How I Live Now and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
Price: £1.65
Fulfilled by Amazon

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Start reading How I Live Now on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

How I Live Now [Paperback]

Meg Rosoff (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.59 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.40 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock but may require up to 2 additional days to deliver.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £5.49   -- --
Library Binding £12.62   -- --
Paperback £5.59   -- --
Audio, CD, Audiobook --   -- --
Unknown Binding --   -- --
Audio Download, Unabridged £9.22 or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial
Books Trade-In
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

Publication Date: 30 Jun 2005

How I Live Now is an original and poignant book by Meg Rosoff

How I Live Now is the powerful and engaging story of Daisy, the precocious New Yorker and her English cousin Edmond, torn apart as war breaks out in London, from the multi award-winning Meg Rosoff. How I Live Now has been adapted for the big screen by Kevin Macdonald, starring Saoirse Ronan as Daisy and releases in 2013.

Fifteen-year-old Daisy thinks she knows all about love. Her mother died giving birth to her, and now her dad has sent her away for the summer, to live in the English countryside with cousins she's never even met.

There she'll discover what real love is: something violent, mysterious and wonderful. There her world will be turned upside down and a perfect summer will explode into a million bewildering pieces.

How will Daisy live then?

'Fresh, honest, rude, funny. I put it down with tears on my face' - Julie Myerson, Guardian

'Assured, powerful, engaging . . . you will want to read everything that Rosoff is capable of writing' - Observer

'An unforgettable adventure' - Sunday Times

Bestselling author Meg Rosoff has received great critical acclaim since the publication of her first novel How I Live Now (winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize). Her other novels, Just in Case (winner of the 2007 Carnegie Medal), The Bride's Farewell and What I Was which was described by The Times as 'Samuel Beckett on ecstasy', are also available from Puffin. Follow Meg on Twitter @megrosoff.

Also by Meg Rosoff:

How I Live Now; Just In Case; What I Was; The Bride's Farewell; There is No Dog

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Join Amazon Family before 26 May 2013 and you'll be automatically entered into a prize draw to win one of 10 Motorola Blink Baby Monitors. Find out more.

Frequently Bought Together

How I Live Now + Just in Case
Price For Both: £10.83

One of these items is dispatched sooner than the other.

Buy the selected items together
  • Just in Case by Meg Rosoff Paperback £5.24

Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; Re-issue edition (30 Jun 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141318015
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141318011
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.6 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 23,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Meg Rosoff Page
Meg Rosoff
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Amazon Review

Possibly one of the most talked about books of the year, Meg Rosoff’s novel for young adults is the winner of the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2004. Heralded by some as the next best adult crossover novel since Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, who himself has given the book a thunderously good quote, this author’s debut is undoubtedly stylish, readable and fascinating.

Rosoff’s story begins in modern day London, slightly in the future, and as its heroine has a 15-year-old Manhattanite called Daisy. She’s picked up at the airport by Edmond, her English cousin, a boy in whose life she is destined to become intricately entwined. Daisy is staying for the summer in her Aunt Penn’s country farmhouse with Edmond and her other cousins. They spend some idyllic weeks together--often alone with Aunt Penn away travelling in Norway. Daisy’s cousins seem to have an almost telepathic bond, and Daisy is mesmerised by Edmond and soon falls in love with him.

But their world changes forever when an unnamed aggressor invades England and begins a years-long occupation. Daisy is parted from Edmond when soldiers take over their home, and Daisy and Piper, her younger cousin, must travel to another place to work. Their experiences of occupation are never kind and always hard. Daisy’s pain, living without Edmond, is tangible.

Rosoff’s writing style is both brilliant and frustrating. Her descriptions and ability to portray the emotions of her characters are wonderful. Her long sentences and total lack of speech marks for dialogue is, however, exhausting. Her narrative is deeply engaging and yet a bit unbelievable. The end of the book is dramatic, but too sudden. The book has a raw, unfinished feel about it, yet that somehow adds to the experience of reading it. It’s flawed but unmissable. (Age 14 and over) --John McLay --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A powerful and moving "kidult" novel. -- Heat magazine, July 2005

An absorbing read: tender and brusque. -- Guardian, July 23, 2005

As compelling as any childhood tale could be... great suspense writing. -- Telegraph, July 16, 2005

Both children and adults will enjoy Daisy's smart, ironic style. -- The Independent, July 8, 2005

Readers won't just read this book, they will let it possess them -- The Sunday Telegraph

The most talked about book of the year... this is a book for young adults and adult youngsters alike. -- Tatler

a magical and utterly faultless voice -- Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

a voice so stridently pure and direct and funny that you simply can't question it -- The Guardian

the best children's novel for adults since The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time -- Time Out --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
My name is Elizabeth but no one's ever called me that. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly evocative 7 Mar 2011
By YA's The Word
Format:Paperback
Meg Rosoff's novel for young adults won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2004. The novel is very much a crossover novel - for young adults and adults alike.

How I live now is the story of Daisy, a 15-year-old Manhattanite. She's a funny character and this comes across as we pick up her thoughts on her new stepmother and being flown out to England by her father because a new baby is on the way. She's by no means perfect...and that's what makes her so real. She feels insecure about the changes in her family back in the States, she barely eats and is given to being overly dramatic.

England turns out to be nothing like she expected, thanks to the eccentric lifestyle of her Aunt Penn, and her four cousins. From the moment they meet Daisy and her cousin Edmond forge a bond...one which becomes extremely complicated without any adult supervision. For a while the children live an idyllic life - weeks of carefree play, weeks of Daisy and Edmond becoming closer than first cousins should...especially first cousins who are both under the age of 16.

War breaks out and changes the world forever. Daisy is parted from Edmond as soldiers take over their home and the girls and boys are separated. Daisy ends up with her youngest cousin Piper. The journey we're taken on is that of the girls witnessing war atrocities, starving and struggling to hang onto hope. Not until the end do we get a glimpse of what Edmond's war experience was.
My only criticism was that the dramatic conclusion seemed a little too sudden, but given that I found the plot excellent and the writing beautiful I'd rate it 4.9999/5.0.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A modern classic 15 Dec 2012
By Karen Need
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The cover of this novel suggests it's for girls which I think is a real shame because the teenage boys I've taught this to for the past three years would totally disagree. Yes, there's a thread of anorexia - which interestingly is nowadays not a disease limited to females - but this issue, which deliberately flaws the central protagonist, making her honest & believable, is balanced brilliantly with the endgame and exposes the trauma of war which all teenage boys in our culture of hidden conflict should be encouraged to consider. In one gripping narrative, the reader is forced to question a range of assumptions whilst loving the radical 'trip' back and forth into a liberal culture current teenagers aren't familiar with and are invited to rationalise for themselves. The morality and gentle politics (with a lower case 'p') that this book so subtly suggests, along with Meg Rosoff's trademark humour and fresh, honest, up-front voice makes this a perfect novel for both girls and boys - and I would say perfect for adults too. Change this cover! This is not a 'pink' novel!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Post-apocolyptic, addictive reading 6 July 2010
By BookWorm TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
A gripping and hard-to-put-down short novel set in a modern Britain ravaged by war, 'How I Live Now' is narrated by Daisy, a teenager whose life undergoes several radical changes as she tries to survive. Unlike many of the 'post-apocolyptic' type stories I have read, this one is the least depressing and probably the most realistic. Rosoff writes with a real understanding of people and how humans react to extraordinary circumstances. The bizarre Occupation she describes seems a plausible situation, whilst the narrator's lack of political interest helps avoid the story getting bogged down in complicated details of who, what, how and why.

It's a novel that adults would enjoy as well as teenagers, but I can imagine how the novel with its themes of love and change would be particularly significant if read during adolescence. My one criticism would be the ending, which seems a bit rushed. However the rest of the book is perfectly paced and is one of the most compelling stories I've read in a long time - you'll always want to read 'just one more chapter'!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting plot
I found this book to have a really interesting story! It had a good plot with romance and what I would consider adventure, although (not sure if it's just because I'm fussy) I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sasha Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Affecting, absorbing and thought-provoking.
So many reviews, so many differing viewpoints... Reading fiction is always, of course, a profoundly subjective experience - there is no 'right' or 'wrong' response to the story an... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Catherine Robinson
4.0 out of 5 stars perfect for teenagers
ive marked it based on its suitability for youngsters. This id have loved to have read when i was in my teens. Its very much like THE ROAD by McCarthy,obviously not as good. Read more
Published 4 months ago by bettyparry
2.0 out of 5 stars I was a little disappointed...
I was SO excited for this book, I heard all of the hype and read the blurb and quotes and it sounded really good! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kazia66
5.0 out of 5 stars a journey..
WOW! Can I just say I wasn't expecting that! First of let me just say this is the first Meg Rosoff book I have read and I WILL be reading more of her stuff! Read more
Published 6 months ago by freystar
5.0 out of 5 stars Will keep you gripped
Reading the back cover didn't give me nearly enough warning going into this book. The story is a terrible adventure that will haunt you forever. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Gemma
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful
I don't usually leave reviews, but I've just finished How I Live Now and I am unable to just put it down and forget about it. I want to share the experience. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Kirsty Riddiford
4.0 out of 5 stars Occupied England, as experienced by a young American
I loved the way this book was written. It was easy to be sucked into the lives of the main characters and the images of England under occupation were vivid and compelling. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Rio Carnival Girl
1.0 out of 5 stars Badly written
This book (to me) is badly written and is very difficult to read without a red pen and a bottle of tippex close at hand. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Suzy
3.0 out of 5 stars Bit of an odd one
Meg Rosoff was recommended to me as I'd enjoyed Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur.

This was an interesting book, but not as good as Suzanne LaFleur's. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Pink Panther
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

There's a problem loading this menu at the moment.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

    Your Shopping Basket is empty.

    Give it purpose -- fill it with books, DVDs, clothes, electronics and more.

    If you already have an account, sign in.

    There's a problem previewing your shopping basket at the moment.

    Check your Internet connection and go to your cart, or try again.

    View Shopping Basket (0 items)

      Customer Discussions

      This product's forum
      Discussion Replies Latest Post
      Books for a bored 14 to 16 year old girl 0 8 Jul 2010
      › See all discussions...  
      Start a new discussion
      Topic:
      First post:
      Prompts for sign-in
       


      Active discussions in related forums
      Discussion Replies Latest Post
      childrens books discussion forum
      Paleobotany for children ? Even a really good botany book?       		4 2 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Looking for a bedtime stories book       		5 2 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Book for a cool 13 year old boy that doesn't like spy, wizard or old fashioned books - Help       		27 11 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Suitable books for a 13 year old girl       		15 14 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Books for a nine year girl old with an older reading age....without snogging and too much boy stuff       		212 14 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Reading books for 9 year old boy please       		111 14 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Advanced 7 yr old with 10 year old reading age. Books?       		17 14 hours ago
      childrens books discussion forum
      Teenage Books - any ideas?       		69 14 hours ago
      Search Customer Discussions
         
      Related forums

      Listmania!

      Create a Listmania! list

      Look for similar items by category

      Feedback


      Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges