Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

One of the best books I've read in a while... 

Amazon's Editorial Review:

It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore year in high school, and her journal reflects the busy life of a typical teenager: conversations with friends, fights with mom, and fervent hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a collision course with the moon, it hardly seems worth a mention in her diary. But after the meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas shortages, along with extreme weather changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town; and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry, and finally resigned, as her family is forced to make tough choices while they consider their increasingly limited options. Yet even as suspicious neighbors stockpile food in anticipation of a looming winter without heat or electricity, Miranda knows that that her future is still hers to decide even if life as she knew it is over.

*My Review* About a week ago, I was walking to English class and I realized I'd forgotten to bring a book to read for independent reading. My friend Lauren was walking with me to another class, so I asked her if she had a book I could borrow for the period. She handed me Life As We Knew It, and I was thankful I wouldn't get a zero for class participation that day.

I began to read the book in class that day, and I was amazed at how Miranda's journal entries captured my attention. I was so into it, that when my English teacher told us to stop reading, the period was over, I looked up from the pages and thought, 'Hey, the electricity came back on!' For the next couple days, I would "forget" to bring a book and I would borrow Lauren's. Finally, I got a copy of the book from the library (even though I was already halfway done), and finished it in about a day.

I really enjoyed how Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote Miranda's journal entries. There's just something about her writing that makes me read nonstop and relate to the characters easily. I could picture them vividly, from Matt's (Miranda's older brother) muscular arms, to the cozy sunroom in their house. I was almost sad when I finished the book because the story was over, and I was looking forward to more journal entries. 

So before picking up The Dead & The Gone, (which is very good so far), I vowed to start and keep my own journal :) 

The journal is the thing I look forward to most on my Christmas list now...