The Life as We Knew It 4-Book Collection: Four Haunting Survival Stories in a World Forever Changed by the Moon

Last Survivors #1-4

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

When a meteor hits the moon, teenage Miranda and her friends and family struggle to survive the unimaginable. Four gripping books that follow their ordeal are collected in this single-volume edition, including Life As We Knew It, The Dead and the Gone, This World We Live In, and The Shade of the Moon.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopia, Fiction, Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic

1106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

Susan Beth Pfeffer was an American author best known for young adult and science fiction. After writing for 35 years, she received wider notice for her series of post-apocalyptic novels, officially titled "The Life as We Knew It Series", but often called "The Last Survivors" or "Moon Crash" series, some of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read was Life As We Knew It . It is the first book in the series of Life As We Knew It. These books are written by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I loved the books in this series. The author does a good job on making it an easy read, by making the print not so small and the book also flows really well. In the first series,Life As We Knew It, it’s about a family that went through a massive change. At the beginning, it talks about a teenage girl who lived in the north, Miranda Evans and her family, she had two brothers, Matt and Jonny, and a mom. At school, everyone talked about how an Asteroid was going to hit the moon. That night when the asteroid hit the moon closer to earth, everything changed. The tides rose and tsunamis hit the coast lines, which took over states. Earthquakes happened, power went out, every natural disaster happened at once. After the asteroid hit the moon and everything happened, schools had to shut down, people stopped working and restaurants had to close. People had to stay in their houses and didn't know how to get food. A few months later people heard that down south the weather was not as bad and still had power. Therefore people moved down south. Later, Miranda and her family had to survive on their own with very little power, food, and water. Read the book to find out more. I would recommend this book to my friends because it is a easy read and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book set is amazing. The writing style truly draws in you to the point, you forget that you are reading something. These are book that will draw you in and make you rethink everything in your life.

[Ashley Neckermann · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first two books were decent, the third tolerable, and the last really bad.

[Ni · Rating 2 out of 5]

First three books were cute, decently written dystopia apocalypse books. No complaint. Good for kids/young teens. Last book is the worst thing I've ever read, and genuinely made me so uncomfortable. It had quite a few chapters essentially condoning SA from a Dudes perspective, and trying to make you sympathize with said dude for SAing his friend. Actually awful. Made it so I actually can't think of this series in a good light.

[Angela]

26 April 2020: $4.99 on Kindle

[Cosima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that the Life as we knew it series is very well written and was fun to read.
It was about a diary of a girl named Amanda who not only witnessed but survived the events of the moon coming closer to earth's orbit.
Then the second one is the diary of a puerto rican boy in New York. He witnesses the same as Amanda and they meet in the third wich is back to Amanda's diary. After that Amanda's little brother has a diary and that's what the last book is about.
Overall I loved it, even though it was kind of confusing and I did'nt know some of the words.

[timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life as we knew it

This book was great I am so happy with the turnout at the ending and I am so excited to continue reading the rest of the series

[Cassie Calabro · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully written, if u into some scifi and typical teenage romance and slice of life, then this is the series for u, I read these series in less then 2 months.

[Steff Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

| Reader Fox Blog |


When the moon is hit by an asteroid and knocked closer to the Earth, everything in Miranda's life changes. The world she once knew where she would go to school, was preparing for college, and just living normally is shattered to pieces as devastating climate changes wreak havoc upon the planet and its occupants. In Pennsylvania, Miranda won't have to worry about the tsunamis that have destroyed much of the coasts, but when volcanic ash coats the sky and hides away the sun, effectively killing all of their plants, it soon becomes a real question of whether or not Miranda and her family will survive.

Honestly, if I hadn't been gifted Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer I probably wouldn't have read it. Barring the fact that the science was somewhat unbelievable in a lot of ways--an asteroid that size couldn't move the moon, the astronomers all wouldn't be that dumb, the likelihood of all those events happening just because of the moon, and all the astronomers in the world not calculating the possibility--because I can get past that, Life As We Knew It was just so damn boring. I mean, I spent the entirety of my time reading this book just wishing I could be doing something, anything else.

And I'll give it this; the way that the family lives and reacts to the otherwise apocalyptic world that has resulted because the moon has been bumped closer to earth is realistic. But did it keep my interest? No. Did I enjoy reading it? No. Would I read it again? No. The disasters and the deaths never once got me to feel anything more than the unending boredom I already felt with the majority of the novel.

Then there was the nonsense with Miranda's two friends. One starved herself in order to give food to a manipulative priest while her mother simply let it happen. The other began a relationship with an older man in order to have him protect her as she traveled which her parents also were surprisingly okay with. Both seemed incredibly nonsensical to me. And then there was the somewhat starving that Miranda, her mother, and her eldest brother did in order to ensure that the youngest child had enough to eat to keep him healthy. I just...why?

Ultimately, I don't think this is the worst book in existence. But I also just kind of hate it.

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[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read and reviewed the four books collected here separately, so this is just for my own records. And you know what? I'm making an exception. Usually when I rate multi-volume collections, I work on an average and round up if necessary. The first three books in this series got three stars from me, but the last - The Shade of the Moon - was such irredeemable, lazy edginess that it only earned one. Under normal circumstances I might round the average of two and half stars up to three (if I'm reviewing at a place that doesn't allow half stars), but in either case I'm choosing to round down. The last volume was such an unenjoyable experience that it's soured the whole series for me. Averaging just doesn't cut it.

[Zebra Can Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the first and second one and liked the third but the fourth I could not with.
With the first three I found myself easily getting lost in them and just really enjoyed them. But the fourth. It had a completely different feel. It felt like everything and everyone changed so fast. TOO fast.
And non of the characters were really likable. Jon was just so annoying! I almost made it to part two but I just decided to stop reading cause I wasn’t feeling it and nothing was really catching my attention like the other books. I wanted to keep reading to complete the series and I wanted to know there was character development and that things changed. But I just couldn’t get through it.

[Amy Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series rocked me to my core. I was entranced immediately and have never finished another series quicker. It got me thinking of how prepared id be if an end of world situation . You really do fall in love with the characters and I was sad with each loss no matter how large or small. Every character was relate-able and the whole concept wasnt so completely out of the realm of possibility. I dont think this is a good series for young adults though. I had nightmares almost every night, like i said it rocked me to my core.

[Kaylei · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book was so good, I really like the way Susan wrote the first book. The second book was my least favorite in the series it was a pretty slow moving book but still a really good read. The third book was my favorite, I loved when Miranda found herself liking Alex.
The forth book, a lot of people find themselves not liking it because of Jon. He has little to no character development. I found myself liking the book due to liking seeing a different perspective, I may not like Jon’s character but I do love the book. Over all this book series really made me interested in reading.

[cara heimann · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was hate on these books that I saw after I starting reading and I’ll never understand them, I love this series so very much. It keeps me on edge, it makes you love and care for characters in a world that is cold and unforgiving, the world they live in takes and takes and yet here I am loving them. I can never put myself in their shoes, but I can appreciate them, love them, and be heartbroken when things don’t work out. I love this series so very much and recommend it to anyone who reads.

[Briana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite book series aside from Harry Potter. It's so real feeling as you're reading it. You can feel every emotion the characters are feeling and the situations they stumble upon really make you want to prepare for the conditions of such things happened in real life. It was such a believable situation. I really loved this book series and would recommend it to any one that is thinking about picking it up.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concept

I loved the first book. It was a fascinating concept. The second book was only ok. I didn’t really like any of the characters but I thought I would see where the story took me. The third book was pretty good. Alex and Julie were still turn offs for me. I just didn’t like their attitudes. The fourth book was terrible. Damn. It went from people coming together to survive the apocalypse to the worst caste system ever.

[liz h · Rating 3 out of 5]

i refuse to individually review these bc i finished the last three books in the past 24 hours and i don’t think i’ve witnessed a plot lose itself as quickly or as thoroughly this did what a wreck. tbh each book doesn’t deserve their own review. fuck jon most of also but honorable mentions: fuck miranda and fuck carlos and fuck alex and fuck matt bc by the end of this series i couldn’t stand any of them, i just had to see it through

[Madi Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Never read a series faster. After the moon got knocked closer to the earth, the planets weather, food supply, and cycle goes to shit and the world is ending. It’s a really powerful story about surviving this crisis, to the point where even stepping outside is dangerous. People fighting over shelter, food, water, money. Society is having to be rebuilt from scratch, and the main character leads us through it all from her perspective as a teenage girl.

[SAVANNAH MCCULLOUGH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, what happens to all the poor grubs after all?

Very captivating.... last book had a twist I didn't like but it paid off to keep reading. You won't regret investing the time with this book!

Though I wouldn't mind another book to tell what happens in the end with the discrimination towards grubs in Sexton. Which is why I chose 4 stars

[Hope Nilges · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many apocalyptic stories assume that society would immediately break down and our greatest threat would be violence from others. I’ve always been skeptical of this assumption and I like bed that this series focused on first the immediate threat of starvation and later dealing with how society would be restructured. I was pulled in because it felt more real than many stories of the premise.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down

I read the first 2 books back in high school and buying the collection really closed that chapter of wonder I held for so many years about what happened. Thank you Susan Pfeffer for finishing the series and making it so hard to put down until the very last page.

[sami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reas this series a long while ago but I remetmber loving it, it was a bit dark from my m(emory but I think it was just really fast paced and kept on making me want to read more, I'll have to reread it to give it a proper rating (don't plan on doing that soon) but it seems pretty highly rated and I think I finished the last one in like two sittings (big achievement for me) so yeah

[Kayla Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

I originally read this and (the second in the series) while spending time with my best friend at her house in high school. Revisiting this quick and enjoyable apocalypse (ain’t that just the way?) not only threw me back to my days reading as a 17 year old girl, but also had me reeling from all the new and horrifying parallels I could now draw on as a 28 year old woman, wife, and mother. I’ll admit though, I am a sucker for some apocalypse/dystopian content!
It was well worth the re-read. Can’t wait to read the last 2 installments with fresh eyes!!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked this series. Pfeffer created a believable catastrophic world and realistic characters that I came to care about. It also brings up some interesting questions of what you'd do in similar circumstances.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, family and friend connections were warm and frightening away the same time.

I liked the lifestyles and social aspects of the communities. The story was believable in a way the end of the world could play out.

[Michael Fennessy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Held my interest for four books.

Interesting concept. Could have done without all the religious overtones in the middle 2 books. Overall would def recommend but don't expect them to change your life

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this a long time ago and enjoyed it. i always wondered why the romance was really awkward between the protagonists and it’s because the author is old. didn’t really like that they made the younger brother almost sexually assault someone tho :/

[Aliyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

this good was really good but i wouldnt be reading a whole lot of books like this. it did keep me wanting to read more thats for sure and this book is amazing i just think that its not exactly for me. teh author did a really good job with this book!

[Nitzan Schwarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Binge read the entire series from October 26 to November 11, 2016

You can find reviews on the individual book pages :)

[EJSG · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read (via audiobook) the whole series, because I started it, but even for YA, there is a little too much Y.