Customer Reviews
The Compulsive Reader's Reviews 
2008-08-15
Shipped off to England from her Manhattan home by her father and his brand new wife, who is most certainly the spawn of the devil, Daisy isn't sure what to expect of her aunt and cousins, with whom she'll be staying with indefinitely. She is surprised to find that her cousins Osbert, Isaac, Edmond and Piper live a mostly independent life while her aunt works long hours, and feels a special connection with her Edmond, who is her own age.
But then the war comes, and Daisy's aunt is stuck in another town, far away from them. They must learn to survive on their own. It all seems surreal as they live nestled in the country, away from rules or adults or expectations. Daisy and Edmond fall in love, despite what others may think. But it is all destroyed when the soldiers come. Daisy and Piper are sent away, and the cousins' separation is almost more than anyone can bear. Although torn apart, they must find away to come together.
How I Live Now is a remarkable novel of survival, loss, pain, love and hope. The story is told from Daisy's sharp and sarcastic perspective ("I don't get nearly enough credit in life for the things I manage not to say," she says on page seventy-seven), and as her narrative progresses we come to find that although strong in her own way, she also has a vulnerable side. The book takes a momentary foray towards more spiritual ground when Daisy insists that she can communicate with Edmond at certain times even though they are miles apart. But besides that, the book is full of thought provoking ponderings, human observations, and musings on true love that will leave the reader with much to think about. The story focuses less on the actual war that is being waged around characters, and more on their individual struggles for survival, which give it a more philosophical air that is intriguing, but some readers may feel the urge to know more about the politics of the unknown war. How I Live Now, while heart breaking, through its strange style, conveys a sense hope and unconditional faith, and is a powerful reminder of the strength of love.
Maybe I was too young... 
2008-08-08
As I read other reviews for this book I got the impression that though this was put in the young adults section, maybe it was aimed for at least the older end of that market because I did not like this book one bit but it seems that some older readers did. When I started it, it seemed to be a fun book, but as I read on I began to like it less and less. The two main things that stuck out to me were the main character falling in love with her cousin which just felt wrong and the main character going on and on about how she hated to eat. I forced myself to finish this book since I was stuck with it on a long car ride, but otherwise I may not have ever finished it. I would not recommend this book though maybe if you are older you could take a try.
Forever in my mind 
2008-07-01
I picked up this book out of pure curiosity and I never imagined I'd be taken on such a beautiful ride. Daisy the main character is both relatable and at the same time completely unbelievable. But her spirit and the fight in her makes the book an amazing read. As for Edmond Daisy's cousin and ultimately the love of her life, the love he shows her which is unconditional holds them together through out all the tragedies in the story. That same love the share in that brief period together burns through the pages of the book making its way into your heart. No matter what your view is on the kind of life these kids are living and how this might be a little grown up for young adults you cant deny the beauty of this tragic yet magical love story.
Great read...fantastic. 2008-06-11
This is a great story...hard to put down. I'm not an advocate of censoring children's reading so I don't have a problem with kids reading this. Parents can discuss painful issues with their kids by reading what their kids are reading. I recommend this to kids and adults. Great author.
Ambitious novel. Winner of 3 Awards, and yet lacks some finishing touches 
2008-03-12
Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2004, the Michael L. Printz Award 2005, and the Brandford Boase Award 2005. It's an original and ambitious novel, portraying the horrors of 21st-century warfare for a generation of young readers who, whilst constantly hearing about wars, mostly feel quite removed from the experience. On this level, it succeeds really well. It's an eye-opener to see the Western world depicted as a war zone, with all the horrors of modern warfare brought vividly to life for younger readers.
The basic story is of fifteen-year-old New Yorker, Daisy, sent to live with her aunt and cousins in the English countryside - impossible relations with her stepmother in NY have led to an ongoing battle with anorexia and Daisy's dad has sent her overseas. Dasiy feels right at home and part of the family almost immediately, and forms an especially close bond with her cousin, Edmond, whom she soons realises she is in love with. Then war breaks out. The children are fending for themselves as Aunt Penn is trapped overseas. Some months pass by as they are left quite undisturbed on their small farm... But then some soldiers arrive to occupy the farm and they find themselves separated. Daisy and her youngest cousin, nine-year-old Piper are sent off in one direction and the boys, Osbert and twins Edmond and Isaac, are sent in another. From here the children's experience of the war becomes more immediate, as they witness horrific aspects of war (described in quite graphic detail), and ultimately they set off to find each other and hopefully be reunited again.
BUT, and there is a big "but" - it takes a while to get into Meg Rosoff's writing style, and I'm not altogether sure that we should want to get used to her style of writing speech. There is a complete lack of speech marks in any form and speech in the novel is identified by beginning the phrase or words being spoken with a capital letter. Is this a good example to set to young people, who might think it's acceptable to copy this style in their GCSEs? Could be confusing for some students. I do have a bit of a problem with 14-year-old cigarette smoking, car-driving Edmond, and the underage sex is a bit of an issue also, especially being between cousins! So, not really a novel for young teens. The other problem I have is that the characterisations and descriptions of the English countryside, not to mention the names, are more in keeping with an England of 60+ years ago. This is unfortunate as the novel is actually set in the modern day, with email, mobile phones etc.
It's overall a good, short, very readable introduction to the horrors of war, as well as highlighting Daisy's very personal battle with her eating disorder. However, it does have shortcomings and in a way doesn't quite come across as 'finished'. Worth reading but my advice would be to approach with caution.
An Amazing Read 2008-03-10
“Every war has turning points and every person too.”Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.
As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.
A riveting and astonishing story.
From the Hardcover edition.
beautifully written, incoherent plot 
2008-03-07
The story of a bulimic American girl who is sent to England just as War with the Terrorists is about to break out.
The prose is great and I really wanted to love this book. A snippet from when her and her cousins are going fishing: "...and the sun was streaming in the windows and it felt much nicer than usual to be alive even if meant a bunch of fish were going to die."
So the prose flows very nicely but then the story gets in the way. The War breaks out: Terrorists occupy England while her armies have been lured away on foreign crises (Iraq?). Somehow the terrorists have tanks (brought them on the ferry, I suppose), they set off bombs, disrupt everything including the oil, electricity, phones etc. but they allow the Territorial Army to operate (!), that is, to provide food to the people and keep their guns. The Terrorists (obviously Muslims of some sorts, but it's never spelled out) are organized enough to set roadblocks everywhere, even in remote villages in the countryside (talk about manpower - more than the Americans and Brits had in Iraq)... and so it goes, piling incoherence upon incoherence. The trouble is that the War is essential to the story because without it the kids wouldn't find themselves cut off from their family, or separated from each other, and there wouldn't be all those scenes of deprivation and war-like grit.
The War is so implausible and badly conceived that it ruined the book for me. It wasn't the bulimia or incest; it was the implausibility of the story. And then it hit me. What this author wanted to write, I think, is a story of a teenage girl cut off from her family when the Allies invaded Iraq or Afghanistan - now, then the story would've made sense, 'cause I can imagine us invading a Third World Country but can't quite imagine a bunch of ragtag fanatics occupying an industrialized country like they were Germans in the 40s' - and the Occupation lasting nine months. But then the story of an Iraqi Daisy wouldn't have sold as well, right?
A gem 2008-03-03
I read some of the reviews from the more conservative readers who did not enjoy the book or the issues it tackles, or doesn't. Anorexia, terrorism, crushes, absent parents, divorce are all issues most of us have to deal with either growing up or as adults. I think the way Rosoff tackles them is realistic, i.e. they are part of one's way of life and something you just deal with. I understand Daisy's anorexia is not a shining example of what a healthy teenage girl should be like, but this is what happens in the real world. As for loving her cousin, well stuff happens and that's just the way it is. I think this book might be too "advanced" for some young teens, but let's give them some credit, most of what is in the book is nothing they wouldn't have heard of anyway. I think Daisy is a witty, strong, challenging heroine. The story and the tone is incredible and very well written. This is by far one of the best books I've ever read. If you liked I capture the Castle or the Go-Between you will love this.
Jarring, emotionally charged and brilliant 2008-02-25
I found myself sucked into this novel. Reading it, I flashed back on my memories of that age. Those strong, gut wrenching feelings of love and happiness, and the bittersweet aftermath when the world makes you come back to earth. Daisy experiences the wonder of being alive as a teenager, and does it so convincingly , and then her world comes crashing down. The aftermath, and her strenght, leave you wanting to know more about her. It made me want to go to England. It made me want to start a garden. This was very well done, and the characterization was brilliant. This felt based in reality rather than the other way around. Loved this book, and now am searching for more like this. This is the first book I've read by this author.
Too edgy for its own good 2008-02-21
At first I was hesitant to put this book in my CLW line up because it is not, actually, a book I love. However, after giving the matter some thought I've decided that even though I don't adore it, this novel does fit my basic "chick lit" guideline (strong female character in a book written by a female author) so it gets to stay.
"How I Live Now" is Meg Rosoff's first novel. It is a Printz Award winner (an award for excellence in young adult literature), the Branford Boase Award for a first novel, as well as the Guardian award for Children's Literature.
My only issue is with the last award because there is no way that "How I Live Now" could be considered a children's book no matter how the term "children" is defined. Some reviews on Amazon suggested this book for readers age twelve and up. Personally, I feel that is inappropriate for a wide variety of reasons (I concur with a review that place the book as more fit for fourteen and up if not older) but of course it depends on the child and their reading level. I suspect this is a book protective parents might want to preview, or at least research, if their household is one where an adult has to approve the child's reading material.
Okay, so now you're either totally horrified or completely fascinated and want to know more. Here's the plot: The novel starts when fifteen-year-old Daisy is exiled by her father and step-mother to rural England where she is sent to live with her aunt and cousins. Things begin to look up for Daisy (a narrator who is, at best, troubled) in England as she gets to know her extended family and gets some distance from the negativity of her life in New York.
That is, until the unthinkable happens. When unidentified invaders attack and occupy England Daisy's life (along with everyone else') is turned upside down. That's all well and good. But there's more to it than that. Daisy also begins a passionate, secret, relationship with Edmond--her cousin. That's right, incestuous.
I've thought about this plot point since reading the novel and I do see how Daisy and Edmond being in love was pivotal to the way things went down in the novel. But I still don't understand why they had to be related. There are so many other, simpler, methods of creating that kind of connection between characters than using incest. Appropriateness aside, it just doesn't make sense.
Other reviewers suggest this novel is written in the near future, but really it doesn't read that way. It reads like it's written now. That's what makes the plot so haunting. Unfortunately it's also what makes the plot seem contrived. Perhaps Daisy's reality is closer than I'd like to admit, but the war angle kept seeming unreal (not surreal, just not real). The absence of details, while maintaining the terror of the unknown, was also counterproductive in establishing an authentic enemy.
The novel is also written as continuous prose, meaning there are no formatting breaks for dialogue (although paragraphs do still factor). This isn't my favorite style for literature, but it does work with the idea that Daisy is literally telling readers the story.
I didn't love this book. The truth is, after writing this review, I begin to wonder if I liked it. But that isn't to say that Daisy (and her younger cousin Piper) are not strong characters. Daisy may not make decisions that many people would agree with, but she does act on what she thinks is right (or at least on what she feels she has to do).
The strongest part of the novel is the middle where the incest doesn't loom large and before the ending seems to cut everything short, much in the way resolutions can put a stop to events in real life. This middle ground focuses on Daisy and Piper trying to survive in a world they don't always recognize. The title, comes from this scenario as readers watch Daisy and the rest of the world adapt to life during (and after) the war.
And frankly, despite my criticisms here, Rosoff does have some really nice lines. She writes with a sincerity that makes you really want to believe Daisy knows what she's doing (in the sense that it makes sense) with Edmond, and with her earlier issues with Bulimia (see why I said she was troubled?).
In summary, there was a lot I didn't like about this book. Being unfamiliar with the other candidates for that year, I can't say if "How I Live Now" was the best choice for a Printz Award. What I can say is that Rosoff does have a way with words which may, in my view at least, be able to better shine in a novel that isn't quite so edgy.
I'll leave you now with a few of the quotes I jotted down after my reading of the novel:
"The real truth is that the war didn't have much to do with it except that it provided a perfect limbo in which two people who were too young and too related could start kissing without anything or anyone making us stop."
"I didn't seem to have that effect on anyone but it would have been a waste for both of us to be saints."
"I frightened myself. I became the ghost Piper was so scared of."
