This World We Live In Review

Saturday, September 25, 2010


It's been over a month since Miranda Evans has written in her diary, a month of relative calm for her and her family. It's springtime, and with warmer weather comes rain, and the melting of the winter's snow. The shad are running in a nearby river, and Miranda's brothers Matt and Jon leave home for a few days to see if they can catch some to supplement their food supply.

When they return, Matt brings with him a girl named Syl, who he introduces as his bride. But that's not the only shock Miranda and her family have to deal with. A few weeks later, Miranda's father, stepmother, and baby brother show up at her door. Accompanying them are three strangers, a man named Charlie Rutherford, and two teenagers, Alex and Julie Morales. These five people have crossed America together, becoming, in their own way, a family.

Taken from GoodReads.

It's been a year since a meteor hit the moon, knocked it out of orbit, and devastated all life on Earth. In This World We Live In, we see that against all odds, Miranda, her two brothers Matt and Jon, and her mother have survived the first year. Though the world is ashen gray, the climate is ruined, and her friends and the life she once knew are dead and gone, Miranda and her family have survived. When her father, his new wife Lisa, their baby Gabriel and three new strangers arrive, including Alex and his younger sister Julie, a wrench is thrown into the system Miranda's family has developed. Can they survive on even less, and can they all survive together?

It's no secret that I absolutely loved the first book, Life As We Knew It. It's no secret that the second book, The Dead and the Gone let me down a little bit. I had really high hopes for this, the third book. Once again, the book is written in diary form, which I found very effective and poignant in the first book. It's easy to read, it's simple to relate to, and I think it's a clever way to delve into Miranda's emotions the whole time. That said, I have to admit that I was extremely let-down by this book, and I might be the only one. First, I'm going to say that I think that Susan Beth Pfeffer has a rich writing style - easy to follow, entertaining to read, and great to immerse yourself in, and I don't dispute that at all.

However, I did have some problems with This World We Live In. First of all, part of what I loved about Miranda as the MC in the first book was that she grew up and learned to appreciate the small things in the first book. Her angry, childish, and ornery attitude this time really annoyed me. She griped about absolutely everything and everyone. Matt, her brother, also became a character I simply couldn't relate to, perhaps because of the introduction of Syl. While I enjoyed Alex's hope in the second book, he appears as hopeless and spineless as they come in This World We Live In. Then, above all else, Miranda is willing to shove her family aside simply to start a life with someone she hardly knows but "falls in love with" because she "hungers" to be with him. It was sudden, abrupt, and not something I could believe.

I hate giving bad reviews. Truly, I do, especially when I enjoy the author's writing style. I guess what got me the most about This World We Live In was the utter lack of even an inkling of hope. No, I wasn't looking for rainbows, and puppies, and roses, but I wanted to feel that there was something to live for in this book. However, this single line crushed it all for me - "We'll have our life together, not the one with Julie, but one based on family and love and lies." Lies? Really? Ugh. Ok, I'm sure other people will enjoy this book more than me, but I just couldn't help but be depressed and displeased with the outcome. I give it a 2.5 out of 5 because I still enjoy the writing, and I'd recommend it to fans of YA and dystopian novels.

24 comments:

  1. Ah, yikes. That's such a disappointment that it didn't live up to your expectations. Nice honest review :D

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  2. That's too bad that it was a bit of a let down. I haven't read any of these, but I was planning on reading at least the first one because of all the great things I've heard about it. It sucks how the characters seem to have changed for the worse in this one... I hate it when that happens.

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  3. Since your last review on the first book, I'm quite attracted to read this one.Thanks for the honest review and hope I will like it once I try it myself.LOL.

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  4. great honest review!
    I am very curious about this one, but I am not liking the sound of the main character

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  5. I felt the exact same way. The first one is one of my very favorite books now but the ending just killed me. I'm kind of hoping the author will suprise us all and come out with a forth book!

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  6. Thanks for the honest review! I also loved the first one and currently have two and three on my shelf to read. Can't wait to compare notes when I'm done! Have a great weekend!
    If you get a chance check out my site for a 3 Book Giveaway!

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  7. I couldn't finish the first book in this series, it creeped me out too much!

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  8. I don't think I could get into one that is happy to live in a life based on lies. Thanks for the review. I'm sorry you just didn't like it.

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  9. I've really been wanting to read this series, but it's sad that the last 2 haven't been very good. Thank you for the honest review!

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  10. That's very interesting, Melissa, and also very helpful! I haven't started this series yet, but I've read reviews where people touch on exactly the things you mentioned. You have such good points about the issues in question, and if I ever get around to this book, I'll proceed with caution!
    Awesome review, girl, and hey, sometimes you just can't help but give a book a certain rating. You sounded very professional, though! :D

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  11. Thanks for letting me know about this book. I'm glad to know it's something i wouldn't like. I'm not a fan of total downers. Great job at a fair review.

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  12. oh no! i've read and loved the first one and have the second one waiting for me on my bookshelf...

    i love the honesty of this review, thanks :)

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  13. Life As We Knew It has been sitting in my pile of books for a while now and I still haven't read it. I appreciate your honesty and am anxious to see how I respond to the books - thanks for the great review!

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  14. omg nooooooooooo i read the first 2 books and i loved them they were just so chilling! i'm kinda sad now i was hoping for big things on this one :(

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  15. I've been wanting to read this series. Sorry to hear this installment was a letdown!

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  16. Sorry to hear this one disappointed you so much. I hate when series books become less and less appealing and if the MCs gets annoying, that really hurts the novel. Thanks for the honest review!

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  17. Thanks for commenting at my blog. I love dystopia, but I'm also sorry to hear that it was disappointing. Oh well...there's other fish in the sea - no wait, ocean, no?

    XD

    ●▬▬▬๑۩Tina @ Book Couture۩๑▬▬▬●

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  18. This third book was not my favorite at all, but I did really like the first two and of course had to read this one too. your review is spot on though.

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  19. Oooooh! That is too bad. :( I agree about wanting to be left with some hope---that's why I read: I already know that life is HARD and I read for escape!

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  20. Bummer this one wasn't for you, but you did a fabulous job of explaining what didn't work for you and your honesty is always appreciated. I don't think I'll be picking this one up, it sounds like a bit of a downer:(

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  21. Oooh, that's sad that the book didn't work for you, though thanks for the honest review! I actually read the first one in this series back when it was first released and adored it, but when I attempted to read the second one I just couldn't get into it, so I'm not really sure if I'll read this one.

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  22. Life As We Knew It completely blew me away, but you are right, the books that followed didn't quite have the same 'magical' effect.

    Alex made me sick with his determination to drop Julie off and get her to be someone else's problem. His story was very much about the fact that he had to 'grow up' too quickly and assume responsibility. He just never quite adjusted to that fact in a fluid way, which is through no real fault of his own.

    My thoughts on this book were all over the place, and I'm glad I have your review to remind me of what I liked or disliked about the story. I don't think I can blame Miranda for changing so much. The dire circumstances she found herself in caused it, and I can understand that. Who hasn't take comfort in lies with the truth is too unbearable to stand?

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  23. Oh no hope? That sucks. I'm with you. I like hope :) Great review. Thanks for your honesty and take.

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  24. I heard a lot of mixed reviews about this. I prob give it a shot anyhoo. As always a honest review is a true review.

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