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Sunday, May 8, 2011

Book Review- How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Summary- This book is about a 15 year old girl called Daisy from Manhattan, who is sent to England to live with her cousins for a while. She goes there to meet her 4 cousins and Aunt whom shes never met before. There are 3 boys and 1 girl, the boys names are Osbert, Edmond and Issac and the girl is called Piper.
After Daisy meets her Aunt Penn, she has to leave soon after Daisy arrives to go away for business. But then the next day a bomb goes off in London and is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.
Power cuts and systems fail, the farm which they live on becomes more isolated. Though despite the war they remain to be untouched by the wars horrors and evils. It becomes their kind of Eden in a way, especially since no adults are about which means no rules. But this farm becomes a very special place to Daisy where she forms a very unique and special bonds with her cousins. These bonds are very unique as she has quite unique cousins. The relationships with them turn turns into something very rare and extraordinary.
Unfortunately they cannot escape the war that is destroying London and they soon become sucked into it all.
The war separates them all as they are moved into different homes. Issac and Edmond were sent away together and then Daisy and Piper, Osbert wasn't sent away as he got a job in the army. This brakes their hearts to all be separated from one another, especially for Edmond and Daisy who form more of a romantic relationship and fall so in love with each other.
The war pushes Daisy and Piper to their limits and beyond. Their thirst for love and to be safe saves them in the end. They make it back home safe enough and Daisy is then shipped home straight away.
After 6 years Daisy is finally able to go back to England. When she gets there Piper and all have grown up. Piper has met a boy named Johnathan and they fell in love from the moment they met each other. Issac has become noticeably more grown up and has moved on from the war but Edmond was effected horribly from the war as he had to watch people die all around him, their screams forever haunt him and he will never forgive himself for being alive.
Daisy tries to talk to him by joining him when he gardens and learning from him. And, that's where the story ends. I guess it leaves you to imagine what their lives might be like.

Review- Personally I loved this book and everything about it. I loved the fact that it wasn't a traditional love story between 2 people, it was more than that. Edmond and Daisy both knew that it wasn't exactly how cousins are 'suppose' to feel about each other and that it was odd since they were family. But I loved the fact that they didn't care and just put everything they had into the relationship.
But this book wasn't just about the love story between them 2, it was also about the relationships which Daisy had made with her other cousins. She had felt a love and feelings she'd never really felt for anyone before and cared for them all more than she had even cared about herself.
Piper seemed to amaze Daisy throughout the book as she is a very unique kind of girl. When you read about their journey back to safety, their home and possibly freedom, you can't help but wish and hope they make it through everything that they will come across. Especially in a certain chapter when they can hear people's screams and bombs and shots going off and how the sounds start to close in on them and you can't help but feel so sorry for them.
Coming towards the end of the book all you hope is that they become reunited with one another and that they are all still alive.
Luckily they all survived the war and its tragedies. But Daisy was separated from them soon after her and Piper made it back home. For 6 years she tried to live her life as normal as possible by keeping herself busy basically, then she was finally able to go back to England, back home, and to see them all again. When you're reading Part Two of the book all you want for the characters is that they are all alive and well and that Daisy and Edmond reunite with one another.
At the very end of the book you find out what happened to Issac and Edmond during the war and you find out that Issac proved to be the stronger one mentally and emotionally, which is actually quite surprising. Edmond is silent after the war and channels all his emotions and anger by gardening. This is Daisy's only way of talking to Edmond, constantly reminding him that she's there with him.


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