The Things We Take for Granted...

This week I read This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It is the third book in a post-apocalyptic series. The two main characters from the first two books (Miranda Evans from Life as We Knew It, and Alex Morale from The Dead & The Gone) come together in this final installment.

Why did I read it?

Sometimes I try to be clever and come up with books that are popular on the YA scene and are well-written. Other times, other people are clever for me. My boss, Karen, read this book a few months back, and she said it was really good. So, I decided to check it out.

What happened?

This book opens with Miranda going through the day to day existence in a world where there is no sun, no flowers, and rarely electricity or food. (A year before the book opens, an asteroid had struck the moon and brought it closer to earth causing world-wide changes and destruction.) She writes in a diary to keep herself sane, and hopes that her father and her stepmom, Lisa had their baby and are still alive. In the meantime, Miranda deals with the survival of her mother and two brothers. About half-way through the book, Miranda’s dad returns with his wife, their alive and healthy baby named Gabriel, and three strangers who traveled with them. Alex is one of the strangers, who is obsessed with protecting his younger sister Julie, no matter the cost. (After reading a synopsis of The Dead & The Gone, I can see why). Miranda and Alex seem to be at odds with each other, but they quickly realize might they want more than anything else is to be with each other.

What did I like or didn’t like?

This book is gripping and normal all at the same time. Most of the book is just the day to day routine of characters, but then something monumental happens that shows who they really are. After reading this book, you are left with a feeling of hope in times of trouble. But, you are also left with a sinking feeling of so much death and bad things happening. The ideas of what is right when the world is turned on its head and how you can hope in tomorrow when tomorrow might be just as bad are some themes that run throughout the book. I’m not sure I can say I liked it as it is rather depressing. But, I can say it is a good read the keeps you wanting to figure out what is going to happen.