Book Review: This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

*e-copy of ARC provided by NetGalley*

This World We Live In has definitely changed.  Miranda and her family have managed to survive almost a full year since the asteroid hit the moon, despite the crazy weather, lack of sun, and definite shortage of food.  But, when her father and his new wife and baby show up with several strangers, their lives are all about to change even more.

Things I Liked:
I love how the book explores motivations and what people will do in extreme situations.  I like the different views of religion people have, because I think that is how religious people would respond to a catastrophe.  I also like how the family has such changing dynamics and people each deal with those things differently.  What would I act like if all the frivolous and extraneous details of life were stripped away and everything was a matter of survival?  This book is especially poignant with all of the earthquakes that are happening recently.  It really makes you evaluate what is important in life.  Such as:

There is nothing more beautiful than half a roll of toilet paper p 26 of ARC

I woke up this morning and all I could think about was everything I've lost.  No, not everything, everybody.  Everything doesn't matter, not really.  After a while you get used to being cold, and hungry, and living in the dark.  But, you can't get used to losing people. p 61 of ARC

You have to fight for happiness, Mom.  Maybe it didn't used to be that way, but it is now.  I'm not going to settle for sadness.  That's not what you want for me, not really. p 207-208 of ARC

Things I Didn't Like:
Well, it is definitely not an action-packed apocalyptic book.  The action and pacing are slow and steady.  Not much of note happens for almost the entire book, with all the action coming at the end.  Thus, sometimes despite the interesting look at people's emotions, it was hard to get through.  I was rather surprised and annoyed at the relationship Miranda develops, though I assume that is exactly how relationships would develop under those conditions: very fast and with no apparent substance.

Read-alikes:
Definitely pick up the first two books in the trilogy Life As We Knew It and the dead and the gone by Pfeffer
A bit like Daylight Runner by Oisin Mcgann

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few

mrg-factor: X
mostly implied/insinuated things

v-factor: ->->
I wouldn't say violence so much as disturbing images of death

Overall rating: ****

Do you ever wonder how you would act during a disaster? 

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage