Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The most exciting thing in Miranda's life was the fact that an asteroid was supposed to make contact with the moon and be visible from Earth. No one thought that it was going to be a big deal; it was supposed to just be something that would be neat to see. But due to some miscalculations, the asteroid knocks the moon out of its regular orbit and closer to Earth, causing massive problems. Tides are going berserk washing away cities, islands, and miles of coast line. Then volcanoes start errupting and pretty much everything takes a huge turn for the worse. Gas prices skyrocket and you never know where you're going to find your next meal. Just surviving the winter is Miranda and her family's biggest concern. And one thing's for sure. Life as she knew it will never be the same.

I'm still kind of shell-shocked from reading this. I had heard many good reviews about it and I think that it really lives up to all the hype, but in a creepy way that's bound to send shivers down your spine. I've never read a book that's based on the end of the world before so I was a little nervous going into it. You know, I didn't want it to be hugely morbid or preachy or anything like that. It turns out that it had the perfect balance of every thing that a book needs to keep you hooked. First of all, the plot was amazing. I was completely drawn in which was wierd. I've never thought of myself as a person who would find excitement in reading about civilization's demise, but I did. Sadly. The story was just told in such a way that you couldn't help but be completely and utterly absorbed. And it really puts things in perspective. I mean, what if something that drastic actually happened? This book definitely made me think about that kind of stuff and it really made me appreciate my life as I know it. The second thing that made this an amazing book was that the diary format was the perfect way to tell the story. I, for one, have never been much of a diary book person but I think that that was pretty much the only way to tell the story successfully and it made it that much more personal to read it from the point of view of someone you can relate with. And the last thing that I loved about the book was how in depth it was. You could really tell that the author put a lot of thought into what she was writing about and it wasn't just a random story. There was a lot of perspective and insight that really helped give the story more meaning. So if you're looking for a book that will quite possibly change your outlook on life as well as keep you glued to the pages for a good couple of hours, you'll definitely want to pick up Life As We Knew It. I know that it is going into the stack of my all time favorite books and that's saying something because books don't get put there very often. :)