A READING GROUP
This World We Live In
by SUSAN BETH PFEFFER
About the Book
In this companion to the novels Life
As We Knew It and The Dead and the
Gone, nearly a year has passed since
an asteroid collided with the moon.
For Miranda Evans, life as she knew
it in her Pennsylvania town no
longer exists. Miranda, her mother,
and two brothers live a precarious
day-to-day existence. Their struggle
to survive is further complicated
by the arrival of Miranda’s father,
stepmother with a baby, and
three strangers in tow. One of the
newcomers is Alex Morales, and
as Miranda’s complicated feelings
for him turn to love, his plans for
the future thwart their relationship.
When a devastating tornado hits the
town of Howell, Miranda makes a
decision that will change their lives
forever.













































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GUIDE FOR
About the Guide
This World We Live In is a novel most appropriate for readers in grades
7-12 or ages 12-18. This guide was created to be used for the classroom
or smaller reading groups. There are a variety of questions, some
addressing comprehension of the story and others prompting readers
to draw conclusions, speculate, and have opportunities for “digging
deeper” into the story. The questions can be adapted as writing
prompts. The questions and many of the activities are aligned with the
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. The page
numbers in the guide refer to the hardcover edition.
About the Author
Susan Beth Pfeffer is the author of many books for teens,
including the dead and the gone, the companion novel to Life
As We Knew It, and the bestselling novel The Year Without
Michael. Among her other books are the popular Portraits of
Little Women series and the award-winning Kid Power. She
lives in Middletown, New York.
Pre-­Reading Activities
Remind readers of recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina,
the earthquake in Haiti, and the tsunami that struck Indonesia..
Discuss with readers what they would do if catastrophe were to
suddenly strike them. What knowledge, skills, and supplies should
they have to help them survive?
There are numerous web sites with information about asteroids and
the moon. Give readers an opportunity to explore these, and then have
them share with one another facts they have discovered. W 7.6
In emergency situations, some people adopt a “survival of the fittest”
attitude, while others react with charity and compassion. Ask readers
to discuss why people react so differently, and then follow up with
a discussion of how each of them thinks he or she would react in an
emergency.
 A READING
This World We Live In
by SUSAN BETH PFEFFER
Questions for Discussion
These discussion questions align with Standards 1
and 2 of the Common Core Reading Standards for
Literature K-12 (RL).
Electricity, sunlight, and water are three things that
Miranda’s family frequently has to go without.
What are ways in which your life would change if
you could not depend on them or if you have had
to go without them for days or even weeks at a
time?
What does Miranda think about when she finds the
shopping list in her Mom’s book?
Why does Miranda hate Sundays?
What do Miranda and Matt find out when they go
to City Hall? What does Miranda find so difficult to
accept?
Why does Miranda love breaking into houses?
Why does Miranda find so much pleasure in being
alone?
What do you think Miranda means when she
describes her cat, Horton, as “the blue and green
and yellow in our lives” (p.33)?
What thoughts run through Miranda’s mind when
she discovers the pile of dead bodies?
How is everything “forever different” when John
and Matt return home?
How do Matt and Syl meet?
How does Mom react to Matt’s announcement that
he and Syl are married?













































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GROUP GUIDE FOR
What do you think of Syl’s reasons for loving Matt?
Why does Miranda wish that Matt had not told Syl
about her diary?
What does Miranda overhear Matt and her Mom
arguing about? What does she find out about her
dad that she had never known?
What does Alex mean when he talks about the “sin
of pride”?
Why does Miranda’s dad pretend to be Bob
Nesbitt?
What is it that bothers Miranda about her dad’s
relationship with Alex and Julie?
What goes through Miranda’s mind when she sees
Mr. Danworth holding Gabriel? What do you think
Gabriel represent to everyone?
How do Alex and Miranda differ in their views of
faith in God and the future? What is the importance
of faith to the survivors in this world?
Why does Matt resent Alex?
Alex tells Miranda that there could be a time when
life is worse than death for Julie. Can you imagine a
situation in which being dead would be better than
being alive?
Why is Alex convinced that the only way to protect
Julie is to get her to a convent?
What do Jon and Miranda hate Syl for doing?
Alex tells Miranda, “I want to be good but I don’t
know how,” and Miranda replies, “None of us
 A READING GROUP GUIDE FOR

This World We Live In

by SUSAN BETH PFEFFER

know anymore” (p. 191). What do you think it
means to be a good person in the world in which
Alex and Miranda live? How different is it from
what it means to be a good person in our world?
Miranda’s mom tells her, “What you feel for Alex,
it’s pity and desire, not love. Not the kind of love
two people build a life on” (p. 206). Do you agree?
Miranda says that maybe pity and desire is what
love is now. Do you think it is possible for the
world to change so much that it changes the way
people think of love?
Why do you think Miranda’s mother is unwilling
to leave the house until the tornado forces her out?
Direct readers to the National Geographic web
site for information about natural disasters at
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/
earth/natural-disasters/. At this site readers can
learn more about floods, earthquakes, tornadoes,
volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters that
are fictionalized in the book. W 7.6
Guide Written by Edward T. Sullivan
Edward T. Sullivan is a librarian and author who
lives in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He has written many
articles, books, and reviews about children’s and
young adult literature.

Do you think it was right for Miranda to give Julie

the sleeping pills?

How do you think keeping a diary the past year

has helped Miranda? Why do you think Miranda
decides to not write in a diary again and leave the
diaries behind at the house? What does the decision
reveal about how Miranda has changed?

How does the idea of what constitutes a family

change for each of the characters in the course of
the story?

Follow Up Activities

Ask readers to compare and contrast the literary

merits of this novel with its two predecessors.
Consider such elements as characterization,
conflict, mood, setting, and theme. RL 9.5[6]

Ask readers to write an additional chapter in which

they predict what happens to Miranda and her
family when they leave to go in search of the “safe
town.” W 3.6,[7],8

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