Amazing Kids Book!

I just finished reading this great book, Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I had seen one of my students reading it and she gave me a summary. It sounded good, so I borrowed it from her a few weeks ago.

This was the most moving/disturbing kids book I've read in a long time. During the time I was reading it and even now afterwards, I can't seem to get it out of my head.

The story is about a typical high school girl in Pennsylvania who lives with her divorced mom and two brothers. An asteroid heads towards Earth and hits the moon, knocking it out of its usual orbit and closer to the Earth. This causes world-wide catastrophic events like the eruption of volcanoes, tsunamis, and massive flooding of the coastal areas.

The book then deals with how she and her family deal with the consequences of this event. Food becomes scarce and eventually so does the power supply and then water. The seasons are messed up, too, so winter comes early and it begins to snow in August. This book stuck with me because in a way, the events in the book reminded me of certain things that are currently happening in the world. Gas prices continue to rise. Fuel sources are becoming scarce. Global climate change is occurring.

I recommend this book to everyone. I looked on Amazon at some of the reviews and the book was getting bashed for sending the wrong message to kids. In the story, the mother makes the kids grab any and all food at the grocery store so they will have enough to last for a while. She then rations it out and discourages the kids from sharing so that they will have enough food to survive. Some reviewers were saying this sends a selfish message to readers when in reality people would band together and share their resources. Let's get real! The book depicts what I imagine would/could really happen. As much as we don't want to admit it, this is not always a warm and fuzzy world we live in. In survival situations, people have to fend for themselves. The mother only wanted to ensure the survival of her children.

I dunno. You can see how much I've been thinking about this book. Way too much! At any rate, I hope you get a chance to read this book. I think there's even a sequel coming out in June. Should be good!