How I Live Now [Import] [Paperback]

Meg Rosoff (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (UK) (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141035005
• ISBN-13: 978-0141035000
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,788,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Meg Rosoff was born in Boston, educated at Harvard and St Martin's College of Art, and worked in New York City for ten years before moving to London permanently in 1989. She worked in publishing, politics, PR and advertising until 2004, when she wrote her first novel, How I Live Now, which won the Guardian Children's fiction prize (UK), Michael L Printz prize (US), the Die Zeit children's book of the year (Germany) and was shortlisted for the Orange first novel award. Her second novel, Just in Case, won the 2007 Carnegie Medal. Meg's latest book is The Bride's Farewell. She lives in London with her husband, daughter and two very hairy dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A deep, well-done read., May 21, 2005

By 

Tamela Mccann "taminator40" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How I Live Now (Hardcover)

This is the story of Daisy, a fifteen year old who goes to England to live with her cousins in the not-too-distant future. It is not giving anything away to say that Daisy begins a love affair with her cousin Edmond, but all their lives are changed as a war breaks out and England becomes an occupied state. At first the kids are self-sufficient and untouched by the horrors, but as the story develops, shades of World War 2 begin to overcome them as they face separation, deprivation, and ultimate loss. Daisy speaks in a believable voice that takes you into her soul and makes you feel what she does. This one is highly recommended.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A YA book I couldn't put it down, January 26, 2005

By 

Reader "Carrie" - See all my reviews

This review is from: How I Live Now (Hardcover)

Told from the unforgettable point of view of a 15-year-old girl called Daisy, Meg Rosoff's HOW I LIVE NOW is a compelling debut novel that has much more meat on its bones than its narrator (who suffers from anorexia). Daisy is sent to England, war breaks out, and she and her cousins -- some of whom can read her mind -- are left without adult supervision. Daisy and her cousin Edmond fall in love, then are separated for the duration of the occupation, and they maintain a kind of pychic connection until something terrible happens to break it.

This is the kind of book you can't put down, one you wish would never end. Some people may quibble over Daisy's rambling thoughts. The sentences are long and the author and editor obviously didn't think punctuation essential. But Daisy's voice comes to you right as if she is talking and thinking, true and real and heartbreaking.

I highly recommend this book to both teens and adults.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intimacy Between The Gunshots, July 11, 2005

By 

Jon Linden (Warren, N.J. United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How I Live Now (Hardcover)

Truly a tremendous creation, Rosoff's book describes an apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic view through the eyes of a very sensitive and mature 14 year old girl. The story basically entails a young girl who is sent over to England to be out of her parent's way. But shortly after she gets there and gets to know her cousins, a war breaks out.

The book relates the trials and travails of wartime life. But that is just the basic story. What makes the book particularly special is Rosoff's articulation. Her story is clear and concise. And the sensitivity that is packed into a very short period of time/life abounds within the book. Daisy, the protagonist falls in love with her first cousin. The manner in which this interaction is described is nothing short of precious.

The book uniquely weaves a story of intense love and excruciating war conditions that are virtually spellbinding on the reader. Using a truly excellent stylistic technique, Rosoff also adds realism to the story by never using any obscenity in the book, but by referencing directly incidents of profanity and pornography that certainly would accompany any army. But above all, it is the clarity of presentation that makes this book a classic contribution to the young adult literature of the 21st Century.

The book is recommended highly for mid to late teenagers. In addition, it is a book with a level of compassion and feeling that would stir any reader. Truly a great book, it is recommended for all readers over the age of 13.