Synopses & Reviews
I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonaldand#8217;s still would be open. High school sophomore Mirandaand#8217;s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, like "one marble hits another." The result is catastrophic. How can her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking the continents, and volcanic ash is blocking out the sun? As August turns dark and wintery in northeastern Pennsylvania, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove. Told in a yearand#8217;s worth of journal entries, this heart-pounding story chronicles Mirandaand#8217;s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of alland#8212;hopeand#8212;in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. An extraordinary series debut! Susan Beth Pfeffer has written three companion novels to Life As We Knew It, including The Dead and the Gone, This World We Live In, and The Shade of the Moon.
Review
"...Readers will respond to the authenticity and immediacy; each page is filled with events both wearying and terrifying and infused with honest emotions.andnbsp; Pfeffer brings cataclysmic tragedy very close."andnbsp; --Booklist (September 1, 2006)
Review
This intense psychological drama, showing the brightest and darkest sides of humanity, offers remarkable acts of courage and disturbing images of domestic violence. Willa's frankly portrayed grief, confusion, and uncertainties will have a strong impact on readers."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The sheer drama of the plot will draw readers, and they’ll stay for an insightful exploration of the way families go both right and wrong."--Bulletin
Review
"The protagonists of Pfeffer's novels
The Dead and the Gone and
Life As We Knew It join forces in this third installment of a harrowing saga set in the not so distant future. A year after the moon was thrown off course by a meteor, natural disasters and climate changes on Earth are still making mere existence a challenge...Throughout, readers will be moved by displays of compassion, strength, and faith as characters endure grim realities and face an uncertain future." —
Publishers Weekly, starred review "Palpable despair is dappled with tiny flares of hope in this third entry in Pfeffers enthralling series about the aftereffects of a meteor strike on the Moon that has altered the earths gravitational pull...fans of the first two will thrill to this latest and the loose ending will leave them hoping for more." —Kirkus
Review
* "As riveting as Life as We Knew It and even grittier. . . . The powerful images and wrenching tragedies will haunt readers."and#8212;Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Everything Pfeffer writes about seems wrenchingly plausible."and#8212;Booklist, starred review
"Incredibly engaging."and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
Review
"As riveting as Life as We Knew It and even grittier, this companion novel returns to the premise of that previous book to show how New York City responds to the global disasters that ensue when an asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit. . . . Once again Pfeffer creates tension not only through her protagonist's day-to-day struggles but also through chilling moral dilemmas: whether to rob the dead, who to save during a food riot, how long to preserve the hope that his parents might return. . . . The powerful images and wrenching tragedies will haunt readers."
--Publishers Weekly (starred), 5/19/08
Synopsis
Willa is lucky. She has a happy familyMom, Jack, her stepsisters Brooke and Alyssa, and Willaall living together in peace and contentment. But a frantic phone call from her mother's best friend from her hometown of Pryor, Texas, shatters that calm and stability. Willa's birth father has murdered his second wife and two daughters and the police think he is on his way east to find Willa and her mother.
Questions abound as Willa realizes that her mother has held on to many secrets. As those secrets begin to spill out, Willa is compelled to seek the truth about the family she never knew existed. In dusty Pryor, away from the peaceful home life shed always known, Willa begins to find her roots and question the meaning of blood ties. Only by looking at all of the pieces that make up her life can Willa discover her strength and independenceand realize what family ties really mean.
Synopsis
Blood can both wound and heal . . .
Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? But as Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she also keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear apart all she holds dear.
Synopsis
When a meteor hits the moon, Miranda must learn to survive the unimaginable . . .
Synopsis
Mirandas disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove. Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Mirandas struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.
Synopsis
After Willa's estranged father goes on a killing spree in Texas, she and her mother are horrified to learn he's headed their way. Under police protection, Willa begins to tease out secrets from the past before going to Texas herself to learn more about the family she never knew--all while keeping her own dangerous secret. A tale of love and deception from the New York Times bestselling author of Life As We Knew It.
Synopsis
“Willas frankly portrayed grief, confusion, and uncertainties will have a strong impact on readers.” -Publishers Weekly, starred review
Sixteen-year-old Willa is fortunate to have a happy blended family. But a frantic phone call from Pryor, Texas, shatters the calm. Willas birth father has murdered his second wife and daughters . . . and the police think hes on his way east to hunt down Willa and her mother. As this disturbing tragedy inevitably exposes family secrets to Willa and her community, she struggles with her own destructive secret.
Synopsis
The highly anticipated follow-up to Life As We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone
Synopsis
Its been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earths climate. For Miranda Evans, life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.
&nsbp;The struggle to survive intensifies when Mirandas father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Mirandas complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever.
Synopsis
"You will read it in one sitting, fighting back tears as you bite your nails."and#160; --teenreads.com on Life As We Knew It
Synopsis
Susan Beth Pfefferand#8217;s
Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event--an asteroidand#160;hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as theyand#160;unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.
About the Author
Susan Beth Pfeffer is the author of many books for teens, including the New York Times bestseller Life As We Knew It, which was nominated for more than 20 state awards, The Dead & the Gone, and This World We Live In. Pfeffer's other books include the bestselling novel The Year Without Michael and the popular Portraits of Little Women series and Kid Power, which won the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and the Sequoyah Book Award.