So I’m totally laughing at myself, but it was literally by mistake that I picked this one up. But I’m so glad I did, especially since I’d seen it on the shelves of libraries and bookstores many a time, without ever showing any interest. I’m not sure how both Meg Rosoff’s recent titles seemed to merge into Life As We Knew it in my mind… Anyhow, it was a great read.
It’s May, and Miranda’s sophomore year is nearly over. She fills her journal with the routine high school stuff: struggling to complete homework, longing for a first love, and worrying about her divorced mother and father. She even mentions the upcoming meteor-moon collision, but only because she was assigned to observe and write a paper on it, and also because she failed to see any significance in such a commonplace event. What was the big deal, anyway? Little did anyone know that their lives would be irrevocably changed when the moon is knocked off its axis, causing earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and tsunamis across the globe. Suddenly, the littlest, unremarkable things – like food, heat, and electricity – become the hallmarks of Miranda’s entries.
Wow, this book was powerful. So real feeling, it was scary. It’s like Emergency Preparedness 101. Another motivation to fatten myself up. I don’t think I would’ve survived long. My favorite part was seeing Miranda adapt. At first she’s in denial, and unwilling to play it safe rather than sorry. Many fights later with her mom, she begins to see the wisdom in her actions. Many friends lost later, she starts to accept that life may never go back to the way it was. It’s about appreciating both the little and big things in life, like food and shelter and water and health and family and learning. A grim, but hopeful read I couldn’t put down once I saw the direness of their situation. There’s a companion book, which I don’t think I could bare reading, but there’s also a sequel in the works. I can’t wait to catch up with Miranda and her family.
