How I Live Now

This is a great book. The voice is fantastic, the character of Daisy charismatic, complex, humorous and engaging. Daisy is self- named, rejecting her father's name for her. Opening paragraph, like a prologue but very brief: My name is Elizabeth but no one's ever called me that. My father took one look at me when I was born and must have thought I had the face of someone dignified and sad like an old-fashioned queen or dead person, not much there to notice. Even my life so far has been plain. More Daisy than Elizabeth from the word go. But the summer I went to England to stay with my cousins, everything changed. Part of that was because of the war... War is a strong word, the scene is immediately set: the drama of a new location, new family, and a war thrown into the mix as well. The cousins are the key to this new stage in Daisy's life; weird, independent, open hearted and minded, empathetic to the point of telepathic, animal whisperers, half magical. Daisy forms an entirely inappropriate, passionate and profound relationship with her younger too closely related cousin Edmond. His twin, Isaac, is mostly silent. Their younger sister Piper is as innocent and thoughtful and loving and guileless as Edmond himself. Osbert, the oldest, goes to regular school and is the most nearly normal. Then their idyllic summer is interrupted by the advent of war. Mostly I love Daisy’s dry, penetrating, honest humour, but also the way in which her relationship with nine year old Piper, and being thrust into a position of responsibility, forces her to move out from herself, grow up and beyond her previous egotistical concerns. Plus the end is deeply moving: Edmond’s openness to others, his deep empathy and concern, leave him terribly wounded, emotionally, by the things he has seen. And Daisy’s job, at last, is simply to be there, and heal. If there has to be a caveat – and there always is – it is very minor. The war, in the care with which no enemy powers are named, and no one ever knows what exactly is going on, is a bit too wooly to be entirely convincing. This is obviously an authorial ruse to create a situation, while not pointing the finger at anyone in particular. It is well managed enough, though, not to alienate the reader too much. Charming, witty, big hearted, thought provoking: a novel to stay with you, and I predict a classic. Five stars. Also award winning - others agree!!! Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2004 Branford Boase Award 2005 Michael L. Printz Award 2005 Der Luchs des Jahres Book Prize 2005 Julia Ward Howe Prize (Boston Authors Club) 2005 And see there is a movie due out soon too - in post-production according to IMDB. Wonder how will transfer to moviedom? Tricky as major strength of novel is in its distinctive voice.

i stumbled onto this book on amazon and randomly decided to give it a try. i was a little distracted by the writing style at first, but the middle and ending were fantastic and made it well worth the read. and you'll have to excuse me for including so many quotes on this one, but there were just soo many good ones that really encapsulate the writing and the story. the narrative reads very quickly with a never-ending run on sentence feel, which gives the impression that you are lis...more i stumbled onto this book on amazon and randomly decided to give it a try. i was a little distracted by the writing style at first, but the middle and ending were fantastic and made it well worth the read. and you'll have to excuse me for including so many quotes on this one, but there were just soo many good ones that really encapsulate the writing and the story. the narrative reads very quickly with a never-ending run on sentence feel, which gives the impression that you are listening to a story rather than reading one. aside from the grammatical nightmare that Rosoff created, she has the tendency to capitalize random phrases for emphasis, for example, "by the time I finished the letter I'd convinced myself that This Was the Life oh yes and Boy Had I Lucked Out". although the very stylistic writing is a little distracting at first, it becomes pseudo-normal and is at times hilarious in its stumbling randomness. the characteristic rambling is told from the perspective of 15 year-old Daisy and really brings her character to life, making her very tangible to the reader. the story begins when she is sent away by her father and evil step-mother to England for a while to visit her four cousins and Aunt Penn. "I... thought about my old home which unfortunately led to thinking about Davina the Diabolical, who sucked my father's soul out through his you know what and then got herself knocked up with the devil's spawn which, when it pops out, Leah and I are going to call Damian even if it's a girl." from the moment that Daisy's airplane lands and she is greeted at the airport, it is obvious that this extended family is unique, with some telepathic tendencies, and gifts for maintaining wildly fertile plants and animals. of the family, 14-year-old Edmond, with "the CIGARETTE and hair that looked like he'd cut it himself with a hatchet in the dead of night" and his younger sister Piper become the centerpieces to the book. the relationship between Edmond and Daisy quickly becomes complicated as she acknowledges that she is having some incestuous feelings towards him, which, despite the subject, somehow manages to read as un-creepy as it possibly could. when war breaks out and England is occupied, with Aunt Penn away on a business trip, the cousins find themselves alone and secluded in the countryside. at first, things amble along in the relative utopian lifestyle that the family maintain and Edmond and Daisy secure their disconcerting, and yet lovely relationship with each other. "The war... 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." in time, however, the secluded country home is found to be useful to the local military and the family is forced apart. Daisy and Piper are moved away from the boys and we follow them in their journey to be reunited with the rest of the family. through ups and downs and some oddly amusing moments, Rosoff brings us to a magical conclusion that you will just have to read to understand. she writes simply of the poverty and scarcity that only war can bring, and with the fanciful characters, makes even the sad parts enjoyable. "We got flyers in with our food saying to boil all our water and Be Extra Careful When Handling Knives, Tools or Firearms Because Minor Injuries Could Lead to Infection and Death. Which struck me as extremely amusing given that we're supposedly in the middle of a war, which usually has the same effect." once i got comfortable in the style, i really did find myself enjoying this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, playful read. the sincerity of the writing, even through the awkward moments of incest, makes you love the characters and really miss them once the reading is through. ultimately, this is a story of love and finding meaning in a life that is full of sad things, and in that, Rosoff delivers and delivers well. "I just know that he needs peace and he needs to be loved. And both those things I can do." for more of my reviews, please visit [...]

Truly a tremendous creation, Rosoff's book describes an apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic view through the eyes of a very sensitive and mature 14 year old girl. The story basically entails a young girl who is sent over to England to be out of her parent's way. But shortly after she gets there and gets to know her cousins, a war breaks out. The book relates the trials and travails of wartime life. But that is just the basic story. What makes the book particularly special is Rosoff's articulation. Her story is clear and concise. And the sensitivity that is packed into a very short period of time/life abounds within the book. Daisy, the protagonist falls in love with her first cousin. The manner in which this interaction is described is nothing short of precious. The book uniquely weaves a story of intense love and excruciating war conditions that are virtually spellbinding on the reader. Using a truly excellent stylistic technique, Rosoff also adds realism to the story by never using any obscenity in the book, but by referencing directly incidents of profanity and pornography that certainly would accompany any army. But above all, it is the clarity of presentation that makes this book a classic contribution to the young adult literature of the 21st Century. The book is recommended highly for mid to late teenagers. In addition, it is a book with a level of compassion and feeling that would stir any reader. Truly a great book, it is recommended for all readers over the age of 13.

The book is super interesting at all times, from beginning to end, the author knows how to narrate everything that is happening in each moment. What live the main protagonist is incredible. Truly a Third World War would affect the world. This book has become one of my favorites and I really recommend it a lot. It deserves five stars.

Este era el libro de lectura obligada para el verano en inglés de 2º de ESO. Le gustó mucho!

Although the style of the writing takes some getting used to, I was immediately captivated by the story the author tells. I read the book in only one evening, becoming engrossed in a story that starts out so innocently and then wreaks havoc with all imagination. All the praise that is printed in the version of my book is absolutely right. A must read!

would be a perfect story if not for the familial relations that disturb me but also i guess daisy had some problems

Tutta la merce è ottima