Which book?
How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff
Genre?
YA
Summary? (from GoodReads)
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.
When did I first read it?
Two years ago?
Why did I first read it?
It was a recommendation off a blog. Plus, that cover. Who could turn down that cover?
What did I think about it then?
“Strangely attracted” are the words that first come to mind. There are a few things going on in this book that would normally turn me off, not the least of which are Daisy’s eating disorder and the fact that she falls in love with her first cousin. But, I don’t know, those things somehow work in this story. They make it what it is. So while I was a little wary when I was reading this book the first time, by the end I was in love with the characters and feeling some intense admiration for how they pull through the hard things that get thrown at them.
What do I think about it now?
This is not a book I've been successful at recommending to other people. Most can’t seem to get past the whole fall-in-love-with-your-cousin bit. But this story is so much more than that. I mean, Piper, the little sister, is all kinds of awesome, and she alone would make this book worth reading. And yes, this isn’t the most perfectly constructed book ever—I think it can get a little rough and messy at times—but who the heck cares? This is one of those miraculous books that somehow manages to add up to more than just the sum of its parts. Not to mention it has one of the most perfectly bittersweet endings that I know of.
Have you read this book? What did you think?
I love this book, too. It's such a strange little book, but it's strangely beautiful. Oh, yes, the ending. I cried, it was so bittersweet. It's funny to me how many US reviews on GoodReads mention the cousin thing - I'm not saying it's common in the UK or anything, but we're much more aware that it happens and don't see it as *that* big of a deal (with our Royal family, how could we?).
ReplyDeleteIt is a miraculous book.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know how I feel about Piper. :)