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?
This is the fourth book in the “Life As We Knew It” series. It remains one of my all time favorite apocalyptic stories. Pfeffer has crafted these characters so expertly that I often find myself missing them and rereading the series. From the beginning, this story has rang so terribly real that I often open my curtains to check on the moon. You know, just in case.
One of my favorite things about this addition to the series is Jon’s narration. Before reading this book, he was the character I felt I knew the least about. In the other books he has mainly been in the background. It was interesting to see this world from his perspective. Interesting to see him deal with the two worlds he finds himself part of. That constant uncertainty would be unnerving.
The class system that Pfeffer created is fascinating. The dehumanization of the “grubs” is a lot like what we do to the poor. Towards the end of the book, the “clavers” no longer acknowledge that the “grubbs” are human. Powerful people were spreading stories to further that ideology. Watching Jon struggle with the entitlement of living in the enclave while also being constantly reminded that he didn’t actually “belong” there was conflicting. Part of me wanted to kick his butt for being such a little jerk and not appreciating everything that everyone was doing for him. That part of me was assuaged when Jon rallies and helps his sister.
This series is a good look into a possible future and a cautionary tale to remind us all how fragile our society really is.
5 stars.
The Technical Data:
Title: The Shade of the Moon | Series: Life As We Knew It | Author(s): Susan Beth Pfeffer |Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers / Publication Date: 9-16-2014 |Pages: 304 (Print) | ISBN: 978-0544336155 |Genre(s): Science Fiction / Young Adult / Apocalyptic |Language: English |Rating: 5 out of 5 | Date Read: 1-04-2017 |Source: Copy from personal collection.
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