I know I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but even looking at the description of Life as we Knew it, by Susan Beth Pfeffer, I did not expect to like this book. Life as we Knew it is about what happens to a family, a town, and even to some extent the world, when an asteroid hits the moon sending it closer to the Earth than ever before. The main character, sixteen-year-old Miranda, lives in a small town with her mom and two brothers, one in college and one who is around 10 years old. After the asteroid hits the moon the world loses power, volcanoes start to erupt worldwide, and tsunamis take over the east coast. Next, the sun dims, cold sets in early, then freezing cold and blizzards. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was excellent and made me feel as if I were part of the story. I read this book almost all in one sitting. Once I had finished, I actually was concerned to go outside because the story had seemed so real!
I thought this was going to be more of a science-fiction book (which I suppose it was), but the journal-style writing made it appealing to a wider audience, even someone who doesn't usually care for this particular genre. One of the most interesting aspects of the book, I believe, was how Miranda's relationship with her family changed and how the rest of the family's relationships changed with each other as well. I would definitely recommend this book. However, it could scare some children so I would be more likely to put it in a middle school classroom than an elementary classroom.
2 comments:
I absolutely love this book. I am in the process of creating lesson plans to go along with it. I teach a reading class on the high school level and I think my students will really connect to this book.
I also am a high school reading teacher and I am creating lesson plans to go along with this book. I would love to share some ideas with teachers. I have created some novel units for current books and would love to hear other ideas for lessons or journal questions!
Post a Comment