Book Hungry's December Offering: LIFE AS WE KNEW IT

Every once in a while a book comes along that profoundly affects how you view the world around you, the people in your life, and your own strength of character.  For me, that book (or rather books, as--me being, well, ME--I just had to read the two 'companion' novels that went with it) was this month's Book Hungry selection, chosen by our very own Abby. 

The Book(s): LIFE AS WE KNEW IT (book #1); THE DEAD AND THE GONE (book #2); THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN (book #3)

The Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Publisher: Graphia

The premise for this novel is simple, and yet it isn't.  An asteroid hits the moon, knocking it into an entirely new orbit, one much, much, much closer to Earth, triggering a cataclysmic shift in global climate, seismic activity, and completely altering LIFE AS WE KNEW IT.

I have to admit that as much as I love, love, LOVED this book, it also scared the bejesus out of me.  Why?  Because this could actually happen, like RIGHT NOW. 

The setting, the buildup, the actual scene in which everyone is outside watching the asteroid hit the moon.  It's all completely plausible, and it's also believable that the scientists who predicted the hit to be small and inconsequential to be way off base in that estimate.  Then, the aftermath.  Whew.  First the thunderstorms and tornadoes.  Hearing on the news about the massive tsunamis ravaging the far off coasts, the earthquakes, and then the volcanic eruptions whose ashclouds completely obliterate the sun. And, that's just Mother Nature's reaction to the asteroid.  Add to that, the mass panic, the severe shortage of food, the mass scavenging, and the desperation as people slowly waste away to nothing.

The second book, THE DEAD AND THE GONE occurs in tandem with the first, only it's from the perspective of devout Catholic, Alex Morales who lives in NYC with his parents and younger sisters.  I won't lie.  This one is much bleaker than the first, considering the first took place in a rural town where Miranda's family was isolated and thus somewhat sheltered from many of the horrors occurring in this new and devastating world.  Alex not only had to step up when both his parents go missing and care for his two younger sisters, but he also had to deal with depraved depths that humanity can sink into all the while tenaciously clinging to his faith.

And, the third book, THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN brings the two families together, answering the question you definitely have of "What happened next?"  I have to confess that upon finishing the third book, I again asked that question.  Mostly because I'd become so invested in those characters, that I could read sixteen more books about their trials and tribulations.  Although, I might be emotionally wrung out from it all afterwards.

So, right about now, you're probably thinking, "These books just sound completely hopeless.  No thank you." 

My response: They are anything but hopeless.  Yes, they are terrifying.  Yes, the characters are brutalized over and over and over again, in a relentless, take-no-prisoners kind of way, whether it's from the weather or from other humans. 

But, here's the thing, minions.  They survive.  They endure. 

With Miranda's family, they band closer together.  They look out for each other.  They each realize that the only thing that matters is that they are together.  No matter what.  In fact, at the beginning of LIFE AS WE KNEW IT, I kind of didn't like Miranda.  I thought she was selfish, but she evolved throughout the book, growing from this whiny, spoiled child into a woman willing to sacrifice herself on the altar of her family's well-being.

In THE DEAD AND THE GONE, Alex journeys along a similar path, going from being a student whose biggest worry was whether he'd get elected junior class president to fighting for his and his sisters' lives.  The things he has to do, the decisions he has to make are harrowing, but he mans up, doing whatever he can to keep his family alive, all the while maintaining a tenuous hold on his faith.

Yes friends, you will find hope within these pages.  It's in the sacrifices made by the characters to ensure the well-being of those they love.  It's in the determination to survive in world so devoid of anything good.  It's in the resilience of the human spirit and the strength these people find to do whatever needs to be done. 

In all honesty, I'm not so sure I'd be as strong or resilient in the face of such overwhelming adversity.  Lucky for me (well, depending on how you look at it), I live in the land of nothing but coastlines, so I probably wouldn't make it past the first wave of tsunamis (unintentional pun here, but let's go with it), should this ever happen.  There's a comforting thought, huh?

So, what about all you fun folks?  Have you read these books?  How did they make you feel?  Or if you haven't read them yet, have I scared you out of (or into) reading them?  Do share!

Until next month when we take a look at something a little lighter, AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by the illustrious John Green.

ARC Review: GRAFFITI MOON

The Book: GRAFFITI MOON
The Author: Cath Crowley
The Publisher: Alfred A Knopf BFYR (An Imprint of Random House Children's Books)
Expected Release Date: February 14, 2012

Marketing Copy Summary:
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

My Thoughts:
First, allow me to take a moment to say, "Yay for Aussie YA!!" *crowd cheers* and then to follow that up with a quick, "I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book."  Did you get that I really loved this book?  No?  Hmm.  Should I maybe repeat myself?  Nah.  I'll just launch into the review now. 

Sorry for that brief interruption, folks.  Now, let's get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Lucy has spent years following the work of a renegade graffiti artist she only knows as Shadow.  She's never once laid eyes on him, but when she looks upon his work, she feels this deep connection to the man behind the paint cans.  In her heart, she knows him, not just his work.  She also knows that once they finally do meet, he will feel that same soul-deep yearning for her that she's harbored for him for so long. 

The only problem?  It seems like every time she gets a lead on his location, Shadow disappears just moments before she gets there.  How is she supposed to show him that they're meant for each other when they can't even seem to meet up?

Enter Ed, the one guy Lucy would like to erase completely from her memory banks, especially after the most disastrous date in the history of the universe happened when the two of them had gotten together so long ago.  He's the last person she'd ever want to spend an entire night wandering the city with.

He's also the one person who can lead her to the elusive Shadow.

But as the night wears on, Lucy begins to see Ed in a whole new light, and she wonders if maybe, just maybe, Ed is the soul mate she's been searching for all along and not some unknown artist whose paintings call to her in a way nothing else has.  And, maybe just maybe, Ed has a secret shadow of his own that could change Lucy's feelings for both him and the graffiti artist.

Told in alternating POVs between Lucy and Ed, GRAFFITI MOON explores the lives of two kids searching for balance in a chaotic world, and finding it within each other.

ARC Review: THE BUTTERFLY CLUES

The Book: THE BUTTERFLY CLUES
The Author: Kate Ellison
The Publisher: Egmont USA
Expected Release Date: February 4, 2012

Marketing Copy Summary:
Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.


But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.

My Thoughts:
Ellison does not disappoint in this haunting portrayal of love, loss, obsession, and murder. 

Lo is not the typical MC.  She's a little crazy, with her obsessive need to tap-tap-tap-banana her way through life, her kleptomaniac tendencies, and the full-on hoarder she's become since her brother's death the previous year.  Her family, shattered from a tragedy caused by Oren's drug addiction, is this hollow, empty thing.  Her mother is bare there, her father losing himself in work.  Lo finds solace in beautiful things she's collected, most of which she's stolen.

On one such scavenging trip, Lo finds herself in an alley behind a yellow house that seems to be beckoning to her.  As she moves closer, gunshots erupt from inside, exploding out the back windows, bullets barely missing Lo.  She escapes only to read later about the stripper who'd been gunned down in her home.  Sapphire.  Lo feels this inexplicable pull toward the dead girl, and when she finds a beautiful pendant that belonged to Sapphire at the flea market, not only must she have it, but she absolutely has to know what really happened to Sapphire.

THE BUTTERFLY CLUES contains more than just the mystery of who Sapphire's killer is, but in searching out the murderer, Lo begins to uncover the truth about her brother's death and the secretive life he'd led up to his demise.  Full of twists and turns, you may figure out who killed Sapphire fairly early on (I know I did), but it's the journey that counts, and in the end, you will be left gasping at the real truth that Lo has needed since long before a stripper showed up dead.