Book Review: How I Live Now...

Meg Rosoff
★★★★★

Reading level: Young adult
Paperback: 194 pages
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (April 2004)

How I Live Now is a story about love. This is the story of Daisy, a fifteen year old from New York, who moves to live with her distant family in England, around the time of the second World War. 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.
I absolutely loved this novel! Meg Rosoff writes in the UNFORGETTABLE voice of fifteen year old that captivates you beyond the last word. Unlike other novels, it does not try hard to sound like a great novel, it just is. Perfect descriptions, Meg makes you feel as if you can see the world as Daisy does. By including Daisy's view of herself, and her eating problems, it appeals to 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.

The story is enthralling, and it's such a good idea to have it set in a war. With dystopian novels being thrown left and right, (although not dystopian) this novel gives us a point of view that is different, refreshing, if you will. Daisy speaks in a believable voice that takes you into her soul and makes you feel what she does.

Highly recommended!