Pfeffer, Susan Beth. 2006. Life as we knew it. Boston: Graphia. ISBN 978-0-15-206154-8 Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer tells the story of junior Miranda and her family as they struggle to survive the catastrophic events that occur when an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it out of orbit and closer to earth. Following the moon event, Miranda and her family must deal with the effects of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, major changes in weather (such as blizzards), the rationing of food, of gas, of electricity, dangerous neighbors, and a deadly break-out of the flu. The story is told from Miranda’s point-of-view from diary entries beginning in May and ending in March, and the readers get insight through the diary entries into her and her family’s lives as they fight to survive. Read this book to see if Miranda, her family, and her friends survive the year. Will they starve, will they succumb to disease, will they freeze to death, or will they kill each other? Read Life As We Knew It to find out.
Spoilers Ahead: This novel has been classified by some as science fiction and by some as survival fiction; however, this novel really fits into the category of dystopias. Allen Pace Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson define dystopias as “usually set in the future, with technology having played a role in establishing the conditions out of which the story grows” (Nilsen and Donelson 2009, 238). This is true of this novel. The story begins with everyone, scientists included, anticipating the event of an asteroid hitting the moon. Everyone is excited to see this astrological event and view it as an innocuous thing, much like the viewing of an eclipse. However, readers find out that the scientists have actually underestimated the mass of the asteroid, and when it hits, it knocks the moon out of orbit and closer to the Earth. That is when various natural disasters ensue, and the events of the story are left to play out. Nilsen and Donelson also say that dystopias tend to be more like fantasies in the sense that “once the situation is established, authors focus less on technology and more on sociological and psychological or emotional aspects of the story” (2009, 238). This is exactly true of this novel. The reader is allowed an inside view into protagonist Miranda’s mindset, feelings, and relationship ups-and-downs with her mother, her brothers, her friends, and her father and his step-wife, just to name a few. This novel is compelling. The structure of the book is set up in diary entries made by Miranda chronicling the first ten months of her life and those in her rural community in the wake of the moon disaster. The pace moves rather quickly in this format. Miranda is a likeable but realistic character who is faced with extraordinary circumstances. Pfeffer does a good job of creating a dynamic character in Miranda. Miranda evolves from a self-centered teen crushing on an Olympic-hopeful skater with dreams of competing in swimming and skating herself. She faces conflicting emotions regarding her parents’ divorce, her mother’s boyfriend, her step-mother and jealousy towards her younger brother. Miranda is also dealing with the aftermath of losing a friend to death and the disintegration of her other friendships as a result. Miranda works much of her issues out through her diary entries and over the course of the tend months that the reader is privy to, and the reader gets to see her evolve into an amazing young woman who is instrumental in her family’s survival.
I highly recommend this book for read-alouds, book talks, book trailers, and independent reading. This book could also be read in Literature Circles for an English or reading class, and it might even be interesting to bring a science teacher into the discussion. Inviting a science teacher in as a special speaker about this topic would be a great way to include real world connections.
Review Excerpts
- The Horn Book Magazine (November/December 2006): “Pfeffer’s taut survival story is effective not because it witnesses these catastrophes firsthand but because it doesn’t.”
- Publisher’s Weekly (10/16/2006):
- “The book may be lengthy, but most readers will find it absorbing from first page to last.”
- “This survival tale…celebrates the fortitude and resourcefulness of human beings during critical times.”
- School Library Journal (Oct. 2006): “Pfeffer tones down the terror, but otherwise crafts a frighteningly plausible account of the local effects of a near-future worldwide catastrophe.”
- Booklist (September 1, 2006): “Each page is filled with events both wearying and terrifying and infused with honest emotions. Pfeffer brings cataclysmic tragedy very close.”
Reference
Nilsen, Alleen Pace , and Kenneth L. Donelson. 2009. Literature for today’s young adults, 8th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Book Cover Art from Amazon.com:
No comments:
Post a Comment