Title: How I Live Now
Author: Meg Rossoff
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, War
Publication Date: 5th August 2004 (publisher Penguin)
Pages: 211
Reminds me of: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (minus the supernatural), The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (minus the arena of death)
There are three books on my bookshelf I’ve read about ten times each. The covers are just about ready to fall off and the spine is so heavily creased the title is barely legible. They are my absolute favourite novels of all time and I still get the same thrill from each of them.
I first read How I Live Now when I was fourteen and it was just haunting. I honestly could not stop thinking about it long after I’d finished the last page. So I read it again. And then again. It’s witty and intriguing. Gripping and beautiful. And finally, just a little bit of a tear jerker.
How I Live Now follows the story of our protagonist, fifteen year old Daisy. She’s shipped off from Manhattan to England after her father and step-mother decide her eating disorder has gotten out of hand. Daisy resides with her four cousins, who she’s never met up until now, on their farm property. Her aunt leaves the country for business soon after her arrival, and the farm becomes an idyllic haven where no adults have any presence.
When London is bombed, war breaks out. Initially this has very limited impact on the farm apart from the loss of all power. The cousins relationships delve into new spaces and reckonable bonds are formed. But eventually their haven is invaded and the unnamed enemy tramples over everything they’ve built together. Very quickly the story transforms to one about survival as this dystopia consumes their world. Continue reading
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