These are the stories that took an ordinary person, thrust them into a complete paradigm shift about what is important and what is not, and redefined life for them, forcing them to unlearn all of the "luxuries" of their previous existence and appreciate whatever life had to offer them in the moment. These are stories that fascinate me. These are the stories that make me wonder - Could I handle it? Am I strong enough? And these are the stories that allow me to to truly appreciate all that I am blessed with.
I think these stories are valuable to children, or any of us in this world right now, as so many people move forward faster into the realm of convenience and others are finding themselves thrust into the role of survivor whether through a natural or financial disaster blind-siding them! These are great stories to help build an awareness of what could happen in extreme situations and to start up the discussions within families and friends asking questions like - Would we be prepared? Do we know how to contact family members in an emergency? What kinds of skills do we want to have?
While I have read many of these types of books over my lifetime, I would like to focus this post on those fresh on my mind because I read one this winter, finished one at two this morning and started the third when I woke up today. They are also examples of these stories that take place NOW, in this millennium, with all of the technology, conveniences and trappings of our days to day lives in them, so suddenly torn away. That, I believe, would be much more relevant to children today.
The books that inspired this post:
1. Life As We Knew It
Susan Beth Pfeffer. An asteroid is heading toward the moon. Our young protagonist knows all about it the way many of us know about current events when we are school-aged - her teachers gave her all types of moon assignments in honor of this astronomically historical event. What no one predicts, however, is how truly historical the event turns out to be - the asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit, shifting it closer to Earth changing everything about life as we know it. The book is written in first person, as it is actually our sneak peek into Miranda's diary as she and her family (Mom and two brothers) learn to survive in this new world where societal structures have broken down, food is scarce, weather is unpredictable and disease is rampant.
2. The Dead and The Gone
by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This is the second book in the series, although it is not a continuation. Instead, this book takes place in the same time period as Life As We Knew It, except it takes place in New York City - a symbol of vitality in the world before the asteroid, but now, just another island that could easily fall victim to the high tides and tsunamis filled with thousands of more people than Miranda's suburban town from the first book. The book is written in third person and is from the perspective of a 17 year old Puerto Rican boy, Alex, as he takes care of his two younger sisters during this crisis while trying to figure out the whereabouts of his parents. Alex is an excellent student with dreams of being the first Puerto Rican president of the United States who didn't think of too much past his catholic school responsibilities and job before the asteroid hit the moon.
by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This is the second book in the series, although it is not a continuation. Instead, this book takes place in the same time period as Life As We Knew It, except it takes place in New York City - a symbol of vitality in the world before the asteroid, but now, just another island that could easily fall victim to the high tides and tsunamis filled with thousands of more people than Miranda's suburban town from the first book. The book is written in third person and is from the perspective of a 17 year old Puerto Rican boy, Alex, as he takes care of his two younger sisters during this crisis while trying to figure out the whereabouts of his parents. Alex is an excellent student with dreams of being the first Puerto Rican president of the United States who didn't think of too much past his catholic school responsibilities and job before the asteroid hit the moon.
3. The World We Live In
by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This third book continues from the first book and takes us back to Miranda and her family. I just started this book this morning, so I do not have a full-scale synopsis yet, but what I have learned so far is that this new world has not stopped changing yet, and even one year after the asteroid hit the moon it would be foolish to claim life for this family has gotten any easier. The questions still in the back of my mind: Will Miranda make it? Will her family? ...Will the WORLD?
by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This third book continues from the first book and takes us back to Miranda and her family. I just started this book this morning, so I do not have a full-scale synopsis yet, but what I have learned so far is that this new world has not stopped changing yet, and even one year after the asteroid hit the moon it would be foolish to claim life for this family has gotten any easier. The questions still in the back of my mind: Will Miranda make it? Will her family? ...Will the WORLD?
Susan Beth Pfeffer also has a blog of her own where she keeps readers of her latest writing adventures. I have not caught up with any of her books outside of this series yet, so you may want to check her blog out to see what they are all about.
In the meantime, I have a book I have to go finish, and I couldn't a more perfect rainy day to do that on! I hope you enjoy the Moon series, or if you have already read it, I hope you have already passed on the stories to those you love!
Happy reading!
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