Before I introduce my most recent read, you need some background information. Life as We Knew It was published in 2006. I was unaware of it until 2008 when it was nominated to the 2009 Rebecca Caudill list. The Dead and the Gone was published in 2009. And This World We Live In was published last year, but I did not hear about it. I found it quite by accident. I was so excited! I hate to think that I almost missed it. These are called companion novels. The idea is that they all stand alone, but are interconnected. I prefer to call them a trilogy with an order to follow.
The first book is a diary of sophomore Miranda Evans. She is a normal teenage girl dreaming about a prom date and a driver's license. She lives in rural Pennsylvania with her author mother, older brother Matt, and younger brother Jon. She is only distantly aware of reports that a meteor is on a collision course with the Moon. The meteor hits and knocks the moon into a closer orbit with the Earth. Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic action are the result along with millions dead. Miranda is no longer living contentedly. The family is barely surviving. There is no food, water or electricity. People start to hoard and store up for a long, cold winter. And then there is a flu epidemic.
The Dead and the Gone
If the first book is about survival in the country, the second book is about survival in the big city – New York City. Same premise. New protagonist – 17-year-old Alex Morales. He and his family live in a very nice neighborhood. His father is the superintendent of an apartment complex and the the family lives in the basement apartment. Alex and his two younger, teenage sisters belong to a devout Catholic family and attend prestigious Catholic schools. When the meteor hits, the kids are at home, their mother is at work and their father is in Puerto Rico. They never hear from them again. Alex is now responsible for his sisters and their safety. They have the same problems as Miranda's family only perhaps more violence and a firm grounding in their faith.
The third book begins nearly a year after the world catastrophe began. Miranda's family is still surviving on meager food and water rations. Occasionally, they have power. They are uncertain of how long the food will last. There doesn't seem to be much hope. And then the children's father returns with his wife and their new baby along with their gang of travelers. Alex and his youngest sister Julie are among them. So book one and book two meet. How will Miranda's family accommodate even more people under their roof with the same amount of rations?
On my list of favorite post-apocolyptic literature, I recommend this series to junior high and high schoolers. Girls will gravitate to it more because Miranda is the predominant character. There is also romance between Miranda and Alex. I am uncertain as to whether we will acquire the last book in the children's department more so because of the lack of funds than for its content.
Spoiler warning, but necessary:
A tornado hits and Julie is injured and rendered a quadriplegic. Alex is still missing days after the tornado, and Miranda believes she is now responsible for Julie. As an act of mercy, and because she knows she would be following Alex's wishes, Miranda gives Julie sleeping pills and then suffocates her with a pillow.
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