The World Reborn

Ava Lourie

Life as We Knew It
By Susan Beth Pfeffer

Have you ever had something happen in your life that completely changes it forever? In Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, 16-year-old Miranda’s life is turned upside down. The impact of a deadly asteroid on the moon causes the moon to come closer to Earth, which creates a number of natural disasters that entirely changes life for all. Miranda, her two brothers, her mom, and some neighborhood friends learn to live through the cold and dangerous air and ration the only food and resources available to them, which doesn’t last forever.

Months after the horrible impact, Miranda’s family grows weak. Her brothers can barely walk up steps, and her mother has a sprained ankle which makes it difficult to care for her family. One by one another person dies in the world, including her best friend and her stepdad. Miranda is in such a horrible mindset that even the death of her next door neighbor and family friend doesn't make her shed the slightest tear. It is apparent that her family is running out of food when she says, “I finally figured I should know the worst and check the pantry. I wish I hadn’t” (Pfeffer 323). She is implying that her family's food supply is running low, which forces her family to ration food and survive on little to no food each day. She believes that the life she is living is going to be permanent for her until her departure from Earth. Miranda has moments of hopelessness, and thinks, “I feel myself shriveling along with my world, getting smaller and harder. I’m turning into a rock, and in some ways, that’s good because rocks last forever. But if this is how I’m going to last forever, then I don’t want to” (Pfeffer 226). Nothing seems to be getting better for Miranda and her family, and she feels very doubtful that their suffering will ever end. One day, Miranda decides to go to town in the middle of a horrendous blizzard. She trudges miles and miles, barely being able to walk through the wet and heavy snow. When she arrives, she is greeted with the news of a lifetime. Her town is giving away free food to families in need. Food was one of the largest elements preventing her family to be at peace. This moment allows her to have hope; “today is a day to celebrate. Tomorrow there will be more daylight than night. Tomorrow I’ll wake up and find my mother and my brothers by my side. All still alive” (Pfeffer 337). As she goes home, she thinks of her old life, compared to the one she is living now. She imagines the future and hopes for a day where she can look back on life as she knew it. Miranda knows that a better time will come soon.

This book has an amazing storyline. It had many scary elements, for example, when Miranda’s whole family was sick and she had to take care of them. In this novel, it was hard to predict what would happen next, which I personally enjoyed. It made each second of reading more interesting because something new would happen. Miranda had moments of doubt, but she always tried to stay positive throughout her journey which I can personally relate to. I always try my best to stay positive in tough situations, so it made it interesting to read about a character who acts in a similar way as I do. The story is set as Miranda’s diary, and it gives an every day summary of what happens in her life. Although the story is day-by-day, it is never slow paced and goes by very fast. As I was reading I wanted to never stop because I wanted to see what would happen next in the story. Even with a book showing hardships and struggles, it still brought out many positive messages. This book taught me to be appreciative of what I have and to always be thankful for everything I receive because not everyone has the same opportunities as I do.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction books and also survival books because this story has aspects of both. The book revolves around a family living their every-day lives while trying to survive through the harsh conditions brought on by an asteroid hitting the Earth, so it has elements of both of these genres. Another book that is similar to this one is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. It has a similar storyline in which many natural disasters happen, and the characters have to adapt to new changes and survive under harsh conditions. This book was very interesting and I am excited to read the next book in the series, The Dead and the Gone.