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Grandmom's, Nana's, Gran's, Meemaws....
Thinking how many Grandmoms, Nanas and 
Grans, Meemaws, Mom-Moms, Yayas or 
Bubbes have that "eye in the storm" 
attitude mastered...
at least regarding their little grand kids!

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Pfeffer, Susan Beth. 2008. The dead & the gone. (June 2008)
The dead and the gone is the much-anticipated follow up novel to Life As We Knew It. Though the characters and setting are different--New York not Pennsylvania--the terror and uncertainty of future days is the same. Our narrator is Alex Morales, an older teen (perhaps 17?), whose world is about to be turned upside down. While there was set up in Life As We Knew It, the dead and the gone begins with the BIG event. 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. (1). Of course, at that moment, Alex doesn't know that. He's just your average teen. His mom was a nurse called into work that evening unexpectedly. His dad was out of the country attending the funeral of Alex's grandmother. His older brother, Carlos, is away from home and in the Marines. Thus when the calamity happens, it is on Alex and Alex alone to protect his family--his two younger sisters--and begin the fight for their ultimate survival.

In Life As We Knew It, no matter how bad it got, Miranda, the narrator, could relax a bit. Her mom was there for her and her brothers. Her mom was there to tell her what to do. There to make a plan. There to support her, comfort her, and yes, at times to annoy her. But Alex, Briana, and Julie. These three siblings have to face the unknown alone. It's not that they're completely alone, the dead and the gone introduces the element of faith and community in the midst of disaster, but without parental guidance, support, and love. Imagine being that age when the world starts to crumble. When the volcanoes and epidemics start. To know that the world will never be the same again. To know that if humanity is to survive this at all, it will be only a few, only the strongest, only the bravest. There is no safe place anymore. There is no reassurance, no promise of a better day, a brighter day. Now imagine being the caregiver of not one but two younger sisters. Sisters who'd fall apart without you. Sisters who are depending on you, trusting in you to provide for them, to protect them. Alex bears a heavy burden. Not only is he fighting for his own survival, he's fighting for the lives of his sisters.

As for his parents, his extended family, his friends and neighbors and classmates, too many are listed as "the gone" their final fates unknown in this captivating companion novel. While Life As We Knew It showed the private battle of one family for survival, the dead and the gone captures the story of a neighborhood, a community. I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not, but one thing that intrigues me is the element of faith and religion in this novel. When so many elements of society are falling apart, are crumbling, the Catholic church is strong and resourceful. They're not abandoning their flocks. They're a place where the faithful can come to rally, to rebuild their strength, regain their focus. They are actually providing for the needs of others. It's not that they're selfless. But they haven't forgotten the message of Christ either. They are living out the compassion of Christ who said...in this world you will have trouble, but I leave you my peace. That's what I see their mission as in some ways, caring for the physical and spiritual needs of the faithful. They can't stop the bad things from happening, they can't "solve" any problems. But they can be there, they can provide solace and peace for those who feel so downtrodden, so troubled.

Those who have read Life As We Knew It, will know that this is an intense novel. That it will leave you cold and hungry and a bit anxious of full moons. The dead and the gone is a companion novel to Life As We Knew It, but it stands alone. You don't need to have read Miranda's story to embrace this one. Alex's story is just as intense, just as strong, just as captivating, just as memorable. However, I would encourage everyone to go ahead and read Life As We Knew It in the months leading up to the release of the dead and the gone. There are so many memorable scenes, memorable passages that whether you read the book or listen to the audio, it is sure to haunt you.

You may read my review of Life As We Knew It here and here.
You may visit the author's blog here.
Other reviews of the novel are here, here, here, here, and here.

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The first time I read Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer was last fall--late October, early November--it was not "winter" yet, but it was after the first frost. I remember curling up in bed and getting colder, and colder, and hungrier and hungrier. I read it at night. In one sitting. And of course, I dreamed about being cold, hungry, and afraid. And all throughout the next day, I kept thinking about their frantic grocery store trip. Of course, if you HAVEN'T read Life As We Knew It you haven't the foggiest idea of what I'm talking about. You can read my first review here.

Imagine waking up one day to find that everything had changed practically over night. All over the world massive destruction due to one natural disaster after another. And what if there was no way to turn back the clock. To wake up knowing that each day will be worse than the one before. No electricity. No phone service. No gas or oil. Limited food supplies. What is there left to hope for? How would you live your last days?

Meet Miranda your personal guide through this terrifying adventure.

The second time I "read" it, I listened to it on audio book. The narrator is Emily Bauer and I just have to say she did an incredible job giving Miranda a voice. From the beginning chapters where Miranda is your typical teen--a bit shallow, a bit whiny, a bit superficial--to the earth-shattering, life-changing depths that Miranda takes on as her character changes day by day, hour by hour. I thought the text was haunting to read, but it is even more haunting to listen to the story unfold. Emily Bauer was believable as 'Miranda' from beginning to end. That isn't always the case with audiobooks. Typically, I don't bother with audiobooks. For one thing, I read very fast. Audio just slows me down. (Not that I'm following along with a book, like those kiddie records waiting for the bell to ding.) But I am so glad that I made an exception for Life As We Knew It. It was beautifully, beautifully done. It was slower, but in some ways that made it even better. The words were able to sink in fully. The situations, the circumstances, the characters seemed to resonate more with time. Since it took about a week--maybe a week and a half--to listen to the seven discs (or is six???), I found myself lost in the story...thinking about the characters all the time. It was more emotional, more intense. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that this was my second time to read it. The first time I was too concerned about finding out what happened, too caught up in the plot to really savor each and every page fully.

Anyway, I can't recommend this one highly enough!!! And there will be a companion novel to Life As We Knew It. So we can get even more perspectives on this terrifying catastrophe.

Hint: If you want to read this one yourself, you should definitely check out her blog. Especially the post that says "Another One Dusts the Byte"

http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com/

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Hautman, Pete. 2001. Hole in the Sky.

In 2028, a deadly Flu virus ravages the earth. Only one in two thousand survive the virus, and these “Survivors” are rarely left unaffected. By 2038, only 38 million people remain on Earth. Most of them live in small communities, ever fearful of outsiders who might bring the deadly Flu.

Hole in the Sky is the story of four young teens living in this new world. Ceej and his sister Harryette live with their uncle. Tim is the son of a trader. He comes to stay with Ceej while his father travels from community to community. Bella is a loner. She is half-Hopi. She has come to the Grand Canyon in search of a mystical portal--Sipapuni. Their fates are intertwined in this survival novel.

The Kinka are a dangerous band of “Survivors” who bring death and destruction wherever they go. Knowing that only one in two thousand has the chance to become one of them, they travel from community to community attacking settlements with the virus. The new survivors join the Kinka on their mission to create a ‘better’ human race. You see, the children of the Kinka are immune to the Flu. Their strong enough to survive in this new world. While everyone else lives and cowers in fear. The Kinka are strong enough to be brave and reckless.

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