"The Dead and the Gone" is a companion book to Pfeffer's "Life As We Knew It", which looked at the apocalyptic event from the small-town perspective. "The Dead and the Gone", tells the story from the big city perspective of New Yorker Alex Morales and his siblings. Alex works the counter at pizza joint and worries about getting about his grades high enough to attend a good college. That all changes one night when an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it closer to earth catastrophically changing the climate. With his parents missing and his older brother in the Army, it is all up to Alex to take care of his younger sisters. This becomes especially hard as resources become more scarce. The events that unfold force Alex to test his deep religious faith and morals, as he must do things-such as body-shopping in order to survive. Alex and his family do find help in expected places and all three learn a lot about themselves. This is a gripping novel that compels the reader to picture themselves in a similar situation. Great for reluctant readers.