
1. Would you be able to go back to school after such a scary event when your parents are gone?

2. Would yo have sent Bri away with the hope that she would be better off, or would you have kept her to protect her yourself?

3. Would you let yourself believe that your parents were dead, or that they were just stranded?

4. Would you have sent Julie away with your uncle with hopes that she would have more food?

5. Is body shopping moral? Either way, would you be able to do it?

6. Would you have tried to tough it out in New York, or would you have left immediately?


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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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