My first pick for the To Be Read Reading Challenge 2010 is Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This book has been sitting on my To-Read shelf at home for about a year and a half. This is really, really unfortunate because I absolutely could not put this book down once I started reading it. It is a gripping, all-too-realistic sounding book and it scared the beans out of me.
Life As We Knew It is the story of Miranda and her family. At first, Miranda is a sixteen year-old girl full of sixteen year-old problems. These issues pale in comparison to what happens after a meteor hits the moon. After the moon is hit it is dangerously close to Earth. And that's when Miranda's real troubles begin.
For one, schools are shut down pretty quickly and supermarkets are emptied of all food and supplies. Gas prices skyrocket to nine dollars per gallon and heating oil is no where to be found. Then the weather starts acting funky and long dormant volcanoes start erupting.
All of these disasters and shortages and environmental problems led me to constantly reflect on my own life and chances for survival. I don't know that I would have the courage or the bravery to survive as Miranda and her family managed to for most of the book. Reading this sort of fiction always makes me appreciate the "little" comforts I enjoy on a regular basis: enough food to eat, heat, electricity, indoor plumbing. I can't imagine living life without these necessities!
This novel is told in a series of journal-style entries, which helps to endear Miranda and her family to the reader. I was almost getting panicky for awhile wondering what would happen to Miranda, her mother, and her two brothers. I won't give away what happens at the end, but I will say that there is a sequel to this book that has not yet been released. When it does come out, I'll be there. Waiting. It's that good.
If you're interested in reading this book, please look for it at the back of the room.
