Trilogy Review: Life As We Knew It; The Dead and The Gone; and This World We Live In ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Moon Series ~ by Susan Beth Pfeffer (reviewed by Shellie)

Synopsis:  This is a young adult series with This World We Live In being the last of the trilogy. It is set within the present day where an apocalyptic event has occurred. The moon has been knocked off its orbit causing a plethora of environmental disasters all over the planet. Tsunamis destroy coastal cities and that is just the beginning.

As all normal life deteriorates the 17 year old main character, Miranda, in the first book tells us through her diary the events and her feelings as her life completely changes. It occurs within a Pennsylvania suburb setting. The second book is a parallel book where the main character, Alex, lives in New York City. In the third book the two main characters’ lives come together.

This World We Live In,  was released on April 1, 2010.

My Thoughts:  The books all have a realistic feeling for what could happen if the world’s food, communication services, and other vital systems were to break down and gradually collapse and disappear. The author does a nice job of giving the reader a feel for this type of event and doesn’t skirt painful happenings such as death, which she does tastefully for a younger audience.

It’s a page turning series for young men and women which I would “safely” recommend for my nieces, grandchildren, and/or students. The behaviors of the main characters in the books show strong character; I would almost say an unrealistic sense of self and behavior (I think I would have gone bonkers under the circumstances). Nevertheless, it’s what I believe to be exemplary behavior for young adults, which I support. I also liked the fact that the two character’s belief systems, atheism and Catholicism, are non-judgmentally contrasted.

Susan Beth Pfeffer has a strong and easy to follow writing style, which sucks you in and keeps you reading while caring about the characters. I completely devoured this series. I would rate the first two books in the series as 3.5 stars. I would say I liked the latest book the best due to its incredible and heartbreaking ending. This, I think, takes the book over the 4 star edge with its deeper internal conflict. Highly recommended for adults and teens alike. I  also recommend that they are read in order, don’t be tempted to skip the second book – I almost did.

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Other examples of reviews/interviews for these books are:

• Reading with Tequila ~ reviews This World We Live In
• The Book Butterfly ~ Interview with Susan Beth Pfeffer
• Rhiannon Hart ~ reviews Life As We Knew It

Other books that I have read and reviewed which are similar and appocalyptic but written for adults are:

• The Things That Keep Us Here ~ by Carla Buckley
• The Road ~ by Cormac McCarthy

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For more information on all three books, the author, as well as purchasing links please see Layers of Thought’s preview combo for all three. These three books will be included in several challenges where badges link to the designated posts for each challenge below:   

Thanks for reading!