How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

“How I Live Now ” was the first book by American author Meg Rosoff, published in 2003 and won three literary awards including the Michael L. Printz Award.

Fifteen year old Daisy leaves the bustling city of New York for the quiet countryside of England to move in with her cousins, to escape her father and pregnant girlfriend. It is on this adventure to the rumbling rural surroundings that she experiences love for the first time and witness tragedy as a war breaks out in the country and she realises that life isn’t as quite as simple as she thinks it is.

“How I Live Now” is a beautifully written story. Told through the eyes of a teenager falling in love for the first time, I was hooked, from the moment that Daisy steps down from the train and sees Edmond standing there with a cigarette dangling from his lip to the time where they share their first kiss. The tenderness that they share is beautiful to read. Packed with wonderful, individual characters that all would make great sub-stories from the reclusive Issac to Piper, a nine year old that behaved like a mother hen, looking after the family. As the family are tore apart with the war that breaks out, it occasionally makes for heart wrenching reading as they struggle for survival, scavenging for food and dodging bullets, but this makes the story even more touching as the characters grow stronger to the difficulties that surround them.

The only thing that got to me about “How I Live Now” was the fact that it was never made fully clear as to the era that the story was set in. I like to imagine the story as crystal clear as possible but with this story, it was never made apparent. With the mentioning of cell phones, it was possible to think that the story was set now but then again with the rationing of food, it could also be set in the Second World War.

Apart from the that one small issue, I thought “How I Live Now” was a poignantly written story of first love, innocence and mystery as we join Daisy on her coming of age adventure, as she struggles to reunite with her family and put her life together as the tragedy unfolds.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0141318015″ target=”_blank” ] How I Live Now on Amazon [/amazon_link] and other good bookshops.