PJ Review: The World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Genre: Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic
SciFi Element: Apocalypse, Ecological Disaster
Series: The Last Survivors #3
Order Online:  Amazon.com
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PJ's QUICKIE POV:
The third and final book in the Survivors trilogy. Life as We Lived it takes this trilogy to a new level. The story arcs merge and the stakes get higher as food becomes more scarce and the reality of the the new world begins to set in. I believe that the last book was probably the best out of the three because of the emotional investment. There are rumors of a fourth book on Pfeffer's blog and I really hope this comes to fruition because I want to know so much more about the world she created. I don't think the characters are done...especially how she leaves us with this last book.

REVIEW:
It is one year later and Miranda and her family have survived even though the odds have been stacked against them. The snow is finally thawing and there are even routine food deliveries now so there is a glimmer of hope that they might just survive. Unexpectantly one day the doorbell rings and suddenly the family becomes much larger as Miranda's father returns, with his wife, their new baby and three strangers. Two of which are Alex and his younger sister from the 2nd book.

Now the survivors have new challenges with more mouths to feed and a tiny baby. At first Miranda is resentful of the new people and the attachments her father has made, but as the new people grow on her, Miranda finds that as they make plans to move on, she'll do anything to get Alex to stay...

This one was ten times more emotional than the last two. I thought Pfeffer had put me through the ringer with The Dead and Gone, but I guess she broke out all the tricks with this one. By the end of the book I was a wreck and convinced that the end of the world was near and I needed to prepare. Pfeffer's writing is so believable and cuts to the quick that I believed everything that was going on. I almost felt that if I checked the news or looked up at night that I would see the moon had moved closer to Earth. It was just so close to home. I'm reading of a world ravaged by tsunamis and deadly storms and I turn on the news and see Japan and now Alabama--too close to home.

This is a highly recommended read. But grab your tissue box first...

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Fans of emotional dramas and books such as The Hunger Games should enjoy. There was nothing to be worried about from a parental stand-point, the books are squeaky clean. There is a lot more religious talk in this one, so you have to be open to that.









Similar Novels

1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
2. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
3. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

The 411:

1. Ms. Pfeffer is currently conventionalizing a fourth Moon Book. She has been given the ok by her publisher and it is just up to her to come up with a viable and “sellable” plot.
2. Ms. Pfeffer has another book releasing in a few months called BLOOD WOUNDS, it is not an Apocalypse book, more of a drama.