Someone at the school where I teach [SWIT] had the brilliant idea to require all students to read the same book this summer. From a letter to the parents our fearless leader explains:
In an effort to support academic performance, cross-curricular and community connections, and a lifelong love of reading, [SWIT] proudly announces our 2009 “One Book, One [SWIT]” required summer reading title Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. The book is a heart-pounding account of one family’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all—hope—in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar time.
Every student in the school will be required to read Life as We Knew It. This is in addition to any summer reading assignment for specific programs or classes. A school-wide test will be given to every student during the first week of school; some ideas and questions to think about as you read are listed on the back of this letter. In addition, all content areas will use the book as a foundation for many activities, writings, and projects during the first few weeks of school.
While I appreciate the concept, imagine the difficulty in choosing one book for all our students in grades 9-12 (which easily spans ages 14-19) of widely varying abilities and interests. Frankly it is a task I would not want. And while they chose a highly rated, award-winning title it is one that I think is really terrible. Bad science. Bad fiction.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
My review
rating: 1 of 5 stars
This book is just awful. Honestly, I don’t understand why it is so highly regarded and has won so many awards. I don’t believe the premise on which it is based and I don’t believe the way the characters act. It doesn’t even get the phases of the moon correct. Ugh!
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4 Responses to “The Moon as We Knew It”
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Let's do Something Cheap and Superficial 
I have been trying to read it out loud to my summer school class, and they hate it with a vitriol that even I did not expect. And you should see the e-mails I’m getting from the AP parents, all of which are pretty much “WTF? Are you testing on this?”
I so wish I hadn’t gotten embroiled in the debate, and just let this die a natural death, which it will. No one I know–save the four middle-aged women who selected this piffle–plan to support this endeavor. I think reading is terrific, but if they wanted to do something post-apocalyptic, why not do “Alas, Babylon,” which is at least compelling and set in Central Florida? This book is so effing wretched that I can’t even begin to describe its wretchedness. Oh, well. You know.
I thought of Alas, Babylon too but I haven’t read it recently enough to remember what reading level it’s on. At any rate I think it would have been a much better choice even if a little dated. I don’t read a lot of YA lit; is LAWKI really at the top of what’s out there recently? Lord, I hope not!
Actually, I was talking to Reading Coach tonight (who wants everyone to know that she had nothing to do with this–NOTHING) and she said there is no other school in the nation doing this book. The sequel, cheerily titled “The Dead and the Gone” is even worse.
It won’t work.
1. There aren’t enough copies, even on Amazon, for all of the kids to buy. Several kids have been mobbing the library and the downtown branch only had three copies, and are frankly mystified that high school kids are reading it at all.
2. We can’t legally require kids to buy a book, anyway.
3. The math department is not cooperating.
4. The science department is cooperating even less, because they maintain that his could.never.happen.
5. I could go on. . .but I won’t. I’m just learning to nod, smile, and do what I want with the door closed.
On a real scientific note, there is an awesome meteor shower visible on August 13-14. You can check it out with even rudimentary binoculars.
I thought the science department would have fun pointing out all the scientific inaccuracies — still basing lessons on the book, after all. There is a third (and the author says, final) moon crash book, This World We Live In, already written due to be published in the spring. All I can say is, “ACK!” ~Tim
hmmm.. I just read a quick summary on Wikipedia.. and it doesn’t sound too exciting. Darn and I love scifi! I liked the plot about moon being thrown out of orbit and closer to earth. I **might** still read it just to see how bad it is…
The way the moon is moved and the effects it has are just impossible. That did a lot to spoil the book for me. Still, it is highly rated so read it and make up your own mind. But if you hate it too, remember that I warned you! ~Tim
I was just thinking that plot sounds really boring for kids to read at any age.