She was the catalyst that brought their group of friends together and without her the realize they have little in common - Becky was what they all had in common and so without her their friendship starts to fracture. They were very close friends when Becky was alive and Miranda still has dreams in which she features. Beckyīecky is already dead before the book's narrative begins, but she is still a constant presence in Miranda's life. She looks up to Matt and relies on him a great deal. She is in good health but her health falters because she is malnourished and starving she gives her children most of the rations that are allocated to her, particularly to Jonny, whom she feels is the most likely to survive in the long term. Laura's life revolves around her children and she is willing to sacrifice it if it means sparing them. He is upset when he realizes that he is being given most of the rations of food because his family think he is the most likely to survive the aftermath of the event he does not want to live at their expense.

Thirteen year old Jonny idolizes his big brother and tries to be like him. He is idolized by Miranda and their mother and he is a role model to his younger brother Jonny. He is physically strong and not afraid of hard work which makes him indispensable. At just nineteen years old he returns home from his student life in order to take care of his family after the event. Matt EvansĬollege student Matt is the hunter-gatherer type. Miranda is capable of and given to moments of introspection and one of the things that plays on her mind the most is why she keeps a journal in the first place. She is a family-oriented girl and when her family contracts a life-threatening flu virus she nurses them through it with no fear for her own health or safety. She is a passionate swimmer, but only took up swimming after an ankle injury ended her ice skating career. She is a normal, well-adjusted and happy teen whose life was more about friends and activities prior to the disaster than it was about impending doom and survival technique. She is also the narrator, of sorts, because her journal forms the narrative. Sixteen year old Miranda is the protagonist of the novel.

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Life as we know it susan beth pfeffer