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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607002102989 | Young Adult | PFEFFER | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event--an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.
With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.
Author Notes
Susan Beth Pfeffer was born in New York City in 1948, and grew up in the city and its nearby suburbs. At the age of six, when her father wrote and published a book, Pfeffer decided she, too, wanted to be a writer; that year, she wrote her first story. She didn't write her first published book, until much later. Just Morgan, a young adult novel, was written during her final semester at New York University, and published the following year.
Since then, Pfeffer has been a full-time writer for young people. She has won numerous awards and citations for her work, which ranges from picture books to middle-grade and young-adult novels and includes both contemporary and historical fiction. Her young adult novel About David was awarded the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award. Her young adult novel The Year Without Michael, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and winner of the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award, was named by the American Library Association as one of the hundred best books for teenagers written between 1968-1993.
Pfeffer has also written a book for adults on writing for children. She has written over 60 books for children and young adults.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Susan Beth Pfeffer's apocalyptic, coming-of-age novel (Harcourt, 2008) immediately draws listeners into a terrifyingly macabre world where life as we know it ceases to exist. "Wednesday, May 18.At the moment when life as he had known it changed forever, Alex Morales was behind the counter at Joey's Pizza, slicing a spinach pesto pie into eight roughly equal pieces." Alex is clueless to the events unfolding around him. His mother has been called in to work at the hospital, his father is at the funeral of his grandmother in Puerto Rico, and his brother Carlos is away from home in the Marines. So when Alex's parents fail to return home following unimaginably catastrophic environmental events caused by the collision of an asteroid and the moon, the teenager becomes protector, provider, and parent to his two younger sisters. Alex's strict upbringing in a close-knit Catholic, Puerto Rican family is called into question when he is forced to do immoral and unethical acts, such as body shopping-stripping the valuables from corpses lying in the streets-to barter for things they need to survive. Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It (Harcourt, 2006) looked at the event from a small-town perspective; this companion novel looks at the same incident set in New York City. Robertson Dean narrates in a rich, clear voice as he reveals the story through Alex's third-person narration. Themes such as our response to climate changes and the failure of society to care for individuals in the event of such a catastrophe will be wonderful discussion starters with middle and high school students.- Beverly S. Almond, East Lee Middle School, Sanford, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
As riveting as Life as We Knew It and even grittier, this companion novel returns to the premise of that previous book to show how New York City responds to the global disasters that ensue when an asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit. This time Pfeffer focuses on high school junior Alex Morales, whose parents go missing after the catastrophe. It's up to him to find a way to keep himself and his two younger sisters alive while the planet is rocked by famine, floods, freezing temperatures and widespread disease. Once again Pfeffer creates tension not only through her protagonist's day-to-day struggles but also through chilling moral dilemmas: whether to rob the dead, who to save during a food riot, how long to preserve the hope that his parents might return. She depicts death and destruction more graphically than before, making the horror of Alex's ordeal all the more real. Religion also plays a larger role. A devout Catholic, Alex finds his faith in God shaken, but he relies on the guidance, compassion and sacrifice of church leaders in order to stay alive. The powerful images and wrenching tragedies will haunt readers. Ages 12-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Excerpts
Excerpts
chapter 1 Wednesday, May 18 At the moment when life as he had known it changed forever, Alex Morales was behind the counter at Joeys Pizza, slicing a spinach pesto pie into eight roughly equal pieces. "I ordered an antipasto, also." "Its right here, sir," Alex said. "And your order of garlic knots." "Thanks," the man said. "Wait a second. Arent you Carlos, Luiss kid?" Alex grinned. "Carlos is my older brother," he said. "Im Alex." "Thats right," the man said. "Look, could you tell your dad theres a problem with the plumbing in twelve B?" "My fathers away for a few days," Alex said. "Hes in Puerto Rico for my grandmothers funeral. But he should be back on Saturday. Ill tell him as soon as he gets home." "Dont worry about it," the man said. "Its waited this long. Im sorry to hear about your grandmother." "Thank you," Alex said. "So where is your brother these days?" the man asked. "Hes in the Marines," Alex said. "Hes stationed at Twentynine Palms, in California." "Good for him," the man said. "Give him my regards. Greg Dunlap, apartment twelve B." "Ill do that," Alex said. "And Ill be sure to tell my father about your plumbing." Mr. Dunlap smiled. "You in school?" he asked. Alex nodded. "I go to St. Vincent de Paul Academy," he said. "Good school," Mr. Dunlap said. "Bob, my partner, went there and he says its the best school in the city. You know where you want to go to college?" Alex knew exactly where he wanted to go, and where hed be happy to go, and where he would be satisfied to go. "Georgetowns my first choice," he said. "But it depends on the financial package. And if they accept me, of course." Mr. Dunlap nodded. "Ill tell Bob Luiss kid goes to Vincent de Paul," he said. "You two can swap stories someday." "Great," Alex said. "Your bill comes to $32.77." Mr. Dunlap handed him two twenties. "Keep the change," he said. "Put it toward your college fund. And be sure to give Carlos my regards. Luis must be very proud of both his sons." "Thank you," Alex said, passing the pizza, the antipasto, and the bag of garlic knots to Mr. Dunlap. "Ill remember to tell my father about the plumbing as soon as he gets back." "No hurry," Mr. Dunlap said. Alex knew they always said, "No hurry," when they meant "Get it done right now." But a seven-dollar tip guaranteed that Alex would tell Papi about the plumbing problems in 12B the minute he returned from Nanas funeral. "The cables out," Joey grumbled from the kitchen. "Yankees have the bases loaded in the top of the sixth and the cable dies on me." "Its May," Alex said. "What difference does it make?" "I have a bet on that game," Joey said. Alex knew better than to point out the game was still going on even if the cable was out. Instead he turned his attention to the next customer, filling her order for two slices of pepperoni pizza and a large Coke. He didnt get away until ten, later than he usually worked, but the pizza parlor was short staffed, and Excerpted from The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.