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The Shade of the Moon

(Last Survivors #4)

Susan Beth Pfeffer

3.29 · Rating details · 9,378 ratings · 1,233 reviews

The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with the New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It, in which a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and the world changes forever.

It's been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved. His prowess on a s ...more

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Hardcover, 288 pages

Published August 13th 2013 by HMH Books for Young Readers

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Jun 10, 2013 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it did not like it

Shelves: jericho-fucking-barrons, high-school, why-do-i-hate-myself, slut-shaming, sci-fi, ya, siblings, dystopian, apocalypse

Fuck this book. No, seriously, fuck this book. If I could give this book a 0, I would. One star, according to Goodreads, means "did not like it." That is a fucking understatement of how much I regret reading it. This book never should have been written; at least then my memory of this series, which started off so wonderfully, would have been left at a permanent state of "mildly disappointed" at the end of book 3, instead of "full on rage and helpless fury" after finishing this one.

My sister is a ...more

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Jun 07, 2013 karen rated it it was ok

Shelves: edelweiss, why-yes-i-ya, the-end, thank-you-bea-or-ala

so this book takes place a whopping 4 years after the moon got all close to the earth and started messing things up for everyone. 4 years.

apparently, in the world this book lives in, four years is long enough for everyone to lose their freaking minds and forget how to be human beings. we have entered a bizarre us-v-them realm. some of our friends from the previous books have managed to land themselves in an enclave - a sheltered place for "important" people, like doctors and engineers and suchli ...more

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Aug 23, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it did not like it

Shelves: wait-a-minute-what, what-the-fuck-is-this-shit, sexist

Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

Let me preface this review by saying this: I’ve read three books about the apocalypse this week. One is set hundreds of years after an asteroid annihilates Earth (Starglass by Phoebe North), one is set six months before an extinction-event sized asteroid hits earth (The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters), and, finally, this one, set four years after an asteroid has crashed into the moon, changing it’s orbit such that it is much closer to the Earth. One ...more

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Sep 27, 2013 Sally Moen rated it did not like it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, teen, scifi, disturbing, grim, kill_it_with_fire

Let me preface this by saying that I couldn't finish this book. I made it about halfway through before I couldn't stand it any more. If I owned the book, I would have burned it. That's how furious it made me. I had to stop before I gave myself a heart attack from the constant rage.

Set two years after the third book in Pfeffer's series, baby of the family, Jon, is now 17 and living in an Enclave. His family (including previous protagonist Miranda) lives in White Birch, a destitute town outside of Let me preface this by saying that I couldn't finish this book. I made it about halfway through before I couldn't stand it any more. If I owned the book, I would have burned it. That's how furious it made me. I had to stop before I gave myself a heart attack from the constant rage.

Set two years after the third book in Pfeffer's series, baby of the family, Jon, is now 17 and living in an Enclave. His family (including previous protagonist Miranda) lives in White Birch, a destitute town outside of the Enclave that essentially does all the work. So, in four years, apparently everyone has become a crazed sociopath. The Enclave's "clavers" (the lucky affluent few in the Enclave) call the White Birch laborers "grubs" (to dehumanize them, basically) and work them to the bone--all while maintaining that the clavers are more deserving and the grubs lazy animals. Once again, this is FOUR YEARS after the apocalyptic event. Four years. Humans can be shitheads, for sure, but this scenario is simply not plausible.

On top of the ludicrous turn that the novel's world has taken, Jon has become a grade A asshole. And us, the readers, are expected to live in his head for the duration of an entire novel. Halfway through, and no real character development. If anything, he seems WORSE. Justifying sexual assault, dehumanizing people who just four years ago were family and friends, abusing the "domestics" (the house slaves--because that is essentially how the White Birth denizens are seen and treated), and claiming that these people who work hard all day, at least 6 days a week (with little access to food, healthcare, or any semblance of security) are lazy and inessential (they grow all the food and basically do everything, by the way) and that his contribution, PLAYING SOCCER, is somehow more valuable. On top of that, Jon is incredibly ungrateful for all of the sacrifices that his family made for him. He whines and whines and whines and it never seems to occur to him that now *he* is in a position to help *them*. His level of entitlement is insane. I don't think I have enough energy to enumerate all of Jon's repulsive qualities, so I'll stop there. (But don't worry, there are more. Lots more.)

In sum: wildly implausible, devoid of hope, seen through the eyes of a particularly odious person, and rage-inducing. I wish I'd stopped after the mildly unsatisfying third book. :-/

UPDATE (10/1/13)
A few things I forgot to mention: The "romance" between Jon and the weak, flailing new girl, Sarah, feels very off. For one thing, Jon has no redeeming qualities and seems to embody just about everything that Sarah dislikes about Enclave culture. She doesn't appear to like him even a little. (Though Sarah is no prize herself, having all the personality and agency of a limp dishrag.) But okay, fine. Love can be crazy and illogical. Kids (and adults) can be stupid about love. Sure, fine. But their "love" is very sudden, with no build up, and together they radiate about as much heat as a freezer stocked with dry ice.

This lack of chemistry and build-up is partially the product of some pretty atrocious writing. I'm not a person who usually pays a lot of attention to the writing unless it's outrageously good or outrageously bad. This book definitely falls into the latter category, which is odd, since the first three books seemed fine. Nothing to write home about, but not terrible. While I don't have the book with me (returned that f*cker to the library as soon as I could), but I remember one part that actually made me laugh, it was that bad. At one point, Sarah is upset and asks him to "hold her." Something to the effect of "Hold me, Jon. Hold me." It reads like a parody of bad writing. (I'll dig up the exact exchange if I decide to indulge my inner masochist and try to finish the book some day.)

And now one more thing to add to my rant (because at this point, I don't think it would be fair to real reviewers to call this a proper "review"): A new domestic (read: house slave) who's younger than Jon speaks--and I don't really know how to write this without risking being offensive--like a caricature of an antebellum slave. (This impression is reinforced by the fact that domestics are required to call their claver slavemasters things like "Mr. Jon" and "Ms. Lisa." (Ugh, gross. I can't even.)) It was...weird...to say the least. For one thing, she would have been about 11 when the asteroid hit the moon. Has *Ms. Susan* ever met a real 11 year old? Or any adult who was at one point an 11 year old? Infant amnesia doesn't really apply to them...(so people who are older than 11 typically remember being 11 more or less). Anyway, this domestic (Ruby) would have presumably been educated through roughly the 6th grade and also would have remembered what life was like before everything went to hell in a hand basket. (As mentioned before, this is 4 years later, not 40 or 400.) So it's bizarre to hear her speak as though she's been raised from birth in this incredible (in the sense that it is not credible) caste system. Not only that, but the book actually mentions that she was a student of Jon's mother and therefore would have had some post-6th grade education and certainly an awareness of the gross injustices perpetrated by the Enclave (and the fact that they are gross injustices).
/rant ...more

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Jan 02, 2014 Alicia rated it did not like it

I hated almost every character in this book; the narrator is a rapist and I spent the whole book looking forward to any struggles or misery that came his way. The first three books in the series are infinitely better than this one.

If you've read them, just know that this one ends happily for almost everyone and skip it. Fill in the blanks for yourself and skip it. ...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Grace marked it as to-read

I haven't read This World We Live In but when I saw this...

description

I thought this was only going to be a trilogy! It's a series!

There's another!!!

It's so beautiful!

description

...more

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Aug 15, 2013 Angela rated it did not like it

Shelves: young-adult

In the author's note at the conclusion of the book, Pfeffer admits that this wasn't her first pass at a fourth novel in her "Last Survivors" series:

I wrote an entire fourth book and sent it off.... Everyone at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt read it. And although they never actually said so, they hated it.

This was the better of the efforts?

What started out as a unique and utterly engrossing series has ended not with a whimper, but a whine. Pfeffer turns the narrative over to Jon - who uses this spotl In the author's note at the conclusion of the book, Pfeffer admits that this wasn't her first pass at a fourth novel in her "Last Survivors" series:

I wrote an entire fourth book and sent it off.... Everyone at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt read it. And although they never actually said so, they hated it.

This was the better of the efforts?

What started out as a unique and utterly engrossing series has ended not with a whimper, but a whine. Pfeffer turns the narrative over to Jon - who uses this spotlight to whine, attempt to justify his behavior, and generally reveal himself as an unsympathetic ass. This "new" Jon utterly destroys any residual sympathy the reader may have carried over for him from the previous books, and is so disconnected from any prior characterization that I'm tempted to believe this is supposed to be Jon from an evil mirror universe, Star Trek style. Yes, time has passed, but it doesn't seem enough to explain his coldness to the plight of his family, and the whole-hearted embracing of his place in a caste-based society.

And about that society.... It's bad. It's unfair. I get it. But I felt less like I was reading a story set in a world openly and violently separated into have and have-nots, and more like I was reading a really obvious morality tale about why CLASSISM IS WRONG. I get it, Pfeffer. No need to hit me on the head with a hammer - or better yet, to have a former-philosophy-professor grub take on the task. The clavers in the story are so obviously and obnoxiously in the wrong that it's hard to take them seriously. Actually, it's hard to take the story seriously. I've bought into everything Pfeffer's sold up to this point, but are you telling me that no one has a conscious anymore, aside from one shrill female love interest?

I couldn't put the first novel down because I had to know what happened. I couldn't put this novel down, because I had to try to understand what happened to this once great story. Unfortunately, I still don't have an answer. ...more

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Mar 18, 2014 Andrew Hicks rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, dystopian

I remember reading that, after Life as We Knew It came out, author Susan Beth Pfeffer went to her editor and was like, "How about a sequel?"

And the editor was like, "Not so much."

And then Pfeffer came back to her editor and was like, "How about a new set of characters reacting to the same series of events in a new setting?"

And the editor was like, "Well, technically, I guess that's not a sequel, so okay."

Then THAT book was a success, and Pfeffer came back to her editor and was like, "NOW ...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Julia rated it did not like it

I don't think I have ever been as disappointed as I have today in a book that could've been so much better. This book was bad. I mean, it was really bad compared to all of Pfeffer's other novels within the series. Half of the time I was reading, half of my mind was still trying to figure out how things got this chaotic within the span of two years. I guess people just simply learn to stop being people when they group together with other people...Most of Pfeffer's explanations as to what was goi I don't think I have ever been as disappointed as I have today in a book that could've been so much better. This book was bad. I mean, it was really bad compared to all of Pfeffer's other novels within the series. Half of the time I was reading, half of my mind was still trying to figure out how things got this chaotic within the span of two years. I guess people just simply learn to stop being people when they group together with other people...Most of Pfeffer's explanations as to what was going on was very transparent. I mean, how does playing soccer help out a community during post-apocalyptic times? Not only that, but almost, if not all, of Pfeffer's characters did a complete 180 in this book.

*SPOILERS*

Jon turns into a complete and utter spoiled prick that burns down schools, takes advantage of people, and tries to rape girls almost at random. I mean, this kid is the antagonist of his own story. His moral compass is completely twisted in the wrong direction and he barely shows emotion at all. Sarah, his secret, equality-preaching girlfriend is one of the stupidest characters ever created on the planet. She practically goes running back and forth from one viewpoint to another until finally coming to a stop in her rapey loverboy's arms (Oh yeah, he tried to rape her too by the way).
I think the worst death in the book wasn't Lisa's, but was Jon's mother's. I mean, throughout the book I was really hoping that someone would end up killing him instead. But no, there was no choice but to kill off the only remaining character that I liked in the most random way.
And to top it all off, this didn't even seem as though it was written by Pfeffer. If anything, I was hoping that this was some half-assed fan fiction that someone just decided to write one day, because it sure came off that way. Maybe that's what could explain the dozens of continuity errors, random personality changes, and pointless bleakness that made my brow stay furrowed (still not sure if in confusion or in anger) for more than an hour and a half.
...more

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Mar 04, 2014 Eureca Laurice rated it did not like it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, dystopian, tstl, hey-ya

The ending doesn't justify on how hateful I felt through out this book. First 85% and it was a series of questions: how, what, why the fuck that happened. Plot holes, failures on scientific explanations, vague settings, poor world buildings and lets not leave that insta-love. I have more complaints than I like this book.

This book is surreal stupid that the series started off with a good premise. It was more of it set its own standard and that is why for ~~1 star~~.

Here's my unpopular list of why I ...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Jessica marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2013

WTH!!!!!!! ANOTHER ONE!!! The last one was bad enough! It was certainly depressing and I thought nothing was going to ever get better! The poor people of the book. Now we get to see all of them die. I will not be reading this book...

Oh, who am I kidding, I'm so reading this book. But I'm not buying it until I'm certain it's better than that train-wreak that was book three.

Please, no whiny people this time though. I whine enough in real life, and I know a lot of people who whine more than myself. ...more

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Nov 16, 2017 Juli rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-local-library-2017

I don't think I have read my way through a series of books this fast in years. I couldn't stop reading. The Last Survivors series is the story of what happens on Earth after a large scale disaster completely destroys modern society. Many people die from hunger, disease and violence. Those who are left fight for survival. In this last book of the series, the less noble facets of human nature start to come out. A new society begins to form split between the more essential and upper class enclave r I don't think I have read my way through a series of books this fast in years. I couldn't stop reading. The Last Survivors series is the story of what happens on Earth after a large scale disaster completely destroys modern society. Many people die from hunger, disease and violence. Those who are left fight for survival. In this last book of the series, the less noble facets of human nature start to come out. A new society begins to form split between the more essential and upper class enclave residents (called clavers) and the worker class grubs. Clavers are allowed more freedom, better food, and a safe place to live. Grubs reside outside the enclaves in violent, dangerous slums with no electricity and only enough food and necessities to survive. Only three of the survivors introduced in earlier books can live in the enclave...the rest have to become grubs. Surviving the new conditions brought about by the disaster is hard.....but surviving in the new social order turns out to be even harder.

This is my least favorite of the books in this series. Not because there is anything wrong with it....but because it was the most difficult to finish, possibly because it's very realistic. It is hard to admit that human nature is not to be understanding, kind and caring when it comes to survival. We can be a very cruel and violent species. Unfortunately, following a disaster of this type, a horrific society like what is depicted in this book might just be what happens. It isn't all doom and gloom though.....there is hope and there are always those who don't conform. It is those types of people who will keep their humanity in the aftermath of an extinction event. I did not like what happened psychologically to a couple of the main characters in this final book, but most likely because it was just a bit too real for me.

This series deals quite heavily with death, loss, rape, violence and prejudice. It's written for a YA audience so there isn't any graphic sex, violent scenes or language....but the subject matter is very dark and intense. I wouldn't recommend this series for children under 13. The books are well-written and the plot is thought provoking. I found myself wondering how my family would handle such a cataclysmic event. Would we survive? What would happen in the rural area we live in? How would we fare if all modern conveniences -- including medicine and the food supply -- was suddenly gone? Sobering thoughts.

I'm glad I read this series.....at the same time I'm glad I'm done reading. I think I need to read something happy, funny and much brighter now to clear my head of darkness. One good thought I take away from this series is that even when things seem darkest, there is always hope. And where there is hope, there is a chance for life.

Excellent series!

For more information on the author, check out her blog: http://susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com ...more

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May 20, 2013 Celeste_pewter rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Two-second recap: The Shade of the Moon is a classic bildungsroman; beautifully detailing the coming-of-age of a character from The Last Survivors series who has remained in the shadows up until this point.

***

Full review:

There are three things you need to know before reading The Shade of the Moon:

1) This is the fourth book in Susan Beth Pfeffer's Last Survivors series.

While you don't necessarily have to read the previous three books, I would strongly advise it. You'll get a better sense of the ...more

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May 24, 2013 Mizuki rated it it was ok

Shelves: i-guess-not

Wait a second, there will be a fourth book!?

I didn't know that...and I'm worry how things will go in this book 4. I fear for the worst.

Edited: 15/08/2013

Today I read this review (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...), and I have decided I will avoid this book like plague.

My thoughts after finished reading this book:

I don't really want to write a review for this book, it's an easy read and some of the details are good but there're so many things gone wrong in the text, so many things that hu ...more

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Dec 30, 2013 Bridget rated it did not like it

I find it hard to put my disappointment with this book into words. Not only was following Jon a bad decision (as he was always the least interesting character), but this book made him a distinctly hate-able person. Although the ending aims for the idea of redemption, the amount of terrible things that Jon has done, attempted, thought, and said aloud is so overwhelming that I don't see how he could ever claim redemption.

The other characters suffer not only from having lost their original voices ...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Emily rated it it was ok

Shelves: out-of-this-world, not-for-me, ya-lit

August 31, 2013
A "not for me" 2 star rating.

About 6 years ago, I read Life As We Knew It, and it was my first taste of dystopian/post-apocalyptic literature. I loved it. I was sucked into the story, and that freshman year in high school, I must have read it about ten times.

Getting older, taking more English classes, getting better at interpreting things and learning about character development, all that good stuff, I realized that there were a lot of things about the book that I didn't like. B ...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Amy Sturgis rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya-dystopia, 21st-century, postapocalyptic-dystopia, science-fiction-contemporary

As a fan of the other three books in Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Last Survivors post-apocalyptic/dystopian young adult series, I'm sorry to say that this novel provided a most unsatisfying end.

This review could easily run away with me, so I'll limit myself to what I see as the two biggest problems of the novel.

First, the premise. I honestly don't know why this wasn't a standalone novel. It makes no sense in the context of the earlier three books. It's set only four years -- four years -- after the As a fan of the other three books in Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Last Survivors post-apocalyptic/dystopian young adult series, I'm sorry to say that this novel provided a most unsatisfying end.

This review could easily run away with me, so I'll limit myself to what I see as the two biggest problems of the novel.

First, the premise. I honestly don't know why this wasn't a standalone novel. It makes no sense in the context of the earlier three books. It's set only four years -- four years -- after the natural disaster that defines the series. (A meteor knocked the moon off its orbit and caused catastrophic climactic changes and a series of natural disasters.) Somehow people in that short a period of time have divided so completely into the privileged few in the enclaves and the oppressed drudges, or "grubs," that the elites view the majority as genuinely less than human. (This happens even though membership in an enclave is based on rather random criteria, so that even Ivy League PhDs are living as grub domestics, and nuclear families may be split between the "claver" and "grub" towns. There's no traditional dichotomy between Us and Them, no preexisting category of Otherness to catalyze the shift to this new paradigm.)

This genuinely defies belief, as do the living conditions described in the enclaves. I would think that, with the massive climactic changes and challenges, clean drinking water and viable foodstuffs and disease would still be foremost concerns, not playing soccer and choosing nannies. Considering Pfeffer's emphasis in earlier books about how communities fracture and individuals turn against each other in times of crisis, it requires more than a mere suspension of disbelief to go along with the idea that large numbers of people, many of privileged backgrounds themselves, all agreed in concert to accept the rule of the few and subside into slavery so quickly, and to think of this as "they way things are."

Second, the main character. Jon was the baby of his family, the coddled one for whom others sacrificed. That said, in the previous novels he was portrayed as a good-natured and normal boy who faced and overcame his own set of hardships. Now at seventeen he's one of the most dislikeable protagonists I've come across. I don't simply mean that he's annoying, erratic, weak-willed, entitled, and difficult to empathize with, though he is all of these things. He also does despicable acts, from helping to burn down the school where his mother teaches to trying to justify attempted rape and sexual intimidation, all the while winning the affections of a visionary, courageous young woman. (Her lasting attraction to this easily bullied coward is never explained. It's a baffling mystery.) When his semi-redemption comes, it's unconvincing. It's troubling, too, because he seems to be content in excusing away some of his most disturbing behavior.

There are hints of interesting commentary here, from an implied critique of gated communities to a more overt critique of the celebration of brute violence and groupthink in sports. The corruption that's rife in the administration of Jon's enclave suggests chilling insights into how bureaucracies behave. Unfortunately, these critiques read more like a series of brief rants strung together between one atrocity and the next (and there are serious atrocities committed in this novel, let me assure you) rather than a nuanced, integrated narrative. For example, I would point to Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower for a more complex and sophisticated dystopian study of the gated community scenario, among other subjects. Ironically, although Butler's heroine is both the daughter of a minister and the founder of a new faith, Parable comes across as far less preachy than does Shade of the Moon.

As a standalone novel I would have found this problematic, but as the final conclusion to a compelling and well-loved series, it's an even greater letdown.
...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Ashley rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, arc

When I heard that there was going to be a fourth book to the Last Survivors series I was excited and worried at the same time. I really liked the first book, not so much the second book, and well the third was a bit of a mess, but I thought well maybe the author will redeem herself. I love the concept of the series, but the execution was lacking.

Jon is Miranda's younger brother. I didn't like Jon in the first or third book. I thought he was lazy and entitled. He never appreciated the sacrifices When I heard that there was going to be a fourth book to the Last Survivors series I was excited and worried at the same time. I really liked the first book, not so much the second book, and well the third was a bit of a mess, but I thought well maybe the author will redeem herself. I love the concept of the series, but the execution was lacking.

Jon is Miranda's younger brother. I didn't like Jon in the first or third book. I thought he was lazy and entitled. He never appreciated the sacrifices his family made for him. His mother literally starved herself so Jon could have enough to eat, but he never recognized what his family gave up for him. Jon does not improve in this book. As a matter of fact, he worsens. He was even more entitled, rude, lazy, and weak.

Like in the previous books the world building was significantly lacking. I didn't understand the hierarchy or why the “clavers” hated the “grubs” so much. They acted as if the grubs shouldn't exist and that the grubs should be grateful since they feed them and pay them so much money. Even Carlos, Alex's brother, knows the grubbers are grateful enough for so little (like an 1/8 a bar of soap) that they would sleep with them for little in exchange. Rape was common occurrence in this world. Claver boys felt like they are entitled to use the grubbers as they see fit. The clavers seemed angry that the grubbers were allowed to exist or have basic medical care with a clinic. If the grubs didn't exist who would cook and clean for the clavers?

At one point in the book Jon and his friends were going to mutilate a bum grubber just because they could. Did they? No. Because they thought burning down the grubbers high school was a better idea. I just can’t see how are society would crumble so rapidly in such a short time period. It was only four years since the asteroid hit the moon. Only four years and people lose enough of their common sense and humanity to think killing and raping the misfortunate is okay? I just don’t see that happening. And, the one thought that kept going through my head is why don’t the grubbers rebel?

Jon’s relationship with Sarah was odd to me. Jon was mean to Sarah. They would fight and argue and she would tell him that she hated him then they would all a sudden be kissing. Even after Jon told Sarah the story about Julie, yes Sarah was disgusted with him at first, but she didn't hesitate taking him back after she realized it wasn't completely true.

Overall, this book went downhill and fast. Within the first chapter or two I already hated Jon. When Miranda had an opportunity to work as their domestic all Jon could think of was how it would affect him. How it would be awkward having his sister clean and cook for him. (Newsflash she did that for years after the asteroid anyways!) He didn’t think how it would be beneficial for her to be able to live with purified air and food regularly. No all he could think of was himself and how uncomfortable he would be! ...more

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Sep 13, 2013 Jan rated it did not like it

I would give this book a negative one if Goodreads would let me. I couldn't even finish it!

The family (what's left of it) has walked away from Pennsylvania to live closer to a safe town. After what they have all been through, in the less than five years they've lived here, they now accept a caste system that exists in the community. Jon (the youngest in the family, but not so young that he could forget what they all went through together) is now a soccer star and one of the elite in town. The re ...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Veronika marked it as to-read

Shelves: to-buy

Randomly got on Goodreads today to look at my list of books to buy and I find THIS!!!!!!!!!!
I DID NOT KNOW THERE WAS GOING TO BE A FOURTH BOOK!!!!!!! I LITERALLY CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

....and did I mention how amazing the cover looks!? It's beautiful! Definitely the best cover of the series that I have seen so far! ...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Angela Sunshine rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult-or-kids, e-book, dystopian

What, a fourth book?! I'm so excited. I actually emailed the author a couple years ago when I finished the series (or so I thought) and begged for more. She said it was very unlikely. I'm so glad she changed her mind!

Update 8/27/13:
Meh. ...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Rashika (is tired) marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: why-did-i-read-it

I cannot.
I just really cannot.
This makes it two books in a row.
How can I when I am so sure it'll ruin the previous books for me.
I cannot do that to my younger self. ...more

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Oct 10, 2013 Jocelyn rated it it was ok

A little over a year ago during a bout of insomnia, I began browsing my library's ebook selection and came across "Life As We Knew It." This turned out to be the worst decision I could have made for my insomnia because the next thing I knew it was 7am and I had no intention of putting my Kindle down.

In a period where fiction is inundated with dystopian and/or apocalyptic stories, Life As We Knew It managed to be fresh, semi-original and absolutely riveting. In short, thinking it'd be a great sh A little over a year ago during a bout of insomnia, I began browsing my library's ebook selection and came across "Life As We Knew It." This turned out to be the worst decision I could have made for my insomnia because the next thing I knew it was 7am and I had no intention of putting my Kindle down.

In a period where fiction is inundated with dystopian and/or apocalyptic stories, Life As We Knew It managed to be fresh, semi-original and absolutely riveting. In short, thinking it'd be a great show, the whole planet threw a party to watch a meteor slam into the moon. Instead, the moon got knocked out of whack and ended up so close to the Earth that the planet went into unimaginable chaos. Get in.

The narrator, Miranda, took us through her family's experience of the end of the world in a way that made us adore her, admire her, and believe her because the story was the perfect combination of terror, heartbreak, mirth and hope. When I finished the book, I was thrilled to discover books 2 & 3 were already published. That would prove to be the last time I would be thrilled by The Last Survivors series.

I had no problem with the sequels being told from other perspectives, especially since their stories eventually intertwined a la Dickens. But where I cared about and hung onto every word of the first book, by the third installment I honestly couldn't have cared less what happened to any of these people. The family we fell in love with in book 1 turn into shells of the dynamic characters they once were not because surviving the end of the world turned them into shells, but because the author seems to have lost her spark.

I suspect she didn't identify with or invest as much of herself into the characters who join the series in the sequels and this accounts for why it's impossible for the readers to do so. And in doing that, she doesn't seem to be able to go back to caring about her original characters either.

However, despite all my goings on, I'm not reviewing the previous books. I'm reviewing The Shade of the Moon and it isn't pretty. My anticipation for this book was higher than it should have been, but a part of me still had hope that this series could return to its initial greatness. I think that's also why it took me as long as it did to angrily toss this book across the room. Like Miranda once did, I still had hope.

Miranda's little brother Jon (the boy previously known as the almost likeable Jonny), takes the reins in this installment. Whereas he was once a spoiled, oblivious kid obsessed with baseball, he has now turned into an entitled, ignorant brute. They all live in a caste society that has enslaved the lower classes and is often terrorized by roves of young hooligans reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange. Jonny is one of those hooligans, but he gets to be because he's more or less part of the elite. They can do whatever they want. The new American society thrives on indentured servitude that aims to eventually work most of those that survived the apocalypse to their grave. Why? Because there are plenty of them and the few elite shouldn't have to share resources with the proletariat.

Jon, his stepmother and half brother are the Haves whilst the rest of the gang are the Have Nots (and Are Actually Dying). While Jon plays soccer and abuses his house staff, the rest of his family toil in slum cities where owning a truck is akin to winning the lottery and any chance for quality of life is nil. They exist, segregated and neglected, simply to keep the elite in comfort.

Jon couldn't care less about his family and all they sacrificed and continue to sacrifice to keep him where he is. He asserts they should be grateful for being allowed to work menial jobs. His later attempts in the book to redeem himself make him seem even more like a spoiled monster. Jon is a malicious jerk whose character has devolved so much that even his maliciousness has no depth. He's just awful. Even Miranda, reduced to a guest star in the book, has lost her depth. She's gone from our beloved layered hero to a deluded slumdog housewife just happy to be pregnant.

One can almost see what the author was trying to do to make this book different. Almost. I can take an unlikeable protagonist. I can take a plight of hope ending in utter despair. And I can take dystopia. What I can't take is the implausible, ill executed way she tried to combine it all.

Shade of the Moon feels like a sloppy afterthought. The execution and writing were so beyond being tolerable that I have had to let this series go before even finishing it. I'll just pretend the meteor also hit the sequels so I can remember the Last Survivors as they deserve and as they could have been. ...more

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Nov 07, 2014 kiwi kili rated it did not like it

There are many problems with this book.

First and foremost, it doesn't actually feel like a REAL BOOK.

It doesn't read like one, it's awkward and underdeveloped, and feels like a fan-fiction continuation of the first two books (I did not actually read the third book so I can't comment on that one.)

There was an incredible amount of detail and development to the characters in books one and two, and we watched the complications of survival. Now everything seemed superficial and streamlined. Every p ...more

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Nov 04, 2013 Trisha rated it it was ok

This was a difficult read.

I really liked book 1. I read it quite a while ago and, although I found Miranda to be annoying, she grew so much in that book that I grew to like it. I also really loved the idea of what would happen if the moon was knocked out of alignment.

I, also, loved the mom and how she handled everything. I've loved Laura in all the first three books. Her heart is so big, she is amazing with her children. I'm not saying she's always right, she's done a lot of things wrong, but - ...more

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Jul 06, 2013 Melissapalmer404 rated it it was amazing

Book #57 Read in 2013
The Shade of the Moon (YA) by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This is the fourth book in the series that began with the book Life as We Knew It. I loved the first two books in this series and the third one was good. I did not know until recently that a fourth book was coming out, so when I had a chance to grab it to review, I had to get a copy.

In this book, two years have passed since book 3. Jon is living with his stepmother Lisa and his half brother Gabe in a better town than White Birc ...more

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Apr 09, 2014 Anne Osterlund rated it really liked it

Jon is a slip. He slipped into an exclusive community using a pass. Being a slip isn’t as good as being a claver, one of the people specifically chosen for an enclave due to special skills or powerful connections. But it’s a heck of a lot better than being a grub, a common worker not even allowed to live within the boundaries of the enclave.

Being a slip, though, can be tricky. Jon can’t afford to offend the clavers, which often means proving his superiority over the grubs. But his mother, his si ...more

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Apr 11, 2014 Jilly rated it did not like it

Shelves: apocalyptic-post-apocalyptic

What the hell happened??? Did the author let her kid have a crack at writing her last book? It makes no sense!
Serious questions and problems arise with this book:

First, this is the worst case of insta-love I have ever seen. Jon meets a girl and they are instantly in love LITERALLY. Like within hours. It's weird. They barely had a conversation first.

Second, the whole enclave system makes no sense. Why would they build these special "safe" cities for important people only and fill them with teena ...more

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Aug 08, 2013 Marla rated it liked it

I feel like this was the lesser of the four books. It felt like slip, grub and clavers was shoved down the throat of the reader. It was constantly mentioned, it felt like every other sentence had one of those words. I got it. There was a big distinction between different people. I didn't realize there was a fourth book in the series so I don't remember if it was ever mentioned why some people were considered better than others and were put in the enclaves and others were in places like White Bir ...more

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Sep 19, 2014 Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile rated it it was ok

Once again, an author tries to capitalize on a successful series by writing a thrown-together book that would have been better off left alone. I loved the first three books, LOVED them. But this one shouldn't even exist. I hated the new society the author created. It was ridiculous and hateful, and while humanity is not perfect, I don't think we would resort to that if the situations in the books ever came to fruition. I hated Jon. He was disgusting, selfish, and blinded just the way society wan ...more

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About Susan Beth Pfeffer

Susan Beth Pfeffer

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Susan Beth Pfeffer was born in New York City in 1948. She grew up in the city and its nearby suburbs and spent summers in the Catskill Mountains. When she was six her father wrote and published a book on constitutional law, and Pfeffer decided that she, too, wanted to be a writer. That year she wrote her first story, about the love between an Oreo cookie and a pair of scissors. However, it wasn't ...more