The Dead and the Gone

The Dead and the Gone (YA) by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Wow. But you can't end that "wow" with an exclamation. This book is too intense for that. Like Life As We Knew It, the companion book to The Dead and the Gone, there are no easy answers in a post-apocalyptic world. But this story has more gravitas. While Miranda, the protagonist from LAWKI, lived through the death of one world and the birth of another, she did so under the protective and guiding supervision of her mother and older brother. Alex Morales, the protagonist of TDATG, however, is left as the head of the family.

The Morales family lives in NYC, and when the asteroid hits, both parents die. Alex is left with little more than $50 to his family's name. What I found intriguing about this book was the aspect of religion and social hierarchy. While LAWKI focused on one family, because it was in a rural setting we rarely saw what happened in the community. In TDATG, we see how a community unites, dies, and even turns against itself. Pfeffer also allows readers to witness how social class differences allow the privileged to survive and escape, while the average and the poor are left trapped to die on Manhattan. Another interesting aspect is the strength of the Morales family's faith in God and their love in each other. While the situation surrounding the Morales family seems harsher than that of Miranda, in other ways it seems more heart-warming. Despite the violence, the characters seem to have more empathy, hope, and faith.

I think I like this book better than LAWKI, but it's a hard call to make.