Life as We Knew It



I read the book Life as We Knew It. This book is by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It was published by Harcourt Books in 2006. Life as We Knew It is a science fiction book. This book shows and explains 16 year old Miranda and her family’s struggle and endurance for survival. This book is overall well written. Some parts are slow and you slowly lose interest. Then there are parts where the story pulls you in.



The main characters are; Miranda, her mom Laura, Jonny her youngest brother, Matt her older brother, and Mrs. Nesbitt their next door neighbor. Additional characters; Dan, Sammi, Megan, Megan’s mother, Brandon Erlich, Miranda’s dad, Miranda’s step mom Lisa, Mr.Danworth, Mayor Ford, and Peter. This book is mainly about how a family in Pennsylvania struggle to survive after a meteor hits the moon. You wouldn’t think that a meteor hitting the moon would be such a big deal because meteors are hitting the moon all the time. But that meteor pushed the moon closer to the Earth causing a mixture of natural disasters such as, volcanoes erupting, massive flooding, and tsunamis.

Miranda and her family are eventually enclosed in the sun room with its woodstove to keep them warm. All the electricity is gone. There’s no oil to heat the house, not enough food, and death everywhere. Normally I don’t like science fiction books, as they don’t interest me. This book kept pulling my attention. It has funny parts like when Miranda goes to her room to get some clean socks. She has to bundle up with about four layers to walk to her room. While walking there she’s thinking in her mind “….the kitchen is like hiking to the North Pole. You don’t just walk there in a bikini”. Meaning that if the kitchen is that cold imagine how the rest of the house is like. Then there are those sad/scary sections, the ones that are so intense and have you gripping the book so tight. One of those parts is when everyone in Miranda’s family gets the flu except her, and she can’t do anything except give them aspirin, oil rubs, sponge baths, and feed them, just letting the illness run its course.

This book has left a different impact on me. It was a pleasant book with creativeness and had entertained me, I’ve never thought about a meteor pushing the moon closer. It’s a beautiful book because it gives you a sense of the meaning of live like tomorrow’s your last day.

I’m actually pleased that I had the chance to read this book. The concept with the moon is so crazy. But it’s somewhat peaceful; you get the sense by the end that things will be ok for Miranda and her family.