Life As We Knew It Review

It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore year in high school, and her journal reflects the busy life of a typical teenager: conversations with friends, fights with mom, and fervent hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a collision course with the moon, it hardly seems worth a mention in her diary. But after the meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas shortages, along with extreme weather changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town; and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry, and finally resigned, as her family is forced to make tough choices while they consider their increasingly limited options. Yet even as suspicious neighbors stockpile food in anticipation of a looming winter without heat or electricity, Miranda knows that that her future is still hers to decide even if life as she knew it is over.
Taken from GoodReads.

Life As We Knew It is Miranda's diary, her link to a semblance of normalcy lost the minute the devastating meteor hit the moon. She rants, she uses sarcasm, and she fights for the life she wants even though everywhere people are giving up hope. She believes life is still worth fighting for even in the midst of worldwide trauma and loss. Above all else though, Miranda wants to prove to herself and to everyone else that life is still worth living, and despite everything that has happened - life goes on.

The brainchild of Susan Beth Pfeffer, Life As We Knew It is a page-turner, and it captivated me from start to finish. I haven't read too many reviews of this one, but the summary intrigued me, and I really wanted to see what it was all about. I couldn't put it down. The story flows and mesmerizes, keeping you hooked to every single word. It's not often that a "what if" story feels realistic and tangible...this, however, accomplishes that seamlessly with a host of characters one can relate to.

I give this book a definite 5 out of 5, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves the combination of sci-fi, drama, and YA novels. I can't wait to start the sequel, The Dead and the Gone!