This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Current Mitunes - George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Genre: Dystopian YA
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Release Date: April 1, 2010
Pages: 256

It's been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth's climate. For Miranda Evans, life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.


The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda's father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda's complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever.


In the final installment of Pfeffer's 'The Last Survivors Trilogy', we find that Miranda's world wildly changes as she goes from finding herself stuck in a single room with her two brothers and mother - starving and freezing to death - to greeting several others and finding a whole new world of concerns.

Pfeffer's story telling becomes even more grim as we delve further into Miranda's journey to discovering the meaning of her life, the future it may hold and where her beliefs lie. Though shorter than the previous two in the series, This World We Live In does not disappoint, rather it excels at giving the reader more than entertainment, but truth as it holds up a mirror for us to consider our own lives and hearts.

I am so sad to have finished this series for it was truly amazing. I haven't read a series like this in quite some time and I recommend it to anyone looking for not only a great read, but a quick and enjoyable one as well.