This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

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Number of pages: 239
Out of all three books in the series I think this one was my favorite! The ending was so...elegant. Sure, it was a bit of a cliffhanger but as far as cliffhangers go I really enjoyed it! (And that's saying something because I hate cliffhangers!!)
So, in this book we're back to Miranda's point of view but eventually Alex and his sister Julie move in with Miranda's family (along with Miranda's father, her step mom, another man they picked up  along the way, and Miranda's new born step baby brother, and her older brother's wife, whom he met and married within a week).
Reading and observing the way that Miranda gets along with each of the characters is amazing. First she seems against having 10 people in her house because of the worry of food shortage but soon everything works itself out and Miranda is content with having so many people in her house.
It is still no easier living in this post-apocalyptic world but I felt the family struggled less than in the first two books. Especially towards the middle. Unfortunately things would get easier for awhile and then something horrible would happen and they would be back where they started.
A lot of the story is devoted towards who out of the 10 people is going to keep moving on to some other places, and how the other characters would react to that. Did I like this? ...Maybe, it seemed realistic but I wanted a little more character development all around for the new comers.
Anyways, this book was phenomenal and a great ending to a great series!! This would be a great introduction series to dystopia young adult novels, so I definitely would recommend it and I think many age levels could enjoy it! Make sure to read all the way through to the sort of cliff hanger ending you won't be disappointed!
See you soon!
Paige

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The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

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Number of pages: 308
Another impeccable book in the Last Survivors series. This book was written from a different point of view of a different kid in a different location. The main character, Alex, lives in New York when the moon is moved closer to Earth and the book follows all of his ups and downs of surviving. Neither of Alex's parents are home when the disaster strikes and throughout the story Alex and his two sisters go through the turmoil of wondering whether or not they are dead. I felt that the three siblings had an easier time of surviving than Miranda and her family did in the previous book. Alex and his sisters always had a constant way of getting food and their apartment building had heat for 90% of the story so I felt there situation was a little easier to live in. Alex and his sister started with less but eventually it seemed that they had more as time passed. Alex also had a variety of ways to possibly escape New York and save himself. However, I don't want to spoil the ending and say how he and his sisters managed.
This story, like the last one, kinda has the same thing going on everyday but this story progressed and changed more quickly because Alex was able to go outside and walk around more than Miranda and her family was able too. It was also a little more predictable in terms of what was happening with the weather because all of that was already experienced in the first book, and this is going back to the beginning just in a different place, so it was still cool to see how different people dealt with the changing weather.
In the next story I believe the two kids will be meeting and we will be able to see how they live together in this post-apocalyptic world! I can't wait to start reading the next one! Plus I can't wait to see if the world will ever put itself back together and if things will go back to normal!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

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Number of pages: 337
Amazing. That's how I would describe this book. It was awesome! So here's what happened...
The time is present day and Miranda (our main character) is living with her mom, younger brother Johnny, and older brother Matt, and life is going on as usual. Things are normal. However, a meteor crashes into the moon and causes horrible natural disasters. There are tsunami's, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Miranda's family plans for the worst before it happens and collects canned food and vitamins from the grocery store and then the worst possibilities become reality.
First off, there's no electricity (so no AC, heat, radio, phone calls, etc.). Next up, no more water. This happens a bit further down the road into their survival and is pretty much the turning point of the book because it really sets in for the characters that they need to have a survival plan.
Miranda's family begins to ration food so that it can last longer and slowly her family begins to lose their strength. As the book progresses, we see how the characters deal with something as simple and deadly as the flu, and other obstacles like an always depleted food supply, struggles to stay warm throughout the winter, and getting around town without a car and about 20 feet of snow.
The book is flawlessly written and I love how as the book goes on, you can see how Miranda grows and matures. It also makes you appreciate what you have, and when her family starts to prepare to live through this disaster it makes you think what would you do if the same thing happened in real life?
Overall, a great book!! I loved the ending and I can't wait to read the next two!
See you soon!
-Paige

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