Customer Reviews

How I Live Now

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

How I Live Now was so great that I couldn't put it down! The main character goes to England to escape the turmoil of her life in NYC (divorce, NYC under seige). When war breaks out in Europe, the children are left alone and the author immediately paints a picture of their lives that is so real, I could picture this war. The strongest part of the story was that although it was fiction, I could see it actually happenning. In a world like today where differences are feared rather than celebrated by many, where hate is as common as humanity (if not more so), this book shows us that there are consequences. The book definitely goes into heavy material, that's why I think any adult would find it just as enjoyable and enlightening as a teenager. The setting was my favorite part of the story, but the characters had a real depth and truth to them as well. This book is one of my all new all-time favorites.

It's been at least two months since I read How I Live Now, and I still think about it almost daily. I'm definitely an adult - in fact, I have a master's degree in English - and this is one of the most thought-provoking books I've ever read.

Briefly, the plot:
Daisy, our narrator, is not a very admirable character when the novel begins. Sent to rural England to live with her deceased mother's family, Daisy is at first shocked at the conditions of life with her aunt's large family.
Soon after Daisy arrives, her aunt must go on an emergency trip to help with peace negotiations, leaving her children and Daisy alone. Thus begins an idyllic summer - the group at the farm is aware a military force has taken over the country, but specifics are hard to come by, and life goes on as normal in their corner of the world, so by and large they ignore the crisis. With no telephone, no internet, no television or radio, the kids come to enjoy their isolation and Daisy begins a sexual relationship with her cousin Edmond.
The world won't stay away forever, though. Eventually military forces arrive and take the children to allegedly "safe" places, separating the boys and the girls.
Daisy's devastation at losing contact with Edmond fades quickly once she realizes that the war, if that is indeed what it is, has closed in around her and presents a real, personal threat.
Daisy and her young cousin Piper eventually make their way back home, and Daisy leaves the country to return to America through her father's subterfuge. But what she has seen has scarred her forever, and draws her back to the rural English farm.
We also see how quickly war turns children into adults. By novel's end, whiny, spoiled Daisy has become an adult who makes mature decisions. The vivid, live-life-out-loud Edmond has witnessed intense atrocities and drawn into himself like a shell-shocked vet from World War I. There's no time for fantasies and dreams anymore, there's only real life and the imperative to get on with it.

Where it shines:
Despite its twists and turns, the plot takes a back seat in How I Live Now. What struck me, and what has stayed with me, are the details of life during one of our new-fangled post-9/11 wars. Surely this is what that life would be like - No reliable means of contact with the outside world, no trustworthy sources of information, not even knowing who the "enemy" is. What do they believe in? Why are they doing, umm, whatever it is they're doing? Does it matter if the uniformed man walking along the road is one of "us" or one of "them"? Is it safe to let him see you, no matter which side he's on? Not being able to know these things didn't disturb the characters nearly as much as it disturbed me.
How I Live Now left me shaken; I keep trying to tell friends the story so I can illustrate a point with it: How do we know what we know? If we hear a radio address by George Bush, we take it for granted that it is George Bush himself delivering it, despite the fact that numerous stand-up comedians can sound just like him. Or maybe it is him, but someone is holding a gun to his head. If we see him on television speaking, again we take it for granted that it's really our president, when we ought to know by now that there are body doubles aplenty.
I'm not implying that the U.S. has been taken over by some outside element that is either impersonating President Bush or forcing him to act according to their dictates, but if they were, how would we know?
That's what I'm left with after reading How I Live Now.

This book is a beautiful coming of age story, intertwined with love, self realisation, and escaping a war. Set in rural England, fifteen year old Daisy is sent off to live with her four cousins for summer, and at first skeptical, she soon discovers what real love is, when she falls for her cousin Edmond.

To distrupt her fairy tale love story, the war starts after a train station in London is blown up. Daisy and her younger cousin Piper are separated from the boys, and are forced to survive the horrors of war, all the while hoping to be reunited with their family.

Scary but unbelievably gripping, this account of a war is an amazingly realistic and moving story. I could not stop thinking about it for days. Highly reccomended for anyone over thirteen.

I liked this book from the moment I picked it up!
It had an intriguing cover which made me compelled to choose it along with a great blurb which really made you want to read it.
The basic plot of the story was that a girl from the USA goes to England to stay with her cousins and while she's there a war breaks out. But, during the time before the war, she falls in love with her cousin. The main part of the book is about Daisy and her female cousin running from the war to get back to their house. Daisy is also anorexic and doesn't eat. At the end of the book they get back and she returns to the USA. But she leaves her male cousin, who loves her, heartbroken. It was a lovely book and deals with two major issues: war and anorexia.
It was easy to get into and told in the view of Daisy, it was an excellent read. I would recommend it to a girl, aged 12-15/16 years. 10/10 this book is definitely a winner in my eyes.

Rosoff's debut novel is a timely and poignant read. Set against the backdrop of a country overrun by war, the story seamlessly interweaves the themes of love, death and survival into one extraordinary narrative. A must read for all ages.

The most impressive quality of "How I Live Now" is the author's unique literary voice - a first-person narrative at once smart, witty, sardonic and perceptively true to the teenage mind (I know, I live with one). The most chilling aspect of the plot is the realization that, given the current fragile world situation, it COULD happen, and in a way just as author Rosoff describes it. This is a book that both teens and adults should find enormously entertaining and thought-provoking as they come to care deeply about Daisy and about the world that challenges her very existence.

This book is a breath of fresh air!!

The author's unique style of writing is so readable
and perfectly tailored to the story told by Daisy. How
I Live Now is not just a readable and engaging story
but storytelling at it's best. I laughed and laughed
and then I cried.

The setting and the issues are of the moment. Every
reader will enjoy the inventive plot but adults will
appreciate more the reality of its
sometimes subtle (and sometimes less than subtle)
themes.

I've read it twice already and am going back for
more. It is rare to find a book that needs to be
devoured and when you finally put it down you want
to go back again because you can't believe that it was
so good.

Fabulous!!