Friday, January 25, 2008

The Dead and the Gone

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer was availabe at midwinter in ARC form. I snatched one up and ran! I totally loved Life as We Knew it which is the counterpart to this title.

LAWKI was about a meteor hitting the moon and all the reprecussions that came about because of it. It followed a teen girl named Miranda and her family through her journal entries. The moon is hit so hard that it is pushed toward the earth. This causes all kinds of terrifying weather such as tsunamis, volcanoes and earthquakes. It also causes hysteria, massive death tolls and eventually hunger and starvation.

TDATG follows a teen boy and his 2 young sisters. They live in New York City and their parents are not to be found after the meteor hits the moon. Mom was on her way to work at the hospital when the subways flooded and Dad was on the coast of Puerto Rico for his mother's funeral.

This book is written in third person narrative but still evoked the same horrific feelings as LAWKI. I felt like I needed to run to the grocery store and stock up on non-perishables and dog food in case of an emergency. I also felt like I needed to stock up on matches and candles and blankets and anything else that might come in handy if the power went out for an indefinite period.

Anytime a book can effect you in such a way, it is well written. She got her point across! We are vulnerable. And life is precious. I definitely kissed my husband and hugged my dog after reading The Dead and the Gone.

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