This World We Live In
by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Last Survivors, book three
When one year ago, the moon was struck by a meteor, knocking it closer into the Earth's orbit, catastrophe after catastrophe plagues the earth, leaving only a sprinkling of survivors struggling to have human life continue on Earth.
Miranda's family, in rural Pennsylvania, managed through cunning, tenacity, and finally luck to survive as a unit. Alex lost half his family immediately in the disaster and struggled to save his sisters, finally being forced to flee New York City with his sister, Julie, to look for "greener" pastures.
In This World We Live In, their stories collide...Miranda and her family are beginning to worry about when their food supply with cease to exist. Her brothers go out on a fishing expedition and Matt comes home with fish...and a bride. Days later, Miranda's father also arrives on their doorstep with a troupe in tow. Not only has he brought his wife and their new baby, but also a new best friend and two new "children," Alex and Julie. With ten people in one household, can Miranda's new extended family make it work? Will they all survive?
This was the final book of the trilogy and though I am sad it's done, it was a satisfying end. Susan Beth Pfeffer is gifted in being able to deliver a heartbreaking and realistic disaster story, balanced by love and hope for the future. All elements of this story rang true. I cried...and I smiled through my tears. I sighed at the compelling ending. I will definitely read this trilogy from start to finish again and probably again in the future. If you haven't read Life as We Knew It or The Dead and the Gone definitely start with those, but don't stop until you've read all three...it's worth it!
