Review: This World We Live In

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


At long last, Miranda & Alex finally meet.



Now that a year has passed since everything changed, the world is trying to adapt. It's still a constant struggle to find food. Miranda's family is increasingly isolated in their house, only venturing out once a week for food. Remarkably, though, they have survived this year. With the coming of a wet and rainy Spring, their lives continue to change in unexpected ways.



First, they get a new family member. Miranda's brothers go to the Delaware to catch fish while the shad are running, and Matt meets Syl. They are married quickly, and the young woman upsets the balance of the household. She's been out in the world since the disaster, and while she doesn't talk about it much, her very presence forces Miranda to realize just how sheltered they've been.



Then, surprisingly, Miranda's father arrives. He and his pregnant wife, Lisa, had tried to find her family out west and failed. They've returned to be close to his older children, which is especially important to them now that Gabriel has been born. In addition to the three of them, they also bring three strangers: a large friendly man named Charlie and Alex & Julie Morales (of the dead the gone). Alex has a plan. He wants to take Julie to the convent/farm where he'd sent Brianna in the past, and after that, he wants to join a monastery.



But he didn't count on meeting Miranda and her fierce desire for life. In his desire to protect his sister, he can't see that families are reshaping themselves to include everyone beloved, not just kin.



Also, having survived a year in this new world doesn't mean that Miranda and Alex have mastered it. Surprises continue to await them, and some will be terrifying.



Pfeffer recently asked in her blog if readers would be like to read a fourth "Moon" book. I answered yes. This is a dark, dystopian world, and the characters make difficult choices. I want to know more about their survival. While I don't always like Alex & Miranda, I care about them and I want a future for them and their families. So, yes, I want a fourth Moon book!



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