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Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world

Spring (22%) (view spoiler)[Maybe if I'd read much post apocalyptic stuff pre-covid I'd feel differently, but I'm shocked this was written in 2006. Everything feels so much like 2020 as they prepare. And like 2020 it feels like there's no going back from this (only it seems even a lot worse in this) (hide spoiler)]

Hey sorry, getting a late start on this one. I'll be starting this one tonight.

No.. sorry, starting on this one today.

This book is driving me a little crazy. It's worse than me when I journal, all over the place. Yes, I'm 46 and I still journal..LOL

Summer (view spoiler)[I'm reminded why I hated dystopia sci-fi in middle school. It's so realistic and I can tell a lot of research went into the "what-ifs" of this scenario. It really puts everything into perspective with COVID. At least food still grew and the electricity and phones still worked. At least we still got news daily. And it makes me think that if the earth had been like this at the beginning, life wouldn't have gotten this far. It's terrifying.

I have a feeling Lisa is going to die in childbirth. I don't know why, but it seems to be leading up to that.

I'm so glad Horton was okay and not killed for food like Matt (I think it was Matt, it may have been Peter) suspected. (hide spoiler)]

Fall (view spoiler)[I could not put this part down! It was terrifying and harrowing and haunting, but it was so good! I liked the sense of found family and the unspoken rule that family came first when looting. (hide spoiler)]

Winter (to end) (view spoiler)[Loved the resilience in this section. It was magical that Miranda ended up at City Hall where they actually had things working. And the electricity came back on! I was not expecting that. (hide spoiler)]

I definitely want to continue on with the series. I have so many questions about how (and if) they get back to some sense of "normal." I feel like living in the years after COVID, this resonates even more.

Spring:
First off I was thinking the same exact thing, Covid.
(view spoiler)[ I am liking this now. I thought it was going to read like a full-on teenage diary when I first started it. We did live in similar style during COVID and you are so right, it will never be as it was before but I could not imagine going through what they are. Must be terrifying at times. (hide spoiler)]

Summer-Winter:

I loved this
(view spoiler)[ I could not imagine ever having to live during a time like this. I loved how the family pulled together, and how they leaned on each other and did what they had to do to survive. Not knowing what happened to her father, Lisa, and the baby. Also, being a teenager and having to grow up that fast. Miranda was amazing though. Especially when the woodstove started smoking. I just knew that her family would die and she'd be the one left to carry on, no Jon. But the ending was great. Then towards the end, I thought Miranda would be the one to die and her family would find her diary but I loved the ending. (hide spoiler)]

Sorry, I sat down yesterday and read from the end of Spring to the end of the book. I have so many questions and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I was a bit late with this, did a re-read in June.
Review: /review/show...

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RESTARTING FEBRUARY 8TH, 2024


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I'm still deciding whether I need to reread Life As We Knew It before I read The Dead and the Gone. I started The Dead and the Gone today but felt that I needed to reread Life As We Knew It. Then I started rereading Life As We Knew It and felt it wasn't necessary. How long do you think it will take you to read Life As We Knew It?

EDIT: I think I might do something unconventional and read them as a dual perspective novel, since they are two perspectives on the same event at the same time.

The dual perspective seems fun. And probably a day or two.

Spring
(view spoiler)[I guess I remembered more of this than I thought. It's fascinating to think about how this never would have been a condition for life to happen if the earth had started out this way. (hide spoiler)]

Through chapter 4 (June 1)
(view spoiler)[It's fascinating to see this play out in a city vs a small town like in . There's so much more structure, and so much more that could go wrong or that you would be unable to know. Wow. (hide spoiler)]

Through chapter 7 on both and (Through June) - about 40% of each

(view spoiler)[It's fascinating to see both the urban and rural (suburban? Life As We Knew It doesn't actually specify) perspectives on this worldwide disaster. There's so much matter-of-fact-ness in Life As We Knew It that isn't there in The Dead and the Gone in the same way. In some ways, The Dead and the Gone makes things more hopeful since they're in a big city and there's so much more that they know they don't know. You'd think it would be the opposite, but the contrast is amazing.

Also, the contrast in the family stuff is fascinating. The way the siblings grow closer while being pulled away from their parents. Alex isn't at breaking point because he is in a parental role, but still with the mind of a child. Meanwhile, Miranda's mom is the actual parent who has seen life, and this shows through the way she handles disaster. Meanwhile, Miranda is the optimistic teen who can't see how bad it could get, while Alex tries hard to see how bad it could get without really seeing it. (hide spoiler)]

- Through Summer (54%)

(view spoiler)[I forgot all about the volcanic ash and how that made it harder for everyone. I've experienced the sky like that since first reading it, and I remember the haziness that we experienced even in the Midwest, so I can picture that a lot more now than when I first read this.

I can't help thinking that my family would fight as much as Miranda's family in this situation. (hide spoiler)]

- to November 9 (Chapter 13 - 60%)

(view spoiler)[For some reason, I'm finding this one more engaging than Life As We Knew It. Maybe it's because I've already read the first one and this one is new, or maybe the characters are more likable, even if I would see myself closer to Miranda's family in this situation. I like how everyone's coming to terms with things here. It seems like there's so much more at stake. Bri's denial compared to Alex and Julie's acceptance is fascinating.

I loved the birthday party scene. Sometimes, you just have to do something to make everyone smile. I like the way Father Mulrooney has come through for Alex as well.

I'm fascinated to see what choices the Moraleses make and why. From the blurb for the third book, I know that (view spoiler)[they meet up with Miranda's dad and Lisa, and for some reason they take them in. I'm fascinated to see how that happens, and how the new Evans family is in a position to take them in, when they disappear from Life As We Knew It for so long, and I thought they weren't even heading in the same direction. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

- Through November (76%)

(view spoiler)[I guess this is as close to a slice of life dystopia as I'm going to get. I've been thinking about whether that genre exists, and this might be it. Everything just happens, and it doesn't seem to lead toward anything getting better. Interesting. (hide spoiler)]

- Through November (69%)

(view spoiler)[They're so close! I'm looking forward to this. (hide spoiler)]

Through Fall (81%)

(view spoiler)[That's a fascinating thought that I never considered. Who is Miranda keeping the journals for? We're reading this in what would be the past to this event. It's so strange to think about the reasons we write. (hide spoiler)]

I think I'll finish this one tonight and then The Dead and the Gone tomorrow.

- FINISHED

(view spoiler)[It's fascinating how much the title plays into this book. There's so much about what we make of life when everything changes. I'm so excited to continue this series. (hide spoiler)]

December 9th (75%)

(view spoiler)[I have a feeling this escape plan isn't going to work out. It's funny, knowing a little bit about book three from the blurb. I know stuff happens but not how or why.

I had a feeling Kevin wasn't going to make it, but I didn't expect that! (hide spoiler)]

December 16th (80%)

(view spoiler)[I figured Harvey would die because there was a Harvey on the list of the dead that they heard on the radio in Life As We Knew It. It could have been a coincidence, but it didn't seem like it. Authors don't usually do coincidences. I wouldn't have paid attention to that if I hadn't been reading them simultaneously.

Here comes the flu that was so devastating in the first book. Will Bri make it through? (hide spoiler)]

December 26th (86%)
(view spoiler)[I wonder if Alex's delirium in the fever was supposed to prove Mami and Papi really were dead. Almost everyone else mentioned was confirmed dead, except for Father Mulrooney and maybe Carlos. Interesting.

Did Bri leave to die? Or did she meet the saviors I know we can somehow expect? (hide spoiler)]

FINISHED

(view spoiler)[I'm shocked that it ended there. I have so many questions. And I won't be able to read the next book until at least next week. I was shocked about Bri, and even more that Julie made it after that. (hide spoiler)]

Where did February go? I am going to start these soon.

Finally started this morning and I'm hooked. (view spoiler)[ Before the moon was mentioned I was a little bored but now that that the disaster has happened I'm super invested and am wishing I could read instead of working. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Nine
(view spoiler)[ Oh things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. Mrs Nesbitt needs to move in with them asap. That last (well I presume) visit with Megan was so sad. I would die in this scenario but I would try. Her not bothering and believing it's God's way is heartbreaking. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Fifteen
(view spoiler)[ Excuse mrs Nesbitt what do you mean the teenager will be better off finding your dead body, what the hell. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Eighteen
(view spoiler)[ I'm glad they had a good Christmas. I don't have that many pages left and I'm curious how this is going to resolve. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ Well that made me cry last night. I knew they had to survive but the food and how close they were to not making it when help was available just got me. But also, mayor you have a snowmobile why are you not driving it around and knocking on the doors with chimney's smoking to say hey free food available for pick up, like come on. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Five
(view spoiler)[ It's interesting to see such a different perspective on these events. I have a feeling both Mami and Papi are dead, and poor Alex and his sisters. I'm worried about them because they don't have all of what Miranda did and winter is coming. I don't know how they are going to survive, but they have to. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Nine
(view spoiler)[ Well that's horrible - the stealing from dead bodies. I get it but so gross. I'm glad to hear Bri is okay, hopefully it stays that way, the postcard with a call time is such bullshit, I'm glad they were able to still get to talk to her outside of their scheduled time.
Their mom has to be dead and it is not looking good for their dad, but maybe? I have no idea how they are going to survive the winter in this apartment. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Sixteen
(view spoiler)[ Oh no, not Kevin. Someone had to go, and I'm still worried about Bri but maybe it will be okay. I'm not sure how they aren't freezing to death in this winter but oh well. I'm glad they have a plan to get out, hopefully it goes okay, but I'm not optimistic. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ Well, I had a feeling Bri would die. But omg never take the elevator with power cutting on and off, how that didn't happen earlier I'll never know. Also as the super his dad would have had keys to every apartment, and even if somehow one had been lost no one is coming back, ransack those apartments so you don't die, come on.

This ended a bit abruptly, I thought we'd get more of where they ended up, but I guess that's what the next book is for. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Six
(view spoiler)[ It's nice to be back with Miranda and the family and it's good to see they are doing well. The prohibition on telling people food deliveries stopped is awful. I sure was not expecting Matt to return from fishing with a wife in tow, what an interesting time lol. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Twelve
(view spoiler)[ So this is how these connect. I was not expecting this change in tone to an overdramatic teenage love story. I really didn't see her feelings coming until they kissed. I'm not loving this storyline but am curious to see how this all plays out. The convent is not going to be open, but I'm wondering if an attempt will even be made. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Fifteen
(view spoiler)[ Miranda's found a safe town, that's interesting, they'll have to go, right? She's not just going to sit on this information, right? That would be a bad call. (hide spoiler)]

This has gotten so teen angsty and I can't 😂

Finished
(view spoiler)[ Poor Julie. She was a favourite of mine. I was not a fan of this one, too much teen angst. The original concept was interesting but I feel like the author didn't know where to go with it. Hopefully the next one is better. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Six
(view spoiler)[ So I kind of hate this one. Jon is an asshole, so are his friends and what is this society? his poor family and Sarah, he treats them all like shit. How did this happen? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Seven
(view spoiler)[ What the hell is this? I didn't rape her and look at how good I am for not raping anyone. I can't even right now. I'm really tempted to DNF here. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Eleven
(view spoiler)[ Well I kept reading because I don't want to get to and start my day, but this is so stupid. I'm just reading to finish at this point. I should care that their mom was murdered but instead I'm just counting down the pages. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ I'm glad to be done and that this book was short. It did not work for me at all. I only kept reading so we could use it for a task and to get the points. (hide spoiler)]

Oh wow, I hadn't realized you completed the other three. I just started This World We Live In today.



Chapter 9 (39%) (view spoiler)[I really like that this is a total dystopian slice of life book at this point. There's no way anything is getting fixed, and yet I'm on the edge of my seat to read more.

The stuff with Syl was a shocker. It doesn't make much sense. (hide spoiler)]

Through Chapter 12 (59%)

(view spoiler)[Yeah, this is so angsty. But Alex was always like that. He had some trouble thinking for himself when he was pressured to, and now that he's not because he can follow Carlos's directive again, he's not seeing things as clearly. (hide spoiler)]

Through June (70%)

(view spoiler)[It kind of seemed like that was going to happen, with everything that happened with Alex in the last book. I think he needs to tell Miranda and everyone else what happened. Maybe that's just the dramatic irony of having a book from his perspective.

It's amazing how everyone still has hope. I still can't tell if the author is critical or supportive of religion from these books. (hide spoiler)]

Through chapter 18 (87%)

(view spoiler)[That tornado came out of nowhere! After everything, that was what did them in? (hide spoiler)]

FINISHED

(view spoiler)[I'm shocked. I was still on the edge of my seat til the very last with this one. There's so much hope, and yet it comes with the knowledge that nothing can get better.

The last few pages were so final. I'm glad we'll be getting a new perspective in the next one, even if I haven't heard great things. I'm tired of Miranda honestly. (hide spoiler)]

Celia wrote: "Oh wow, I hadn't realized you completed the other three. I just started This World We Live In today."
Yeah, once I finally got started I flew through them. I've been in a slew of 600-800 page reads so it was so nice to have normal length books again which is part of why it went so fast.

Celia wrote: "Oh wow, I hadn't realized you completed the other three. I just started This World We Live In today.



Chapter 9 (39%) I really like that th..."
Okay right, I still don't really understand that but I ended up really liking Syl so I guess it worked out.

Celia wrote: "Through June (70%)

It kind of seemed like that was going to happen, with everything that happened with Alex in the last book. I think he needs to tell Miranda and everyone else what happened. Mayb..."
I also can't tell what the author's view on religion is, which I think is a good thing. I'm not religious but I can see how faith would be really helpful in these circumstances.