Since we return to rural PA with Miranda Evans & her journal, This World We Live In feels so much more like the first book in the series. I enjoyed returning to Miranda’s POV, because she sees & thinks about things more deeply than Alex had. Also, when she exhibits her character flaws, the other characters hold her accountable where Alex really wasn’t. Though the book was more familiar & favored, it also felt unimpressed with itself. There wasn’t that same tension Miranda’s earlier journal had.

Where Life As We Knew It seemed to focus on relationships within hardship, this book wanted to put the spotlight on romantic relationships. I had liked the way hints of romance were used in the first book, but how it seemed to overshadow the apocalypse in this volume was just so bleh. I appreciated the acknowledgement that Miranda’s attraction to Alex could be partially due to him being the Last Living Boy in America (LLBA). However, there was no chemistry to be found. Even the relationship between Miranda’s older brother & his surprise wife felt more believable, if a bit arresting. Though, Syl on the whole never seemed to fit in the narrative. There were also half-hearted attempts at budding connections for Miranda’s mom & younger brother, but, again, I could see the reasons why the pairs got on well.

With our two protagonists meeting & coming to terms with the fact this is how the world is now, I was hoping for more. There wasn’t as much speculating about the future of the planet & I wish Alex & Miranda had had more heart-to-hearts about what it’s like to go through something like this while on the verge of being an adult. Like the book before it, it’s a pretty big let down from the first book of the series. The plot was stable & boring, & the characters I had liked seemed to flatten out before my eyes. I have to say, my hopes aren’t high for the final book.