2009 Evergreen Award Winner

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer




The moon is going to be hit by a meteor.  Big deal.  But everyone in the country is talking about it.  And every teacher in school is requiring the kids to watch it.  So from the comfort of a lawn chair in the front yard, Miranda is doing just that.  But no one is prepared for what happens.  The meteor knocks the moon off course and sends it closer to the earth!  At first it just seems kind of eerie but then the reality of what has happened hits Miranda and her family.  The east coast is wiped out by tsunamis.  There are earthquakes and volcanoes to deal with.  And it comes down to a struggle for survival.  This book is sure to keep you engrossed in their story.  And to keep you thinking about the possibilities long after it ends. 

(Booktalk by Nancy Keane, Booktalks Quick and Simple)


Life As We Knew It


By Susan Beth Pfeffer

On May 18 an asteroid hit the moon. It wasn’t a surprise. We all knew it was going to happen. It had been talked about for weeks. Everyone was excited and but 9:30 that night all our neighbors where out in their yards to watch it happen. It was like a big block party, and people cheered when it happened—but not for long.

There had been some kind of a miscalculation. Even the astronomers were surprised when the impact pushed the moon out of its orbit. They could explain what had happened. I know I can’t. But what I can say is that after the collision the moon was tilted wrong, and it was smack in the middle of the sky, and it was way too large.

At first people couldn’t believe it, and then everything started to go wrong. The cell phones went out, the Internet stopped working. No CNN, just local television and mostly reports on the radio. And things just kept getting worse.

My name is Miranda. I’m sixteen and these are my diary entrees about what happened after that asteroid hit the moon. 

My brother Matt says we are living through a special time in history. A time when we can all be heroes. Mrs. Nesbitt, or next-door neighbor, says people will rise to the occasion.
My younger brother Jonny hopes they will cancel school for the rest of the year. Mom is worried we won’t have enough food to last until things get better.

What I know for sure is that right after the impact giant waves destroyed much of the coast including big cities like New York, Boston, Miami, and places like Cape Cod and Hawaii. Terrible storms cut the power, and earthquakes hit places that had never had them before. Then volcanoes started to erupt all over the world filling the sky with clouds and cutting out the sun. Now the scientists are warning about drought and record cold temperatures. Even our cat Horton has disappeared.

With the numbers of the dead rising, I wonder if things will never be normal again? Or is life as we knew it just a memory?

Life as We Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer

(Booktalk by Tom Reynolds, Sno-Isle Regional Library System)


Last Updated: May 14, 2008