Tuesday, April 6, 2010

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

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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.


Other examples of reviews/interviews for these books are:

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


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:   

Speculatice Fiction Challenge 3basics-1challenge422010sf_chall24023982391_7a3d1b0979_o

Thanks for reading!

10 comments:

logankstewart said...

Those book covers are beautiful, and this story sounds appealing. Thanks for the recommendations and the review.

By the way, the new layout looks great. Now, if only JD was in the header...

Unknown said...

Thanks Logan -
Its still not exactly the way I would like.. I heard that white helps with comprehension.. and its springy too!

Who knows what I will do for summer?

As for John he's forbid me to put his picture up as the blog header...lol!

Aarti said...

I really like the premise of this trilogy. I just heard about it recently! It's pretty fascinating to think of. Have you read The Sparrow? I am reading that now and while I think it's different, I feel it's one you'd really enjoy. Plus, I'd love to discuss it with you!

Unknown said...

Aarti -

Its really a great trilogy.. its so similar to the two I also linked above.. amazingly so. I am really loving the apocalyptic themes.

The Sparrow - I hear it is wonderful.

I have had it on my list for some time now. A bunch of trusted reader/friends on Goodreads have highly recommended it. And its sitting on my shelf here.

Lets see if I can get it started - I am currently behind on about 8 reviews.... yikes.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

These covers are so amazing.

Unknown said...

Diane -
Aren't they... I am such a cover sucker.

The inside is pretty good as well.

Unknown said...

I've heard of this series and I even remember when the first book came out it got really positive reviews. Maybe I will give it a try one of these days.

Unknown said...

Lilly -
They will all be available at the library. Its one of those books the libraries love. Free and easy to read can't beat that.

I hope you and your new one are doing well... he is so cute. :)

Charlie said...

Shellie, you told Diane, "I am such a cover sucker." That isn't good for your health, sucking on covers—who knows where they've been?

They are purty, though.

And I think I would enjoy this trilogy—some of the best and exciting writing right now is coming out in the YA category.

I'm waiting for the third book in "The Hunger Games", due in August I think. This too is a post-apocalyptic series with a strong female lead.

Unknown said...

Charlie -
lol... you are so right sucker is really a bad word on so many levels... yikes!

I have The Hunger Games #1 sitting on my shelf right now... don't tell John or he will swipe it from under my overwhelmed eyeballs. You know he is now reading his third book from your recommendations/reviews?

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