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Nancy Keane's | Booktalks -- Quick and Simple | |
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Pfeffer,
Susan Beth.
LIFE AS WE KNEW IT Orlando : Harcourt, 2006 IL YA ISBN 0152058265 (7 booktalks) |
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Booktalk
#1
The moon is going to be hit by a meteor. Big deal. But everyone in the country is talking about it. And every teacher in school is requiring the kids to watch it. So from the comfort of a lawn chair in the front yard, Miranda is doing just that. But no one is prepared for what happens. The meteor knocks the moon off course and sends it closer to the earth! At first it just seems kind of eerie but then the reality of what has happened hits Miranda and her family. The east coast is wiped out by tsunamis. There are earthquakes and volcanoes to deal with. And it comes down to a struggle for survival. This book is sure to keep you engrossed in their story. And to keep you thinking about the possibilities long after it ends. Booktalk #2 Miranda is excited, and not
just her, but everyone on the whole planet is excited. An asteroid is headed
right for the moon and will hit on May 18th. The whole town is out in front
of their houses with telescopes and binoculars. When it hits, everyone
cheers, and then it gets deathly quiet. A woman screams and people start
yelling. The moon was no longer a half-moon anymore. It was tilted and
wrong and it started getting larger and larger until it was smack in the
middle of the sky, way too big, way too visible. It was pushed out of its
orbit and it wasn't benign anymore but terrifying and panic filled the
air. Everyone rushed home to their phones and TV's. The cell phones were
out and the telephone lines were erratic. TV reception also was fuzzy but
finally came through and the news was horrible. There were reports of widespread
tsunamis because of the tides. There was massive flooding all over the
eastern seaboard. Tidal waves twenty feet or higher in New York City. All
power was lost, and the Statue of Liberty was washed out to sea. Cape Cod
was completely submerged and the barrier islands off the Carolina coast
... just gone. Casualties on the eastern seaboard are in the hundreds of
thousands. The Pacific Coast is also affected. But those folks who were
inland were safe.
Booktalk #3 When scientists predict that an asteroid will collide with the moon, Miranda and her neighbors break out their lawn chairs to watch the spectacular show. But when the collision pushes the moon closer to the Earth, it sets off devastating tsunamis, earthquakes, and storms. Through her daily journal entries, Miranda recounts her family’s struggle to survive. While the book falls firmly into the science fiction genre, it will also appeal to readers who enjoyed Anne Frank’s diary, as the focus of the narrative is on a girl facing grim circumstances and ultimately learning about herself and the nature of hope. (New Hampshire Isinglass Teen Read Award committee) Booktalk #4 16-yr-old Miranda begins her diary talking about typical high school stuff with a brief mention of an upcoming astrological event. Scientists forecast the day and time a meteor will hit the moon. People plan parties and sit outside to watch the celestial fireworks. The meteor hits with such force that it knocks the moon out of its orbit and closer to Earth. This causes disastrous consequences. The moon affects the tides and now sea levels rise and wipe out coastal cities around the world. Miranda’s mother goes into action immediately and stockpiles as much food and supplies as she can. Things keep getting worse as the moon’s gravitation pulls magma to the surface from deep inside the Earth and many volcanoes erupt changing weather patterns around the globe. Miranda, her mom and two brothers try to find a way to survive in this new world. There are no fairy tale endings here and life will never be the same for anyone who does survive. (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards nominee, 2008-2009) Booktalk #5 When an asteroid hits the moon knocking it closer to the Earth and causing a chain of cataclysmic natural disasters, 16-year-old Miranda tells through journal entries what happens as her family faces dismal conditions that include power outages, lack of food and water, and outbreaks of disease. (Florida Teen Read, 2009) Booktalk #6 Miranda is 16, and is not ready
for her life to be over. An asteroid has crashed into the moon, changing
its orbit and wreaking havoc on Earth – tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes,
and a long, cold winter for her and her family in their rural Pennsylvania
town. Though her mom has stockpiled food and water, and her brothers have
been chopping wood nonstop, no one is sure if they'll survive the next
few months. As Miranda’s world keeps getting smaller and smaller, and she
and her family become more isolated, they can only wonder what's happening
in the rest of the world. Miranda's journal entries chronicle the slow,
daily downward spiral of the world, show what becomes important when you're
losing everything you know, and the importance of hope for survival.
Booktalk #7 This book was really good and it kept me on my feet and I didnt want to stop reading it. There is also another book tied into the same story, but its about a boy in New York City's point of view instead of a girl in Pennsylvania. The idea of the story is when the moon gets pushed closer to the earth and all hell breaks loose (Thomas, K-12 student) |
| SUBJECTS:
Natural disasters -- Fiction.
Family life -- Fiction. Diaries -- Fiction. Science fiction. |
