This World We Live In

Describe Miranda’s journey toward adulthood. How does her growing maturity affect her relationships with her parents, her siblings, and/or Alex?

How does the extended family deal with scarcity? What compromises do they make to ensure their own group’s survival? How do they justify these choices? How do individual characters reconcile themselves to moral compromise?

How do society and the social contract change in the aftermath of a disaster? How does it affect ideas of family, authority, and tradition?

Does the novel function as an allegory for climate change? Why or why not? What aspects of the real-world climate crisis are figured in the novel? What significant differences exist between the novel’s fictional climate crisis and the real one?

What is the significance of Horton the cat to the characters, especially to the immediate Evans family? Notably, even in the face of scarcity, the family chooses to feed and care for him. What purpose does he serve, literally and metaphorically?

From the rain at the beginning to the tornado near the end, the changeable weather signifies various revelations about this new world. How do the characters understand the challenges that this new climate brings?

Compare Miranda to Syl and/or compare Alex to Matt. How are these characters distinct from one another or similar to one another? Why is Matt drawn to Syl? Why is Miranda drawn to Alex? How do these relationships bring stability or instability to the larger group?

How does the Last Survivors series compare to other popular young adult post-apocalyptic or dystopian novels, such as The Hunger Games or Divergent? What is at stake for Miranda and her family as compared to Katniss Everdeen and her family or Tris Prior and her family?