1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rosoff, Meg. 2004. How I Live Now. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 0553376055
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Life for fifteen year old Daisy has always felt plain and uninspiring. One summer she is sent off to spend time with cousins she has never met in England. Edmond, picks her up at the airport and takes her home introducing her to her other cousins, Piper, Osbert, and Isaac, Edmonds twin. Just as Daisy’s life is beginning to change for the better, feeling safe, and enjoying the peacefulness of the country, an unnamed terrorist group attacks England. This forces the children to find inward determination to survive in this new and unforgiving world.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Meg Rosoff has written an unforgettable realistic fictional book about self preservation. In her story you met the protagonist Daisy who narrates the story. Daisy is struggling with the death of her mother, a father who refuses to discuss her mother, a step mom she does not particularly care for, and a need to self destruct. Her salvation is love. She falls in love with her cousin Edmond and the two share intimate times together. This part could prove to be very controversial. Not that the author is explicit in a bad way about the affair but this affair is between two teens who are cousins. At first I gasped and thought I would never allow my daughter to read this book but then I changed my mind and realized this is life. Situations such as the one depicted can really happen and once you read the whole story you realize that without this love affair she might not ever survived. Through Daisy’s eye’s we see that the war was hard and gruesome at times, but in order to endure she allows her mind to compensate by thinking about Edmond and their times together. Slowly she listens, learns from others, and applies her knowledge to get herself and Piper, who were separated from the boys, back home. As the account continues you begin to realize that there is a silver lining to every war. She grows stronger, finds inner strength, has a new set of beliefs, and learns self sufficiency. Daisy had always used food as a form of self destruction but now she uses it as a form of preservation. Fighting back is what she discovers she does best and she refuses to let go of what she loves. Overall she reinvents herself and discovers her true identity. Daisy says, “If you haven’t been in war and are wondering how long it takes to get used to losing everything you think you need or love, I can tell you the answer is no time at all.”
This book, although fictional, is believable and you realize that this could happen today. How we live now, today will indeed change, change is inevitable, but how we live now is up to us. We can choose to stand and fight or cave in to adversity. I absolutely loved this unforgettable first book of terror, chaos, and love by Meg Rosoff.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
The Guardian Award for Children’s Fiction
The Branford Boase Award for a First Novel
Horn Book: This first novel is intelligent, funny, serious, and sweet; a winning combination of acerbic commentary, innocence, and sober vision.
Publishers Weekly: This riveting first novel paints a frighteningly realistic picture of a world war breaking out in the 21st century.
The Guardian: Fresh, honest, rude, funny. I put it down with tears on my face.
5. CONNECTIONS
*Discuss, “Every war has it’s turning point and every person too.”
*Discuss the quote, “Determination is 9/10th of the law.”
*Discuss the statement about Edmond, “Listening is what caused his trouble in the first place.” What does that insinuate?
Other books by Meg Rosoff: The first for Young Adults & the second written for Adults.
Rosoff, Meg. Just in Case. ISBN: 0452289378
Rosoff, Meg. What I Was: A Novel. ISBN: 0670018449
Rosoff, Meg. 2004. How I Live Now. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 0553376055
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Life for fifteen year old Daisy has always felt plain and uninspiring. One summer she is sent off to spend time with cousins she has never met in England. Edmond, picks her up at the airport and takes her home introducing her to her other cousins, Piper, Osbert, and Isaac, Edmonds twin. Just as Daisy’s life is beginning to change for the better, feeling safe, and enjoying the peacefulness of the country, an unnamed terrorist group attacks England. This forces the children to find inward determination to survive in this new and unforgiving world.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Meg Rosoff has written an unforgettable realistic fictional book about self preservation. In her story you met the protagonist Daisy who narrates the story. Daisy is struggling with the death of her mother, a father who refuses to discuss her mother, a step mom she does not particularly care for, and a need to self destruct. Her salvation is love. She falls in love with her cousin Edmond and the two share intimate times together. This part could prove to be very controversial. Not that the author is explicit in a bad way about the affair but this affair is between two teens who are cousins. At first I gasped and thought I would never allow my daughter to read this book but then I changed my mind and realized this is life. Situations such as the one depicted can really happen and once you read the whole story you realize that without this love affair she might not ever survived. Through Daisy’s eye’s we see that the war was hard and gruesome at times, but in order to endure she allows her mind to compensate by thinking about Edmond and their times together. Slowly she listens, learns from others, and applies her knowledge to get herself and Piper, who were separated from the boys, back home. As the account continues you begin to realize that there is a silver lining to every war. She grows stronger, finds inner strength, has a new set of beliefs, and learns self sufficiency. Daisy had always used food as a form of self destruction but now she uses it as a form of preservation. Fighting back is what she discovers she does best and she refuses to let go of what she loves. Overall she reinvents herself and discovers her true identity. Daisy says, “If you haven’t been in war and are wondering how long it takes to get used to losing everything you think you need or love, I can tell you the answer is no time at all.”
This book, although fictional, is believable and you realize that this could happen today. How we live now, today will indeed change, change is inevitable, but how we live now is up to us. We can choose to stand and fight or cave in to adversity. I absolutely loved this unforgettable first book of terror, chaos, and love by Meg Rosoff.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature
The Guardian Award for Children’s Fiction
The Branford Boase Award for a First Novel
Horn Book: This first novel is intelligent, funny, serious, and sweet; a winning combination of acerbic commentary, innocence, and sober vision.
Publishers Weekly: This riveting first novel paints a frighteningly realistic picture of a world war breaking out in the 21st century.
The Guardian: Fresh, honest, rude, funny. I put it down with tears on my face.
5. CONNECTIONS
*Discuss, “Every war has it’s turning point and every person too.”
*Discuss the quote, “Determination is 9/10th of the law.”
*Discuss the statement about Edmond, “Listening is what caused his trouble in the first place.” What does that insinuate?
Other books by Meg Rosoff: The first for Young Adults & the second written for Adults.
Rosoff, Meg. Just in Case. ISBN: 0452289378
Rosoff, Meg. What I Was: A Novel. ISBN: 0670018449
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