grammargirl | Book Log: Life as We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This is an utterly depressing book about the end of the world, and it is wonderful. I bought this, in hardcover no less, on

penmage's recommendation and I couldn't be more impressed.

Life as We Knew It takes the form of a diary written by a teenager named Miranda. At first, this diary is almost frustratingly ordinary: Miranda writes about school, spats with her friends, an Olympics-bound ice skater from her hometown on whom she has a fangirl crush. News coverage of an asteroid that is going to hit the moon is only given glancing, grudging notice as the subject for several homework assignments. Then the asteroid hits the moon hard enough to change its orbit, and Miranda's world falls apart.

The sudden change in the moon's gravitational pull causes tidal waves, earthquakes, and massively increased volcanic activity, killing millions; the ash generated by the volcanoes, in turn, causes extreme climate change almost overnight. Miranda's fast-thinking mother stockpiles supplies as soon as the extent of the catastrophe becomes apparent, but as the outside world becomes more and more hostile, Miranda and her family realize that their only hope is each other--and a rapidly dwindling supply of food and other necessities.

I think the thing that I loved the most about this book is that its focus is so small, almost claustrophobic. We never learn about the catastrophic damage and death tolls in the rest of the world, except through the same word of mouth that Miranda hears. Our world, like Miranda's, narrows from her school and town, to her house, to one floor of the house, and, finally, to a single room. The writing is incredibly compelling, and, if it seems a wee bit polished and adult for a 16-year-old's diary, I can forgive that in view of the sheer power of the story.

This is right up there with The Book Thief when it comes to books that you should all go out and buy immediately even though they're still in hardcover. Have I steered you wrong thus far? I think not.