(Audio) The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Read by Robertson Dean

Synopsis: 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 novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.

My thoughts: I LOVED Life as We Knew It and couldn't wait to listen to this audio. The Dead and the Gone is not as good as the first book but it was still a great story that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.

I was surprised that this took place in New York with different characters. I usually don't read the premises of books and I just jump into the stories. I thought Pfeffer was going to continue the story from the first book. That was okay; I liked listening to what happened in a different part of the United States with the moon coming closer to earth.

This book did not scare me as the first one did, but the things that happened in it did make me think and worry. At the age of seventeen, Alex became responsible for his two younger sisters, who were fifteen and twelve, after the day disaster began. I completely admired Alex's character. He was brave, compassionate, faithful, and loyal to his sisters. The decisions he made to keep his sisters' safe was admirable.

My thoughts on the performance: Robertson Dean was wonderful to listen to. He was able to convey the emotions in the book and his voice had me captivated. I do admit that I was expecting a younger reader like in the first audio, to represent Alex. The story was in third person instead of first person, so I came to understand why Robertson was chosen. If it wasn't for this audio, I don't think that I would have been as much absorbed with this book (it had a lot of repetition like "he said" and "she said", which annoys me).

Overall, Alex's struggle and trying to survive the apocalypse was well told. Though I did not like it as much as the first book, it still left me emotional at the end. I give this book: