Life as We Knew It (novel): Difference between revisions
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==Awards== |
==Awards== |
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Pfeffer's book was named [[Young Adult Library Services Association]]'s Best Books for Young Adults in 2007, and shortlisted for the [[Andre Norton Award]] for Outstanding Science Fiction or Fantasy Book of 2007. In addition, it won the [[Booklist]] Editor's Choice Award for Books for Youth (Older Reader's Category) in 2006.<ref>http://www.yourlibrary.ws/YA_Webpage/ritba/ritba08/lifeasweknewit.htm</ref> It was nominated for the 2009 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award and the Truman Readers Award of 2008-2009.<ref>http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/nominees/2009.htm</ref> It is also a Black eye Susan book for the state of [[Maryland]]. |
Pfeffer's book was named [[Young Adult Library Services Association]]'s Best Books for Young Adults in 2007, and shortlisted for the [[Andre Norton Award]] for Outstanding Science Fiction or Fantasy Book of 2007. In addition, it won the [[Booklist]] Editor's Choice Award for Books for Youth (Older Reader's Category) in 2006.<ref>http://www.yourlibrary.ws/YA_Webpage/ritba/ritba08/lifeasweknewit.htm</ref> It was nominated for the 2009 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award and the Truman Readers Award of 2008-2009.<ref>http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/nominees/2009.htm</ref> It is also a Black eye Susan book for the state of [[Maryland]]. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 20:25, 9 April 2012
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| Author | Susan Beth Pfeffer |
|---|---|
| Series | The Last Survivors??? |
| Genre | Young adult novel, Science fiction |
| Publisher | Harcourt Children's Books |
Publication date | October 1, 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 337 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0152058265 (first edition, hardcover) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 63705625 |
| LC Class | PZ7.P44855 Lif 2004 |
| Followed by | The Dead and the Gone, and This World We Live In |
Life As We Knew It is a young adult science fiction novel by American author Susan Beth Pfeffer, first published in 2006 by Harcourt Books. It is the first book in the "Last Survivors Trilogy", followed by The Dead and the Gone. When an asteroid hits the moon and brings it closer to Earth, life in Northeastern Pennsylvania will never be the same again.
In 2007 it was named as one of the Best Books For Young Adults by the American Library Association and placed seventh in the Teens' Top Ten vote, also run by the ALA.[1][2] In addition, Life As We Knew It was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award,[3] the Quill Awards and the Hal Clement Award.[4][5]
Background
Pfeffer was inspired to write her novel by the movie Meteor. She notes that "it got [her] thinking about how the people who have the most to lose if the world comes to an end are kids," and wanted to see how her characters would cope with a situation that was out of their control.[6]
Summary
Sixteen-year-old Miranda is living in Northeast Pennsylvania, United States. She is a sensitive teenager with a struggling life, seeing as how her parents are divorced, and her stepmother has a baby arriving. Told in diary entries of an imaginary diary, Miranda lays out the story of a meteor knocking the Moon closer to Earth's orbit and causing worldwide catastrophes. She tells how her family struggles for survival in the apocalypse, which has caused tidal waves on the coasts, volcanoes that turn the air into killer smoke, and earthquakes shaking up the land. Miranda and her family do not live on the coast, nor near volcanoes, and her town has had little earthquake activity, but it affects the others around her, as some of the closet people to her begin to die and her dad's family faces challenges as they try to get to safety. Their family doctor, in a relationship with her Mom, dies of a raging flu that wipes out many people. Her only lifeline is her family, and they are forced to stay in their house and ration their food, water, and clothes. With the electricity out, Miranda starts to get used to her life in the apocalypse, but that will change as the moon cools the earth, sending it into a horrible winter.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews said that "death is a constant threat, and Pfeffer instills despair right to the end but is cognizant to provide a ray of hope with a promising conclusion. Plausible science fiction with a frighteningly realistic reminder of recent tragedies here and abroad."[7] Ilene Cooper said in her review for Booklist that "each page is filled with events both wearying and terrifying and infused with honest emotions. Pfeffer bring's cataclysmic tragedy very close."[8]
Awards
Pfeffer's book was named Young Adult Library Services Association's Best Books for Young Adults in 2007, and shortlisted for the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Science Fiction or Fantasy Book of 2007. In addition, it won the Booklist Editor's Choice Award for Books for Youth (Older Reader's Category) in 2006.[9] It was nominated for the 2009 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award and the Truman Readers Award of 2008-2009.[10] It is also a Black eye Susan book for the state of Maryland.
References
- ^ ALA | 2007 Best Books for Young Adults
- ^ ALA | 2007 Teens' Top Ten
- ^ "2006 SFWA Final Nebula Awards ballot". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc. 2007-05-07.
- ^ "2007 Quills Nominees". Publishers Weekly. 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ Golden Duck Awards : Complete List of Winners and Finalists
- ^ http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=5&id=40613
- ^ "LIFE AS WE KNEW IT". Kirkus Reviews. 74 (18): 963. September 15, 2006. ISSN 0042-6598.
- ^ Cooper, Ilene (September 1, 2006). "Life as We Knew It". Booklist. 103 (1): 127. ISSN 0006-7385.
- ^ http://www.yourlibrary.ws/YA_Webpage/ritba/ritba08/lifeasweknewit.htm
- ^ http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/nominees/2009.htm