the dead and the gone

Review
Praise for Life as We Knew It:"You will read it in one sitting, fighting back tears as you bite your nails."
--teenreads.com [star] "Absorbing from first page to last . . . Celebrates the fortitude and resourcefulness of human beings during critical times."--Publishers Weekly (starred)


"As riveting as Life as We Knew It and even grittier, this companion novel returns to the premise of that previous book to show how New York City responds to the global disasters that ensue when an asteroid knocks the moon out of orbit. . . . Once again Pfeffer creates tension not only through her protagonist''s day-to-day struggles but also through chilling moral dilemmas: whether to rob the dead, who to save during a food riot, how long to preserve the hope that his parents might return. . . . The powerful images and wrenching tragedies will haunt readers." --Publishers Weekly (starred), 5/19/08 (Publishers Weekly )


Product Description
Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event--an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.
With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.


About the Author
SUSAN BETH PFEFFER is the author of many books for teens, including the bestselling novel The Year Without Michael. She lives in Middletown, New York.