We meet Miranda through a series of journal entries in Susan Pfeffer’s young adult (YA) novel Life As We Knew It. As the book opens, her older brother, Matt, is away at college. Her mom is still adjusting to being a divorced parent and her younger brother, Johnny, is obsessed with baseball. As well as her dad and his new wife, Lisa, just announced they are expecting a baby.
Miranda is a typical high school sophomore with two best friends, mountains of homework, and fighting with her mom about wanting to return to competing in ice skating
An asteroid is scheduled to hit the moon and most scientists predict a minor collision. While teachers are taking advantage of moon and meteor themed homework everyone across the globe ventures outside to watch the phenomenon through their binoculars.
But the impact was stronger than anyone had imagined and immediately all throughout planet Earth, the effects of that collision begin to be felt. Tides, which are controlled by the Moon, become erratic, causing deadly tidal waves. Fissures in the Earth’s crust crack, causing earthquakes worldwide and long dormant volcanoes erupt. Within twenty-four hours, it becomes apparent that many have died and many more will in the future.
Despite the depressing premise, this is a story about hope and survival. The book follows Miranda and her family through nearly a year after the meteor’s collision with the Moon, and all of the events that come after it, including the power outages, the food shortages, the weather changes, and the loss of human contact. Miranda and her family adapt to a new way of living, and their bodies and spirits are tested. The book is about learning to survive with what you’ve got, and never taking what you have for granted.
I was captivated throughout the entire ordeal of the book. I found myself making a mental checklist of my non-perishables and emergency plans. I didn’t always like Miranda’s mother, but I didn’t always like Miranda either, which just made them more realistic. I did disapprove of Pfeffer’s statement that people who turn to God in times of grief were brainwashed and stupid. Her portrayal of religion and politics, specifically her nameless portrayal of the president (Bush) as an idiot hiding out on his ranch in Texas telling everyone that everything was okay was offensive and didn’t add to the story. I don’t doubt religious fanaticism would occur is such an event but she blatantly disregarded the positive hope and peace many feel from faith in difficult times.
This was definitely a page turner. I found myself increasingly anxious for Miranda and her family and I think one of the most haunting themes within this book was the discussion of who should live and who’s expendable or most likely to survive.
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Booklist Editors’ Choice, A CCBC Choice, a Junior Library Guild Premier Selection, an Amazon.com Best Book of the Year, and a YALSA Teens’ Top Ten Book
GENRE: Science Fiction
Link here for Discussion Guide
