Life As We Knew It (book series)

Jill (in her saintly way) tutors kids at a local school and one of the classes she stops in at was reading this book. So she got to hear the teacher reading snippets and was curious to know what the whole book was like. I found her copy lying around and, thinking it was a book club book, read the back cover to find out what they were reading this month.

Much to my surprise I was pulled in immediately. Apocalypse? The common man? Perfect! In reading some online reviews it was quite positive and most comments said they literally couldn't put it down. Got about a quarter of the way through it one night and the following night I was kept awake finishing it. You can't stop reading. You just can't. I was reading it on my Nook Color, which I love. Initially got it to hack and turn into an Android tablet, but I use it stock as an eReader. Lovely!

The book is actually teen fiction, but it's really quite dark. Told from the perspective of a girl as diary entries, it's pretty tame but the underlying concept just looms over you and makes you feel like you're a part of the story.

By the two thirds point I was sure I wouldn't be reading the next books in the series. It was too stressful and I just wanted it to be over. I was enjoying it in a "it's the end of the world and nobody feels fine" but I connected so much with the family I felt like my world was ending. It's all common stuff. Electricity, gas, water, food. Everything we take for granted in our lives, and they were slowly disappearing from theirs.

Right up to the last five pages I was done. I just couldn't take it. And when I finished the last paragraph I was trying to figure out if I should get the sample of the next one and just read a couple sentences. But I knew that would involve less sleep that night.

Found the next edition at the Library, online! With a few clicks of a mouse I downloaded it, authorized it on my Nook Color, and now I am all ready to lose more sleep.