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lemonlovee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
valouche13's review against another edition
5.0
I've read this book twice already and I am still stunned by the way it manages to feel both real and surreal at the same time. Every time I close the book, I'm surprised to find that the events I read about didn't, in fact, happened for real! I absolutely love it!
runaps's review against another edition
3.0
This is a 3.5 stars read for me.
I liked how it started from before, and as such we had the opportunity to get to know the characters while they were untouched by all the tragedy that comes with an apocalypse, and although I don’t usually enjoy journal like books, I enjoyed this one.
For me it was a bit like when I was a teenager reading every dystopian book I could get my hands into. This felt nostalgic, and it wasn’t the greatest book ever written, but I enjoyed.
I didn’t care much about Miranda, and my favorite character was Matt, by far (that changed in later books, but in the first one I really, really liked him and how he handled everything it was thrown at them).
That being said, I hated how basically everyone just decided (even if reluctantly, when it came to Miranda) that the Jon should be the one to survive. They should all slowly waste away while he survived. At first I got their point, how could I not?
But once they became all sick and Miranda didn’t, Matt told her to leave the skis, so Jon would have it when he needed.
Why? He would be dead if not for her. Her immunity system was the stronger. It was a no brainer for me.
Yes, the post apocalyptic world would be dangerous for a woman, arguably a lot more than our own world would be, but was that reason enough to give up on her chance for survival? Really?
What did Jon do to earn it? Help getting firewood?
And the division of jobs, with Miranda doing mostly all of the housework once their mother wasted away enough to be too weak to help, what was up with that?
If Jon was expected to be the sole survivor, how would he survive not knowing to do >anythingFor most of the time he ate more than anyone, they had hidden from him the world stuff, but they kept acting like they would be around to baby him so more. It didn’t make any sense.
For a large part of the book I kept picturing him as a seven year old only by the way they talked about him, not a fourteen year old kid.
And when he threw the tantrum about not eating enough Burguers to grow enough to be on the baseball league… like… seriously? That’s what you get from sheltering the kid too much.
By the end of the book Matt was still my favorite, but I couldn’t help but want to take Miranda away from her own family. She grew up so much, sacrificed so much, took it all so well (all things considered) and had almost NO support, no one saw what she did and worried about her.
…because she wasn’t the younger male.
Even her thought that way, and that made me so sad.
I’m writing this after reading the first 3 books and giving up completely on the last one tho.
I liked how it started from before, and as such we had the opportunity to get to know the characters while they were untouched by all the tragedy that comes with an apocalypse, and although I don’t usually enjoy journal like books, I enjoyed this one.
For me it was a bit like when I was a teenager reading every dystopian book I could get my hands into. This felt nostalgic, and it wasn’t the greatest book ever written, but I enjoyed.
I didn’t care much about Miranda, and my favorite character was Matt, by far (that changed in later books, but in the first one I really, really liked him and how he handled everything it was thrown at them).
That being said, I hated how basically everyone just decided (even if reluctantly, when it came to Miranda) that the Jon should be the one to survive. They should all slowly waste away while he survived. At first I got their point, how could I not?
But once they became all sick and Miranda didn’t, Matt told her to leave the skis, so Jon would have it when he needed.
Why? He would be dead if not for her. Her immunity system was the stronger. It was a no brainer for me.
Yes, the post apocalyptic world would be dangerous for a woman, arguably a lot more than our own world would be, but was that reason enough to give up on her chance for survival? Really?
What did Jon do to earn it? Help getting firewood?
And the division of jobs, with Miranda doing mostly all of the housework once their mother wasted away enough to be too weak to help, what was up with that?
If Jon was expected to be the sole survivor, how would he survive not knowing to do >anythingFor most of the time he ate more than anyone, they had hidden from him the world stuff, but they kept acting like they would be around to baby him so more. It didn’t make any sense.
For a large part of the book I kept picturing him as a seven year old only by the way they talked about him, not a fourteen year old kid.
And when he threw the tantrum about not eating enough Burguers to grow enough to be on the baseball league… like… seriously? That’s what you get from sheltering the kid too much.
By the end of the book Matt was still my favorite, but I couldn’t help but want to take Miranda away from her own family. She grew up so much, sacrificed so much, took it all so well (all things considered) and had almost NO support, no one saw what she did and worried about her.
…because she wasn’t the younger male.
Even her thought that way, and that made me so sad.
I’m writing this after reading the first 3 books and giving up completely on the last one tho.
gabby53's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
stephaniesteen73's review against another edition
4.0
How does a family survive together after a world-wide catastrophe? I thought this book did a really good job of portraying humanity in crisis. Yes, they are trying to eke out survival and adapt to a frightening new world, but they are also still people who bicker and sulk and want to be alone and grieve what has been lost to them. A lot of parallels here for me (on thankfully a much more minor level) with having teenagers in the early days of COVID.
carringtonshaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was not your typical YA post-apocalyptic story with tons of action and romance. Instead, this was a slow story about a family's day-to-day survival and what they did to (barely) survive as they gradually starve. (I won't spoil it by saying whether they or any of them starve to death; I'll just say there is a certain amount of light at the end of the tunnel that makes it all worthwhile.) This is a story about love and loyalty among family and friends, told through a teenage girl's journals. It was incredibly bittersweet and heartwarming, and you really grow to love all of the characters as they make sacrifices for each other day in and day out through an impossible situation.
I won't pretend the science was at all realistic. But that's okay. It really was not the point.
I'm so happy I read this.
I won't pretend the science was at all realistic. But that's okay. It really was not the point.
I'm so happy I read this.
suncaida's review against another edition
4.0
This book is amazing, but slightly over whelming. My mind was whirling every time I turned a page. But besides that it was a very interesting book. I can't wait to get the next book.
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
3.0
This book presents an interesting scenario: a huge asteroid hits the moon and pushes it closer to Earth. This throws off the tides and weather, creating natural disasters, famines, and epidemics of unprecedented magnitude. In "Life As We Knew It", sixteen-year-old Miranda describes how the world and her life turned upside down after the collision. I enjoyed most of the narrative, but I wish there was more information about what was going on in the outside world, not just in Miranda's life. The story is told in journal format, and for most of the book she's isolated from the rest of the world, so it makes sense that we only get her perspective. I wish the story had included multiple points of view, though, because I wanted to know what else was happening!
lyntwhit's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed this book. Great for teens & preteens, but enjoyed it as an adult reader too. Found it very readable and engaging. Enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed reading the Hunger Games series. I guess the protagonists reminded me of each other a bit. As other readers commented, it does make you think about what if this really happened. Very believable. I also liked it because the mom is very forward thinking for the situation they're in.