Life as We Knew It

True confession time: I have a real jones for post-apocalyptic, survival, dystopian fiction. I eat it up! Part of the appeal for me is thinking through how I would react in a similar situation. I'm convinced I would be the last survivor, regardless of the situation. I think I would be very similar to Miranda's mom. Cool in a crisis, I would cash out everything and stockpile food and supplies to help my family survive. In Life As We Knew It, we view everything through Miranda's journal entries. She's immature, and scared, and doesn't always grasp the severity of the situation (naturally--she's 16). Suspend your disbelief as an asteroid hits the moon, moving it closer to the Earth. Chaos ensues. Nature is out of balance. And society as we show more know it collapses.

Now please excuse me as I go to the store to stockpile gallons of water and food for my pantry. 3 stars. show less

Miranda is a typical teenage girl. When news reports state that a meteor is going to hit the moon, she just grumbles that it's another excuse for homework. The reality is something much more nefarious - the moon is knocked closer into earth's orbit, triggering global tsunamis, starvation, and tectonic shifts. Miranda's diary relates the day to day struggles as her entire family changes in order to survive in this new Earth.

This was really, really good, and exactly what I hoped it would be. Miranda begins as a selfish, average teenager, but not unlikeable. In the course of the book, she grows even as she starves, and it really speaks a great deal about human endurance in a time of trial. I can't speak as to the accuracy of the science, show more but it was quite thought-provoking. The ending is good, too - not a cop-out, but good. Highly recommended. show less

An asteroid has crashed into the moon, knocking it closer to earth which causes havoc with the weather. Natural disasters such as tsunamis, volcanoes, storms, and floods devastate the world killing millions. The resulting starvation and disease begin to kill even more. Unfortunately, one of the survivors happen to be the dullest most insipid teenage girl ever to draw fictional breath and this girl thinks it would be a good idea to write a diary describing these events. The story is told from the spoiled teenager, Miranda's whining point of view. She begins her struggle to survive by making a mildly interesting journey to a supermarket very early on and helping her mother stock her home with an overabundance of supplies. She continues to show more survive this global tragedy by spending the rest of the time doing nothing more exciting than complaining about the things she's missing like prom and boys and dates, and of course endless obsessing over food while being as completely and unendearingly clueless as is humanly possible. The food obsession becomes progressively worse when her little brother goes off to baseball camp (because apparently in a post apocalyptic USA, there is still baseball camp) and her mother requests that they begin to skip one meal per day to ration their food stores. I didn't find any of the characters to be even remotely likable. The most disturbing thing about this book is the mere thought that if such a tragedy were to actually happen, the world could be populated with people like this family....and cockroaches. show less

When an asteroid is going to hit the moon, nobody took much notice because it wasn't supposed to do much - but, in fact, the asteroid was dense and knocked the moon off course, bringing it closer to earth. Within hours, the tides are wreaking havoc with tsunamis across the world, the electricity is starting to fail, and Miranda and her family find themselves in survival mode.

My reading tends more to the fantasy and teen dystopia side of science fiction, so this post-apocalyptic tale was a different sort of read for me and reminded me a bit of Alas, Babylon. Except, instead of a nuclear war that might have been preventable, we see the aftermath of a natural event that was absolutely no one's fault. I would have to read up on the science show more behind it, but I couldn't help but wonder if the fallout of one thing after another was an accurate "what could be" or a perfect storm of terrible events that have almost no chance of happening. While I liked Miranda for the most part and enjoyed her growth as she's forced to do things she never would have thought herself capable of, I questioned whether her family's complete isolation was necessary or even beneficial. In a way, the book raised more questions for me than it answered and it's hard to call such a bleak tale enjoyable, though there is some hope throughout, since it was such difficult reading. I'm not sorry I read it, but would only guardedly recommend it. show less

There was something about this book that not only sucked you in but made you feel like you were living in the story and that the real world was a dream. I had moments of odd "not-quite-here" where I'd realize that there was still electricity, food, and that life was still normal. This is not an action-packed book. It was the story of a normal family struggling to survive in a world that was no longer the same. That made it more powerful to me than if the story had followed someone less ordinary.

I don't know why this is categorized as YA, unless it's due its teenage girl narrator, and that could prevent some from reading it -which would be a big mistake. The premise, that a highly anticipated event, a large asteroid striking the moon, ends up being catastrophic for everyone on earth, is a fascinating one. The moon loses a big chunk of turf and is completely shaken from its orbit, with disastrous ramifications for the planet. And there are no easy or ironic answers, as there would be on a Twilight Zone episode. It does turn out to be each family for themselves, as, due to tidal shifts and atmospheric dust and contamination, there is no communication access at all nor any easy way to replenish food or water, nor a way to head off show more a flu epidemic. The reader follows the seemingly hopeless progression towards the death of a rural family - mom, two brothers, and the narrator Miranda - as snow falls in August and darkness reigns over the world.

There are other books in the series, with other teenagers in other settings during the same event - but this one was bleak enough for me, although it was a remarkably vivid and frightening apocalyptic tale, where only the strongest and luckiest might survive. show less

I can’t believe how great this book is. I wish I’d had more time to read it as it’s a book to be devoured. I found myself wondering from the outset how I might’ve managed in similar circumstances and to be honest, I couldn’t. Our narrator is Miranda, a sixteen year old from Pennsylvania. She lives with her mother, older brother Matt and younger brother Jonny. Her father has left home and lives with his partner, Lisa whom we find out on the first page is pregnant.

The novel is written as a diary within sections – which are the seasons. Although, there are chapters usually ended at a significant point. It is narrated in the present tense and there are no clues from the blurb as to how the novel ends. The present tense works so show more well in this novel because it means the reader does not have any clues and the characters are unaware also of the outcome.

At the beginning of the novel we get to know Miranda and her friends through the first few diary entries and then what the scientists have predicted will happen changes everything. An asteroid hits the moon, spinning it out of control, bringing it closer to earth. From this point on, the novel is about life, its changes and, as the title says, life as we knew it. Superbly written, with great characters. You will admire them, pity them and cheer them. You’ll find yourself wondering what’s coming next and trying to imagine yourself in the same situation. However, you’ll have to read it to answer the question Miranda asks on the back cover – will we survive? show less