How I Live Now (Library Binding)

~ Meg Rosoff (Author) "My name is Elizabeth but no one's ever called me that..." (more)
Key Phrases: lambing barn, army guys, Aunt Penn, Reston Bridge, New York City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Possibly one of the most talked about books of the year, Meg Rosoff's novel for young adults is the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2004. Heralded by some as the next best adult crossover novel since Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, who himself has given the book a thunderously good quote, this author's debut is undoubtedly stylish, readable and fascinating.

Rosoff's story begins in modern day London, slightly in the future, and as its heroine has a 15-year-old Manhattanite called Daisy. She's picked up at the airport by Edmond, her English cousin, a boy in whose life she is destined to become intricately entwined. Daisy stays at her Aunt Penn's country farmhouse for the summer with Edmond and her other cousins. They spend some idyllic weeks together--often alone with Aunt Penn away travelling in Norway. Daisy's cousins seem to have an almost telepathic bond, and Daisy is mesmerized by Edmond and soon falls in love with him.

But their world changes forever when an unnamed aggressor invades England and begins a years-long occupation. Daisy and Edmond are separated when soldiers take over their home, and Daisy and Piper, her younger cousin, must travel to another place to work. Their experiences of occupation are never kind and Daisy's pain, living without Edmond, is tangible.

Rosoff's writing style is both brilliant and frustrating. Her descriptions are wonderful, as is her ability to portray the emotions of her characters. However, her long sentences and total lack of punctuation for dialogue can be exhausting. Her narrative is deeply engaging and yet a bit unbelievable. The end of the book is dramatic, but too sudden. The book has a raw, unfinished feel about it, yet that somehow adds to the experience of reading it. (Age 14 and over) --John McLay --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

This riveting first novel paints a frighteningly realistic picture of a world war breaking out in the 21st century. Told from the point of view of 15-year-old Manhattan native Daisy, the novel follows her arrival and her stay with cousins on a remote farm in England. Soon after Daisy settles into their farmhouse, her Aunt Penn becomes stranded in Oslo and terrorists invade and occupy England. Daisy's candid, intelligent narrative draws readers into her very private world, which appears almost utopian at first with no adult supervision (especially by contrast with her home life with her widowed father and his new wife). The heroine finds herself falling in love with cousin Edmond, and the author credibly creates a world in which social taboos are temporarily erased. When soldiers usurp the farm, they send the girls off separately from the boys, and Daisy becomes determined to keep herself and her youngest cousin, Piper, alive. Like the ripple effects of paranoia and panic in society, the changes within Daisy do not occur all at once, but they have dramatic effects. In the span of a few months, she goes from a self-centered, disgruntled teen to a courageous survivor motivated by love and compassion. How she comes to understand the effects the war has had on others provides the greatest evidence of her growth, as well as her motivation to get through to those who seem lost to war's consequences. Teens may feel that they have experienced a war themselves as they vicariously witness Daisy's worst nightmares. Like the heroine, readers will emerge from the rubble much shaken, a little wiser and with perhaps a greater sense of humanity. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)
Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Library Binding: 208 pages
• Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (August 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038590908X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385909082
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,428,680 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Tamela Mccann "taminator1" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

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.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How I live Now, October 11, 2004

By	Jessica (18) (England) - See all my reviews

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

The story is enthralling, and it's such a good idea to have it set in a war. Wars seem to be a subject that most people my age are quite interested in, particularly because there are so many wars going on at the moment, and they want to find out what it would really be like to live through one. But I think this war is even more interesting, it's not that I find previous or current wars boring, but that basically everything that could be found out and written about has been, and to invent a new war opens many more possibilities for events, without having to worry about being historically correct. Also it allows the war to be set in England, instead of a far off country that would probably be hard to imagine living in, even if it wasn't during a war.

I love the descriptions of the English country house, it seems a perfect setting, and creates such a contrast to the war. I also like how as Daisy and Piper spend longer away from the house, it becomes a more distant memory, for both them and the reader. There is so much detail about the war and other bad things, I forgot many of the details of the house, and how Daisy spent her first few happy days with her cousins.

By including Daisy's view of herself, and her eating problems, it will include lots of people who feel the same way about their appearance. It makes an interesting kind of side-story, and I liked seeing her growing out of it very slowly and subtly.

When Daisy saw Edmond again, after they were separated to go to different houses, and Edmond ignored her when he first saw her, I was shocked, and really quite sad. It ended the reader's and Daisy's dreams of the perfect life they would have had together both at once, which made me feel very sorry for Daisy. The ending was quite surprising, and at first I resented the fact that the author didn't let it immediately work out with Edmond and Daisy, but now I feel it made it more realistic and interesting. It is a sad, but hopeful ending. It was also good to see that Piper had got on with her life, and she'd found someone to appreciate her.

I like how there are no speech marks, and speech is just written in. It saves a lot of space, and it's an interesting and unusual way of doing it.

I'm not just saying good things about this book because I don't want to say anything negative, but at a first read, I really cannot find much I dislike about the book.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edgy and Unique, September 22, 2004

By	J. Owens (Ft Myers Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

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!!