Life As We Knew It         by Susan Beth Pfeffer

                                                                             Summary 

             Life as we knew it deals with the scenario of if the moon was knocked out of orbit and came hurdling towards the Earth. Susan Beth Pfeffer describes the impact it would have on the Earths ecosystem and on humanity. The story is told in Chronological diary entries of a teenage girl. A coming of age story at the worst time. As the story progresses the conditions on Earth become more hostile. She learns to mature very fast when she has to take care of her little brother in extreme weather. She learns how to ration food and the unbearable pain of hunger. The book centralizes on the theme of family comes first in these situations, and that humanity will always have hope even in the most hopeless situations.


                                                                           My reaction

       I read this story at a young age so it is one of the most influential books i have read. I work alot with 'what if' scenarios and the effects that would result. In one passage the protagonist says she heard on the new that volcanoes are coming out of the ground in flat lands, due to the moon's gravity , its pulling magma from underground. A visionary author would think of this, it's absolutely spectacular to me. I write so i have a connection with my characters. I believe that characters need to grow by the end of the story that way there's a sense of accomplishment for both the character and the reader. The most believable character can be put into any scenario and adapt. Susan  does a great job of evolving the girl, and it completely changes her interaction with her family and her attitude towards survival.


Article by Antonio Garcia