A BIG flop.
After reading the first two installments in the Last Survivors Trilogy, I was eager to read the closing novel. Unfortunately, This World We Live In turned out to be a waste of time. Clearly, Susan Pfeffer had no clue how to end a series about a world that can never ever go back to the way it was. So she was like, "Hey, I know: I'll toss together the two protagonists from the other two books and kill someone and call it a day!" The whole mood of the book just screams "I don't care about this series anymore!"
In the first book, 16-year-old Miranda Evans tries to deny that her old life is gone forever, but eventually comes to terms, and her character grows into someone admirable. In the sequel, Alex Morales puts Miranda to shame with his strong and courageous character as he tries to protect his sisters. THEN, in This World We Live In, both characters meet and begin a romantic relationship that is clearly a weary attempt at an interesting plot. It could have actually been something good, if it wasn't so half-baked on the author's part.
It's understandable that the characters would grow tired of the struggle after a while, but the Miranda Evans in this book is not the same Miranda Evans she was in the first book. The Miranda from the first book rose above the hardships, grew, and adapted into a strong and beautiful young woman.......and then somehow she became this obnoxious, whining, simpering, shallow little brat whose only thought is to sleep with Alex.
And Alex's character hasn't fared any better. Pfeffer tried to set him up as a stoic, handsome, and mysterious young man to Miranda, but she fails, resulting in him being a flat and fairly useless character to the plot.
To top all this off, the ending seemed to be some sort of attempt to shock the reader so much that they don't notice that it is totally out of character for Miranda to murder someone. Seriously, if the author didn't know how to end it, she could have left the series with the first two books and it would have been satisfactory.
Overall reaction to this book: BLAH.
