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A review by nytephoenyx
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This dystopian trilogy still has some of the best world building in the genre I have ever read. I know they’re intended as middle grade books, but the content is grotesque at times and the plausibility of the stories are overwhelming. I had a hard time putting this book down.
The Dead and the Gone tells the story of a different experience than Miranda and her family in the first book of the trilogy. This family is in New York City and their suffering is different. The characters are all lovable and flawed in their own ways, and the breakdown of society is generous. It is still horrifying.
Horrifying, and engrossing. I absolutely recommend The Dead and the Gone as well as Life as We Knew It to any readers who are interested in dystopian novels. It’s not post-apocalyptic, but it is startlingly realistic-feeling. It will make you think. It will make you feel. And those books are the best.
The Dead and the Gone tells the story of a different experience than Miranda and her family in the first book of the trilogy. This family is in New York City and their suffering is different. The characters are all lovable and flawed in their own ways, and the breakdown of society is generous. It is still horrifying.
Horrifying, and engrossing. I absolutely recommend The Dead and the Gone as well as Life as We Knew It to any readers who are interested in dystopian novels. It’s not post-apocalyptic, but it is startlingly realistic-feeling. It will make you think. It will make you feel. And those books are the best.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Trafficking and Classism
The protagonist and his family are Puerto-Rican and devout Catholics. The children attend Catholic schools. There is untranslated Spanish in the book as characters sometimes switch between languages (rare).