A book written for young adults examines a world gone awry after a meteor slams into the moon.
I recently read a book titled Life As We Knew It written by Susan Beth Pfeffer. The book is written for an audience of young adults but when I saw what the subject matter was I knew it was something I would find interesting also.
The book begins describing the life of a teenaged girl and her family. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her mother and two brothers. The book is written in diary format, and she gives us an inside look at her days: worries about school, boys, her friends, her dad and his new pregnant wife, and so forth.
The world learns that a meteor is going to crash into the moon. Initially it is considered a fascinating day for astronomers and a day to throw a block party under the moonlight for everyone else. But when the meteor hits the moon, things start to change. The astronomers say they had miscalculated the mass of the meteor. The meteor knocks the moon a bit closer to Earth. Pandemonium ensues.
Because the moon is now a bit closer to the Earth, it's pull is greater on tides, resulting in devastating tsunamis all around the globe. Earthquakes and unprecedented volcanoes follow, and life on Earth turns into a battle for survival. The main character and her family hunker down in their home and must survive on fasting and severe food rationing with only each other for comfort.
While the book is not perfect scientifically, it is a great look into how fragile our life on Earth can be from a threat from space. It teaches us what really matters and opens our eyes to the realization that meteors don't just have to strike Earth to cause complete devastation here. Read more about the threat of meteors from space.
