The Dead and the Gone (The Last Survivors, Book 2)

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.

you Will Read It In One Sitting, Fighting Back Tears As You Bite Your Nails. 

—teenreads.com On life As We Knew It

the New York Times - John Green

what Makes the Dead And The Gone So Riveting Is Its Steadfast Resistance To Traditional Ideas Of Hope In Children's Books—l;which Is To Say This Is A Dark And Scary Novel. But It Is Not Without Hope…the Tension Between Faith And Disaster Keeps The Story Taut. Pfeffer Subtly Explores The Complexity Of Believing In An Omnipotent God In The Wake Of An Event That, If It Could Have Been Prevented, Surely Would Have Been…the Story's Climax And Resolution Feel Achingly Right. Pfeffer Subverts All Our Expectations Of How Redemption Works In Teenage Fiction, As Alex Learns To Live, And Have Faith, In A World Where Radical Unfairness Is The Norm.

At the moment the asteroid hits the moon, Alex Morales' young life changes. Forever. As freak weather engulfs the globe, New York is plunged into a nightmare from which many will never wake. With no food, no electricity, and no parents, Alex must keep himself and his sisters alive - whatever the cost After a meteor hits the moon and sets off a series of horrific climate changes, seventeen-year-old Alex Morales must take care of his sisters alone in the chaos of New York City.