Life as we knew it is over...only the unlucky survive. At the moment the asteroid hits the moon, Alex Morales' young life changes. Forever. As freak weather engulfs the globe, New York is plunged into a nightmare from which many will never wake. With no food, no electricity, and no parents, Alex must keep himself and his sisters alive...whatever the cost.

Review:  Having not read the book before this ‘Life As We Knew It’ I felt a little uneasy about starting the sequel ‘The Dead And The Gone’. However, after only a few pages I found the book gripping and excitingly attractive in some way or other. There was a strange mixture of fear and curiosity, which kept me hooked to the pages and eager to move on to the next chapter. Normally I’m not a science fiction reader and do find it difficult to get into this genre of books. However, with this novel I found it strangely different. Maybe it was the excitement that held me in suspense; the issues about global destruction, the unknowing, the powerful images, the tragedies, the fear and the style of the author’s writing.

Not being particularly familiar with this author again I was hesitant to read the book. I do find myself reading the same genre of books from week and to week, but I thought it was about time I did try something else; something new and something different to my normal style of reading. I can honestly say I am glad I did pick up this book and start to read it. I soon discovered how the author Susan Pfeffer enjoys writing about characters in a slice of time that are dealing with strange and unimaginable events. She personifies her characters and takes you through a brief moment in their lives as she develops the story further and further. All the time the author captures the reader as she moves deeper and deeper into the story.

Characters in a novel for me are extremely important; they set the scene, they invite me into a book, they capture my attention and they need to continue to do this to enable me to finish a book. The characters in this book are exciting, religious abiding people, strong characters with a strong family connection. These characters worked for me and steadily involved me in the life they were living, the fear and the tragedies too. The author seems to work hard with the characters; she has given them ‘real-life’ qualities, which appealed to me and my love of reading. This book seems more of a character-study; how well the author describes her characters, how she portrays them individually.

Reading this book has made me want to read more work by this author and surely that is a good thing. I have been able to change my own style of reading, genre and interest all by reading this one book, which I thought would never take my interest at all.

There’s no happy ending, there’s no finalisation to the novel, and it leaves the story open to the reader, enabling all kinds of imagination to take over. It feels real and it feels a part of your own life as you read through the sensationalised chapters, it’s one read I will not forget for quite some time.

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2008-08-10