The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Title: The Dead and the Gone The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Hardcover: 336 pages
Where’d I Get It: Library

Synopsis (From Goodreads): 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.

My Thoughts: Initially I thought this book was the 2nd in the series, and I was quite a bit perturbed to discover that it was simply a companion novel.  I got over that fairly quickly, however, because I found out that the characters from book 2 meet up with the characters from book 1 in book 3.  (No, this is not a spoiler, it says as much on the backs of the books.)  Really, though, I did not enjoy the story of Alex Morales as much as I enjoyed reading Miranda’s diary.  It did seem like a good portion of Alex’s story was identical to Miranda’s, and while it makes sense that people the world over would be experiencing very similar situations…I feel the story was just a -little- redundant and probably not very necessary in and of itself.  It was, however, essential as a tie-in for the 3rd book.  All in all, I did enjoy the read, but I would have enjoyed it just as much as a standalone.

Rating: 6 of 10

Bellaesque Rating: Not Applicable

I read this book as a part of the Young Adult Dystopian Challenge which can be found over at Bart’s Bookshelf.
I’m aiming for “Level 2” which is 2-4 dystopian novels read between October 1st and December 19th. This is my 3rd for the challenge.

5 comments:

For me, this story was even more disturbing and graphic than Miranda’s. I live in rural Maine, so Miranda’s story in the first book freaked me out because it seemed so realistic to my life. This second book took place in an urban environment and there were so many unforeseen obstacles and horrors (searching through dead bodies) that I was just plain shocked. I loved it and am reading the third in this series right now. The characters do meet up and it’s super interesting. You might like it more because it’s told through Miranda’s viewpoint.

Thanks for the review!

I had a similar feeling after reading dead & the gone, that I liked Miranda’s more. But on my recent re-reads, just before the 3rd book came out, I realized how gritty and emotional Alex’s story is, and I found I liked it more. 🙂

See, I read Alex’s story first (because a friend suggest I read them out of order) and for me, I found Alex had to suffer through many more hardships than Miranda (the stadium, the elevator… )his experiences were truly horrifying… where, to me, Miranda was quite the whiner (although for her age, I thought that was appropriate) but when she at the chocolate chips, I really just wanted someone to smack her. That was just “woe is me” teenage self-pity to the extreme.
For me, having read Alex’s story first, the most terrifying bit of Miranda’s story was at the beginning when they’re at the store… and later when Miranda goes to the hospital.
I did enjoy the first and second book quite a bit… but truthfully, I wasn’t that fond of the third book, for several reasons (which I won’t go into because they’re spoilerish).

Thanks for the review, I really enjoyed reading it!

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