The Last Survivors Series by Susan Beth Pfeffer

A couple of years ago, Susan Beth Pfeffer came out with Life As We Knew It, a fascinating novel that imagines a world in which a meteor has struck the moon and pushed it closer to Earth. Catastrophes and post-apocalyptic like events ensue as volcanoes erupt, flooding along shores occurs, and people are left without food, clean water. and electricity. Life As We Knew It follows the diary entries of Miranda, a sixteen-year-old living in a small town in Pennsylvania as she and her mother and brothers do their best to prepare for and survive the coming winter when their safe, small hometown has been drastically altered.

The Dead and the Gone is the story of Alex Morales, a sixteen-year-old New Yorker whose parents were both lost in the chaos immediately following the moon's displacement, and who finds himself responsible for his two younger sisters. Both stories are riveting and oftentimes horrifically imaginative as each teen is affected in very different ways, and each book explores themes of humanity, love, and resilience.

I was very, very happy to discover the other day that Pfeffer is continuing the series with This World We Live In, in which Alex and Miranda's paths cross.

Here's the official summary:

"It's been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth’s climate. For Miranda Evans life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.

The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda’s father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda’s complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever."

I can't wait for this one, and am seriously envying those with advance copies! It will be released on April 1st, and I swear that date can't come soon enough! In the mean time, I will be rereading the first two.

Have you read this series yet? What did you think? If you haven't picked up Life As We Knew It, I definitely urge you to do so!

Edited to add: If you'd like to read my review of This World We Live In, click here. I was really, really disappointed with the conclusion of this trilogy. For those of you who read it, what do you think?

UPDATE AS OF 6-5-13! There is a fourth book in the series! It's called The Shade of the Moon, and it will be out on August 13th, 2013! Here is the summary:

"The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with the New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It, in which a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and the world changes forever. It's been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved. His prowess on a soccer field has guaranteed him a home in a well-protected enclave. But Jon is painfully aware that a missed goal, a careless word, even falling in love, can put his life and the lives of his mother, his sister Miranda, and her husband, Alex, in jeopardy. Can Jon risk doing what is right in a world gone so terribly wrong?"
And to read about her newest book, Blood Wounds, click here!