With little food, the family must also deal with snow, a lack of running water, and no natural gas or electricity. Winter proves to be especially harrowing. This often becomes a source of conflict between Miranda and her mother. Laura often goes without eating at all in an entire day, and makes other sacrifices to give Jonny, who Miranda is convinced Laura considers to be the strongest of her children, the best chance at survival.

As circumstances become harsher for the family, they start eating less to conserve food. This causes temperature to drop dramatically, enough for frost to appear by mid-August and for 20-degree weather by October, making it dramatically more difficult for plants to grow. The increased tidal forces from the moon are causing magma to be forced up to the surface, resulting in the eruptions of many dormant volcanoes, which cover the sky in ash. Living inland, they are safe from tsunamis, but as the summer goes on, another threat looms.

Miranda's older brother Matt comes home from college. Chaos erupts and Miranda and her family go shopping to stock up on food, water, and supplies before the stores are emptied. Almost immediately following the lunar impact, tsunamis and earthquakes begin ravaging the coasts of many countries, causing millions of deaths. Life on earth is shattered, and the lives of Miranda and her family are no exception. The moon has been pushed closer to the Earth by the impact, intensifying the tidal forces that the moon exerts on the earth. However, the asteroid was denser than expected by scientists, and immediately after impact, it becomes apparent that something is wrong. People are excited about the opportunity to witness the event, and on the night of the impact, Miranda and her family go outside to witness it. Soon, the news becomes focused on one subject: an asteroid predicted to hit the moon. Her biggest worries are her grades and her conflicted feelings about becoming a godmother to her soon-to-be-born half-sibling, who is expected by her father and his second wife Lisa. The book portrays 16-year-old Miranda, living a normal life in Pennsylvania with her mother, Laura, and her brothers Matt and Jonny. The lack of food and extreme cold provides major threats to their survival. When an asteroid hits the moon and brings it closer to Earth, life in Northeastern Pennsylvania will never be the same again for Miranda and her family.

It is the first book in The Last Survivors series, followed by The Dead and the Gone.

Life As We Knew It is a young adult science fiction novel by American author Susan Beth Pfeffer, first published in 2006 by Harcourt Books.

Life as we knew it pfeffer