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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
"Christ has blessed us," Alex said.
"Yes, He has," Dad said.
Well, that was a conversation stopper.
Well, Miranda, I couldn't agree more!
Now, where do I start about how a very nice series went so horribly, horribly wrong... It could have been a great book. It could have been one of my favourites. If it were not for that stupid jerk called Alex (and a couple of other things). Why on Earth did Ms Pfeffer had to invent him? Why couldn't she let him, please please, die somewhere along the way? Preferably a slow, painful death?
Alex is... *shivers from disgust* well, let's just say I feel sick at the very thought of meeting someone like him. If I had a younger sister (and I actually do have a younger sister), I would strongly advise her to avoid a guy like him even if he was the last one in the whole universe. Let's have a closer look at him, shall we?
"Hello, I'm Alex Morales. I'm so very full of myself so I'm the only person who can decide what's best for my sister, and I actually just want to get rid of her under the pretty pretense of caring for her safety, so I'll just leave her god-knows-where and be gone. Cool huh? Well, she doesn't actually want to go there and there are these nice people who agreed to take care of her and so on, but because my big brother said she should go to convent and because I want her off my shoulders, there she would go. And oh, I'm fine with stealing and robbing corpses and not sharing food with others, and I say that I do all of this for our survival like a hundred times per each book I'm in, but then when we get to that convent and there's no food and practically no one there, then I'm all noble again and survival doesn't matter and let's just stay there, right? Also, it's no problem for me to do all I can to survive but when I have food and shelter I think it's more reasonable to go away. I'm smart like that. And oh, then I meet this girl, Miranda, and it doesn't matter that we don't know each other at all, we fall in love, just like that, and we're just so crazy about each other for no reason at all. Well, there are no other people our age around, so it's ok to fall in love at first sight, and the time is right too - of course, the world is coming to an end, and we're always hungry, and dirty, and scared, and there are corpses rotting away all around us, so that's perfect scenery for kissing passionately, right? What else could we think about? Oh, sorry, of course there's also God to think about, to thank him everyday for just how wonderful our lives are. Most of the people I know are dead, and there's food shortage, and after all the earthquakes, tsunamis, illnesses etc there's not much of people or animals left, so of course that's a perfectly good reason to say we're sooo blessed. Yeah, I'm so happy that practically my whole family is dead that I'm going to lock myself up in a convent to thank Christ for his blessings."
Brrrr.
Miranda was so disappointing in this book as well.
Actually, pretty much everything was disappointing.
I'm not reading the fourth one even if you promised me money for it.
"Yes, He has," Dad said.
Well, that was a conversation stopper.
Well, Miranda, I couldn't agree more!
Now, where do I start about how a very nice series went so horribly, horribly wrong... It could have been a great book. It could have been one of my favourites. If it were not for that stupid jerk called Alex (and a couple of other things). Why on Earth did Ms Pfeffer had to invent him? Why couldn't she let him, please please, die somewhere along the way? Preferably a slow, painful death?
Alex is... *shivers from disgust* well, let's just say I feel sick at the very thought of meeting someone like him. If I had a younger sister (and I actually do have a younger sister), I would strongly advise her to avoid a guy like him even if he was the last one in the whole universe. Let's have a closer look at him, shall we?
"Hello, I'm Alex Morales. I'm so very full of myself so I'm the only person who can decide what's best for my sister, and I actually just want to get rid of her under the pretty pretense of caring for her safety, so I'll just leave her god-knows-where and be gone. Cool huh? Well, she doesn't actually want to go there and there are these nice people who agreed to take care of her and so on, but because my big brother said she should go to convent and because I want her off my shoulders, there she would go. And oh, I'm fine with stealing and robbing corpses and not sharing food with others, and I say that I do all of this for our survival like a hundred times per each book I'm in, but then when we get to that convent and there's no food and practically no one there, then I'm all noble again and survival doesn't matter and let's just stay there, right? Also, it's no problem for me to do all I can to survive but when I have food and shelter I think it's more reasonable to go away. I'm smart like that. And oh, then I meet this girl, Miranda, and it doesn't matter that we don't know each other at all, we fall in love, just like that, and we're just so crazy about each other for no reason at all. Well, there are no other people our age around, so it's ok to fall in love at first sight, and the time is right too - of course, the world is coming to an end, and we're always hungry, and dirty, and scared, and there are corpses rotting away all around us, so that's perfect scenery for kissing passionately, right? What else could we think about? Oh, sorry, of course there's also God to think about, to thank him everyday for just how wonderful our lives are. Most of the people I know are dead, and there's food shortage, and after all the earthquakes, tsunamis, illnesses etc there's not much of people or animals left, so of course that's a perfectly good reason to say we're sooo blessed. Yeah, I'm so happy that practically my whole family is dead that I'm going to lock myself up in a convent to thank Christ for his blessings."
Brrrr.
Miranda was so disappointing in this book as well.
Actually, pretty much everything was disappointing.
I'm not reading the fourth one even if you promised me money for it.
First and foremost, let me say this - The World We Live In is not a bad novel by any stretch of imagination. But out of the four books in the Last Survivors saga, it's the one for which I have the most complaints. Mostly because it started so good.
Right from the get go, I loved being back in Miranda's mind. It felt like - yes, this is what I was missing in the last book. The thing that makes Miranda so attractive as a character to me is that, while she lives in a post-apocalyptic universe that forced her to grow up too fast... she's still a teenager - she still throws tantrums, she still gets angry for stupid reasons, she still feels jealous and irrational and all those things that come with being a teen. That is so real and captivating to me, because this is a character that started out in a normal world, and you can't un-learn or un-know all these things.
So it was off to a fantastic start, especially since the meeting and the beginning interactions between Miranda and Alex (and Julie) were pleasantly satisfying. I enjoyed the antagonistic relationship that developed between the two, especially because I honestly find the two of them to be such different people with Alex not being the easiest person to fall in love with, so it couldn't possibly have gotten down any other way.
Not to mention, Alex seems intent on making the worst impression possible in this novel. He's highhanded, stubborn, righteous and borderline jerk-ish. Especially now when we don't get any insight into his mind to soften his manner, and Alex is a pretty introverted.
So, yeah. Off to a wonderful start, with all the new characters joining the Evans household being interesting in their own right. So where did things go wrong? Simple - the INSTA LOVE.
Yes, this needed caps lock. God dammit, why did it have to rear it's ugly head in these novels?! And not one case of it... but two? Jeez. I ended up shipping Peter and Laura (Miranda's mother and her boyfriend) in book one ten times more than I ever did Alex and Miranda or Syl and Matt because it was far more based and made more sense than these two relationships ever did!
I understand searching companionship and comfort in such desperate times that you would be attracted to anyone who might give you that and not waste time about it. I get it. In fact, if any novel world could pull off insta love, it would be this one... except it didn't.
These people had no chemistry whatsoever. It was so perplexing to find them together and attracted to one another. That's never a good response to a book couple. But then there is also the element of them claiming they know each other better than anyone... when they really, really don't. I don't mind you starting to date. I could deal with the abrupt and unfathomable change from hating each other to eating each other's faces, for the reasons I mentioned before. But don't pretend you know each other. Don't tell me you're in love, because kissing does not equal love. Not when you failed to show me that in any other scene.
I wanted to ship this couple so very much. I've waited for their romance since I learned books one and two intersect in this way. We don't always get what we want.
And then... the ending happened. It kind of felt like Pfeffer suddenly remembered this was a post-apocalyptic, unstable, unfair world, and some bad shit had to go down and people had to die. So she went through all the natural disasters to find one she hadn't used and sicced it on our characters.
Now to clarify... I don't resent this happening. I'm okay with the meaningless deaths because the whole point of this novel, judging by the title, is "the world we live in". And... that's the kind of world they live in. It just kind of came out of nowhere, giving me whiplash. And I kind of, sort of, resent who she chose to kill. I don't want any of them dead, but a few are crueler than the other... and she sure chose the cruelest one.
Right from the get go, I loved being back in Miranda's mind. It felt like - yes, this is what I was missing in the last book. The thing that makes Miranda so attractive as a character to me is that, while she lives in a post-apocalyptic universe that forced her to grow up too fast... she's still a teenager - she still throws tantrums, she still gets angry for stupid reasons, she still feels jealous and irrational and all those things that come with being a teen. That is so real and captivating to me, because this is a character that started out in a normal world, and you can't un-learn or un-know all these things.
So it was off to a fantastic start, especially since the meeting and the beginning interactions between Miranda and Alex (and Julie) were pleasantly satisfying. I enjoyed the antagonistic relationship that developed between the two, especially because I honestly find the two of them to be such different people with Alex not being the easiest person to fall in love with, so it couldn't possibly have gotten down any other way.
Not to mention, Alex seems intent on making the worst impression possible in this novel. He's highhanded, stubborn, righteous and borderline jerk-ish. Especially now when we don't get any insight into his mind to soften his manner, and Alex is a pretty introverted.
So, yeah. Off to a wonderful start, with all the new characters joining the Evans household being interesting in their own right. So where did things go wrong? Simple - the INSTA LOVE.
Yes, this needed caps lock. God dammit, why did it have to rear it's ugly head in these novels?! And not one case of it... but two? Jeez. I ended up shipping Peter and Laura (Miranda's mother and her boyfriend) in book one ten times more than I ever did Alex and Miranda or Syl and Matt because it was far more based and made more sense than these two relationships ever did!
I understand searching companionship and comfort in such desperate times that you would be attracted to anyone who might give you that and not waste time about it. I get it. In fact, if any novel world could pull off insta love, it would be this one... except it didn't.
These people had no chemistry whatsoever. It was so perplexing to find them together and attracted to one another. That's never a good response to a book couple. But then there is also the element of them claiming they know each other better than anyone... when they really, really don't. I don't mind you starting to date. I could deal with the abrupt and unfathomable change from hating each other to eating each other's faces, for the reasons I mentioned before. But don't pretend you know each other. Don't tell me you're in love, because kissing does not equal love. Not when you failed to show me that in any other scene.
I wanted to ship this couple so very much. I've waited for their romance since I learned books one and two intersect in this way. We don't always get what we want.
And then... the ending happened. It kind of felt like Pfeffer suddenly remembered this was a post-apocalyptic, unstable, unfair world, and some bad shit had to go down and people had to die. So she went through all the natural disasters to find one she hadn't used and sicced it on our characters.
Now to clarify... I don't resent this happening. I'm okay with the meaningless deaths because the whole point of this novel, judging by the title, is "the world we live in". And... that's the kind of world they live in. It just kind of came out of nowhere, giving me whiplash. And I kind of, sort of, resent who she chose to kill. I don't want any of them dead, but a few are crueler than the other... and she sure chose the cruelest one.
Stupid effing books that make me cry I hate you.
I don't know how to categorize this series, in terms of which book I like best or worst. I also don't know how to rate this comparatively with the first two.
I liked the first two books for very different reasons. The first was the start of this story, learning the consequences of the moon going out of place. It was the original survival story, and the part of my brain that is odd and likes little details enjoyed the survival aspect of what they got from the grocery store, or finding the typing paper and blue notebooks.
The second book I enjoyed because it's the harder side. Miranda had it so easy in the first, and Alex has to fight and struggle to stay alive and keep his sisters safe. Nothing came easy to him, and watching him find food and safety was the interesting part. Knowing already the weather and situations that were coming made it even better.
This book was different. It's rather schizophrenic throughout, like it can't find the footing of where we are. Strange emphasis on things that don't seem meaningful. But again, the finding of toiletries and supplies in houses. The attic full of food. That strange part of my brain loved those bits.
The love story between Miranda and Alex was actually enjoyable. I was really worried about that, but it played out exactly as I could see it happening. They're 17, 18 years old, and this is the first real love for the both of them. And really, their only shot for love. So the need and hunger is pretty perfect.
The ending pretty much tore my soul right out of my body. I knew someone was going to die, and I really hoped it would only be one of them. I didn't much care who, I just couldn't handle more than one. The death scene had me bawling in my car.
The final moments tells me this series won't go on, and I'm glad. I think the story's been told beautifully.
I don't know how to categorize this series, in terms of which book I like best or worst. I also don't know how to rate this comparatively with the first two.
I liked the first two books for very different reasons. The first was the start of this story, learning the consequences of the moon going out of place. It was the original survival story, and the part of my brain that is odd and likes little details enjoyed the survival aspect of what they got from the grocery store, or finding the typing paper and blue notebooks.
The second book I enjoyed because it's the harder side. Miranda had it so easy in the first, and Alex has to fight and struggle to stay alive and keep his sisters safe. Nothing came easy to him, and watching him find food and safety was the interesting part. Knowing already the weather and situations that were coming made it even better.
This book was different. It's rather schizophrenic throughout, like it can't find the footing of where we are. Strange emphasis on things that don't seem meaningful. But again, the finding of toiletries and supplies in houses. The attic full of food. That strange part of my brain loved those bits.
The love story between Miranda and Alex was actually enjoyable. I was really worried about that, but it played out exactly as I could see it happening. They're 17, 18 years old, and this is the first real love for the both of them. And really, their only shot for love. So the need and hunger is pretty perfect.
The ending pretty much tore my soul right out of my body. I knew someone was going to die, and I really hoped it would only be one of them. I didn't much care who, I just couldn't handle more than one. The death scene had me bawling in my car.
The final moments tells me this series won't go on, and I'm glad. I think the story's been told beautifully.
I initially gave this book four stars, but after rereading it I am lowering it to a three-star (maybe even a 2,5 but I'm keeping it at three for now). I just don't love this book as much as I thought I did the first time. I liked how the characters from the previous two books came together, but I just don't love the way this story went at all. Matt changed so much, and I wanted to punch Alex in the face multiple times. And let's not talk about the fact that THE CAT DIED. I mean sure, I had expected it to happen in the first book, but w h y.
check out my review here: http://thepaige-turner.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-world-we-live-in-by-susan-beth.html
Pfeffer, I am disappoint. This was a terrible book and a terrible way to close out a series. Because I like lists, here's one to explain why I thought This World We Live In sucked without remorse.
1. It became another post-disaster story. What happened to a chunk of the bloody moon gone? Nope. Barely any mention of those moon-specific aftereffects beyond the lack of sunlight. Most of the ~shock and awe~ moments come from events that could have happened in any post-apocalyptic fiction. This was supposed to be different. It wasnt.
2. A lot of the shocking moments . . . weren't that shocking, or were severely understated. Miranda's reaction to the dead bodies could have been so much better and realistic, but it wasn't. The death of the cat, which is supposed to be on the worst moments in the book, falls flat on the page. It doesn't help that most of the action of the novel takes place in the house; literally not a lot of room to do anything.
3. TOO MANY CHARACTERS. This series benefited from a restricted cast for each book, so that we got to know them and feel for them and follow them through their struggles. When you throw together not only the main characters of two books as well as several new ones, I get jumbled up and confused - not to mention, I end up not caring about most of them.
4. Syl. Ugh. She came off as a pretentious wannabe-hippie-turned-Christian who made Miranda feel guilty for stupid stuff, killed the cat and called it merciful, and pretty much treated Miranda's mom like crap at the very end. No, let's push the severely traumatized woman into the open and let her squirm there. IT WILL BE GOOD FOR HER. Ugh, no.
5. Religion. The religion was so over-powering, I have to wonder if the author found Jesus between books. Why? Do you honestly think in order to survive, you need God in your life? And why were the covenants the automatically safest places to go? Oh, right, because religion is the ultimate force in this story. How sweet of Alex to /forgive/ Miranda for not being Christian. No thank you. If I wanted Christian lit, I'd read some, but I don't and therefore these elements were extremely intrusive and mostly unneeded.
Oh, and don't think I didn't notice the baby Gabriel. Nice move there.
6. The 'romance' of Alex and Miranda, which came out of nowhere and never developed, yet I'm supposed to believe their love will be forever and it is the greatest kind of love around. Gag me with a spoon. It was forced and heavy-handed and I hated it, and I hated how her love for Alex turned Miranda into a love sick stereotypical teenager. I would have been okay with it had it actually been developed or treated with some respect, but now I just wish Pfeffer had kept romance out of the series full stop.
7. Euthanasia. I had no problems with it. Shocking, but true. I do have problems with how it was foreshadowed. As in, with no subtlety at all. The constant mentioning of the pills and death over living and the story of the man with the broken leg and the cat's death - gosh, I wonder if Miranda's going to have to put someone out of their misery? Lazy storytelling all around.
8. The tornado became a deux ex machina for several big plot points. The sad thing is, it came at the very very end of the book. There's not enough time to fully appreciate the aftereffects before the story is over. Add the fact that the book ends rather suddenly and the tornado isn't so much a plot point as a cue to end the damn book already.
9. THE DIALOGUE. Remember the scene when Miranda's telling her mom she is leaving with Alex and her dad? The dialogue in there was cringe-worthy - not because it was bad but because it was so unrealistic and stilted. In fact, most of the dramatic scenes involve this unnatural dialogue which is meant to add to the emotion going on, but it really detracts from it instead. No, I don't think a major disaster is going to turn every teenager in the world into these great emotional orators, but apparently that is what happens in Pfeffer's world.
10. No postscript? No after thoughts? No epilogue? All right then. Leaving readers in the lurch usually isn't the best way to end a series, though. I was rather disappointed by this.
Okay, I was rather disappointed by the whole book. I wished I had just read the first two and left the third up to my imagination. Watch everyone disagree with me, though. It's okay, this is just my own opinion, you don't have to agree with me. I'm just saying - with all the stuff this book did wrong, it's hard to defend the bits done right.
1. It became another post-disaster story. What happened to a chunk of the bloody moon gone? Nope. Barely any mention of those moon-specific aftereffects beyond the lack of sunlight. Most of the ~shock and awe~ moments come from events that could have happened in any post-apocalyptic fiction. This was supposed to be different. It wasnt.
2. A lot of the shocking moments . . . weren't that shocking, or were severely understated. Miranda's reaction to the dead bodies could have been so much better and realistic, but it wasn't. The death of the cat, which is supposed to be on the worst moments in the book, falls flat on the page. It doesn't help that most of the action of the novel takes place in the house; literally not a lot of room to do anything.
3. TOO MANY CHARACTERS. This series benefited from a restricted cast for each book, so that we got to know them and feel for them and follow them through their struggles. When you throw together not only the main characters of two books as well as several new ones, I get jumbled up and confused - not to mention, I end up not caring about most of them.
4. Syl. Ugh. She came off as a pretentious wannabe-hippie-turned-Christian who made Miranda feel guilty for stupid stuff, killed the cat and called it merciful, and pretty much treated Miranda's mom like crap at the very end. No, let's push the severely traumatized woman into the open and let her squirm there. IT WILL BE GOOD FOR HER. Ugh, no.
5. Religion. The religion was so over-powering, I have to wonder if the author found Jesus between books. Why? Do you honestly think in order to survive, you need God in your life? And why were the covenants the automatically safest places to go? Oh, right, because religion is the ultimate force in this story. How sweet of Alex to /forgive/ Miranda for not being Christian. No thank you. If I wanted Christian lit, I'd read some, but I don't and therefore these elements were extremely intrusive and mostly unneeded.
Oh, and don't think I didn't notice the baby Gabriel. Nice move there.
6. The 'romance' of Alex and Miranda, which came out of nowhere and never developed, yet I'm supposed to believe their love will be forever and it is the greatest kind of love around. Gag me with a spoon. It was forced and heavy-handed and I hated it, and I hated how her love for Alex turned Miranda into a love sick stereotypical teenager. I would have been okay with it had it actually been developed or treated with some respect, but now I just wish Pfeffer had kept romance out of the series full stop.
7. Euthanasia. I had no problems with it. Shocking, but true. I do have problems with how it was foreshadowed. As in, with no subtlety at all. The constant mentioning of the pills and death over living and the story of the man with the broken leg and the cat's death - gosh, I wonder if Miranda's going to have to put someone out of their misery? Lazy storytelling all around.
8. The tornado became a deux ex machina for several big plot points. The sad thing is, it came at the very very end of the book. There's not enough time to fully appreciate the aftereffects before the story is over. Add the fact that the book ends rather suddenly and the tornado isn't so much a plot point as a cue to end the damn book already.
9. THE DIALOGUE. Remember the scene when Miranda's telling her mom she is leaving with Alex and her dad? The dialogue in there was cringe-worthy - not because it was bad but because it was so unrealistic and stilted. In fact, most of the dramatic scenes involve this unnatural dialogue which is meant to add to the emotion going on, but it really detracts from it instead. No, I don't think a major disaster is going to turn every teenager in the world into these great emotional orators, but apparently that is what happens in Pfeffer's world.
10. No postscript? No after thoughts? No epilogue? All right then. Leaving readers in the lurch usually isn't the best way to end a series, though. I was rather disappointed by this.
Okay, I was rather disappointed by the whole book. I wished I had just read the first two and left the third up to my imagination. Watch everyone disagree with me, though. It's okay, this is just my own opinion, you don't have to agree with me. I'm just saying - with all the stuff this book did wrong, it's hard to defend the bits done right.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
I was a little disappointed in this book. I enjoyed it, but wanted it to end happier. I also felt that it left big gaps out and I didn't buy the love story. But, I still give it 3 stars, because I can't stop thinking about this series!
This is definitely not what I was expecting at all. I am so glad that a romantic connection was made! I am so happy ecstatic that the romance was there. I definitely think it makes it more enjoyable. I felt happiness and heartbreak in this book. People lived, people were brought back, people were introduced, and people died. It was all one big roller coaster, but definitely worth reading the series for. I am so happy with the way things ended.
i will always love this entire series and how much it makes me feel like i’m standing next to Miranda going through everything with her.