Friday, July 6, 2012

How I Live Now


 How I Live Now
by Meg Rosoff 

 

How I Live Now is a story about 15 year-old Elizabeth’s struggle to survive during a fictional World War III outbreak sometime in the beginning of the 21st century. After constant conflicts with her new step-mother, Elizabeth (who goes by Daisy) is sent away from her Manhattan home to live with her maternal aunt in England. She finds that she instantly bonds with her cousins, and together they fight to survive while her aunt is stranded in Oslo after an attack. Meanwhile, Daisy finds herself entangled in forbidden love, and a new desire to protect her new family from any harm.  Her protective instinct is put to use when the boys (Osbert, Edmond and Isaac) and girls (Daisy and Piper) are separated, leaving Daisy solely responsible for protecting her youngest cousin. Will Daisy and Piper make it home safely? Will Daisy reunite with her love? Read Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now to find out!

This book deals with a number of important issues with which young adults face. The story starts with the main character’s departure from her home because of problems with her ‘evil’ step-mother and her future half-sibling. By moving to England, Daisy is also losing her best friend who stays in Manhattan. It is also implied that Daisy struggles with anorexia through most of the book – how will forced food rationing for survival impact her views on self-restriction? Finally, the book encourages the reader to consider how they would survive if they lived during a World War. Would you join the army like Osbert? Would you try to help the local farmers to provide food for the community? Or would you run to try to hide from the enemy until the war is over?


Meg Rosoff was born in Boston and worked in publishing and advertising before writing How I Live Now. She moved from New York to London, England in 1989 and continues to write books for children and young adults. Her other young adult novels include Just in Case (2006), What I Was (2007), The Bride’s Farewell (2009) and There is no Dog (2011).

How I Live Now won many awards including The Guardian Award (2004); Whitbread Children's Book of the Year (2004); Michael L. Printz Award (2005); Branford Boase Award (2004). It was also nominated for the Carnegie Metal (2004) and the Booktrust Teenage Prize (2005).

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