Review - Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Read by Emily Bauer
Publisher: Listening Library 2006
Audiobook 7 CDs approx. 9 hours

This week must be "dystopian future" week. I'm saying that because I swear the last few books I have read ended with the destruction of our known world. In this young adult novel by Susan Pfeffer, a meteor has hit the moon so strongly that it pushes the orbit of the moon closer to the Earth with devastating effects for the inhabitants of our planet.

And here is where I would like to put in a disclaimer: I know that the science behind this event is, well, bullpucky, but if you are able to willingly suspend disbelief (unlike I was) then you will see this as the complex tale of survival and growing up that the author intended it to be. Pfeffer also wrote a companion novel to this, The Dead and the Gone, about a 17 year old boy named Alex living in New York City during the disaster. Life as We Knew It is told in a journal format by 16 year old Miranda. Along with the typical teenage girl concerns that seems to permeate through these young adult novels, (namely boys and self image) Miranda has to confront her own mortality as milions are dying in the wake of the natural disasters caused by the moon. Both novels are full of the teenage angst that one expects in a young adult novel, but set against this world wide disaster, we also see how these teenagers are confronted with both the very best and worst of humanity and how when faced with decisions of life and death, what values they choose to uphold.

If the science behind this novel drives you insane and you would like to read more about the Earth/Moon relationship, check out this article:
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=195923