Susan Beth Pfeffer
321 pages

The Dead and the Gone is the companion book to Life As We Knew It which I read earlier this year.  I am particularly fond of disaster and dystopian stories which is why I joined Becky’s End of the World Challenge. I’m not sure what that says about me but I enjoy it none the less.

The disaster in this book is the same as in Life As We Knew It. An asteroid has hit the moon and knocked it closer to earth which affects the tides, volcanoes, rainfall and various other things. The neat thing about these two books is that while Life tells the perspective from a female protagonist situated in a more rural area, The Dead and the Gone tells the story from the perspective of a male protagonist in New York City. At first, I was skeptical that the two experiences could be different enough for the characters that a second story to be interesting. Happily, I was wrong.

When the story begins Alex is working in a pizza parlor, thinking about school rivalries and getting into Georgetown. During the course of the story he is forced to step in and take care of his sisters and discover how life can change in an instant, how the unlikeliest people can become our allies in times of need and ultimately the things in life that are truly important.

I enjoyed The Dead and the Gone every bit as much as Life As We Knew It and I recommend it if you enjoy disaster or dystopian stories. (4/5)