this world we live in

During my tenure as a YA library worker, I only had one book officially challenged. I'd read the book right after it came in and loved it.  When the patron filed a complaint, I provided the director with the book's information as well as a list of all the accolades it was earning.  That novel was "Life as We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer.  The book stayed on the shelf.

I just read the third book in this series, "This World We Live In."  Hats off to Ms. Pfeffer for continuing to provide such excellent YA fiction. She never pulls a punch. She doesn't talk down to her audience. She portrays the grit, the heartache and the survival decisions with a keen eye on what is plausible.

In these stories, an asteroid has moved the moon closer to earth and the ensuing cataclysmic events change everything. The novels feature a senior high school girl, Miranda Evans, and her family, as they try to survive in a world where the old rules don't apply and living is a daily struggle. Family, friendship, love and forgiveness are all on the table and are viewed through a lens tempered by the need to exist. No one is riding in on a white horse to save the day in these books. Characters have to save themselves and sometimes make decisions to act in a way that a year prior would have been unthinkable.

Good stuff.

Now I'm moving on to Melissa Marr's latest. I thoroughly enjoy her gritty faery tales.  Should provide a nice counterbalance to all the Twilight garbage we will be inundated with now that the third movie has hit the theaters.