Review: This World We Live In

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was very intrigued by the premise and the hints of the past scientific anomalies which created this past-future disaster. The writing was very good at the beginning. I sometimes like dystopian stories and this held good promise.

But it started to feel rushed and oddly slapped together at the middle-end, starting with our heroine Miranda's falling in love with Alex. It was too quick and convenient. Miranda's character was charmingly realistic, and I had the impression she was a middle schooler with her inward groans and outward arguments with her mother and brothers. Yet, her gruff charm turning into ferocious love-starved teen was a leap beyond my expectations. There was no slow growth and development. It was weird that young men and women of nearly the same age all met at the same time to fall in love with each other - Miranda, Alex; Julie and Jon; and Matt and Syl. Three love stories in one book? I supposed it's possible but it felt too clunky. The religious moments felt contrived, and a lost opportunity to become full-fledged foil within the storyline. The character I most liked was the mother because she felt the most realistic. She was self-sacrificing, sexist, tired, and focused on keeping her family together. The scene where she is dazed among the ruins of her house after a tornado was a little tiresome, "we keep the family together", etc. Her ex-husband's (Miranda's dad) cheerful near-giddy arrival and his wife with her bemoaning the potential loss of her friend Julie to a convent (yes, it's a part of the story) were weird. Syl, Matt's insta-wife, was the most unexplored character who went from mystery girl survivalist to strong, gritty realist in a blink of an eye.

I DO like the dramatic and unexpected ending. Spoiler alert: Miranda ends up murdering the sister of Alex, since Julie, the sister, had a terrible spine injury, and faced the rest of life being carried around everywhere. Miranda didn't quite explain her motivation, but it felt like a mercy killing. She hides this information and everyone assumes (for now) that Julie had died in her sleep, likely due to internal injuries. Miranda realistically closes with she may have to tell Alex one day. I liked that chilling little end. The beginning and end are the best parts of the book.

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