The UK BookTrust rated How I Live Now one Number 1 for kids aged 12-14. I found it a very powerful read indeed and
personally would not let kids as young as 12 read it. Maybe 14 and over?
I was very affected by this one. It even invaded my dreams the night after I
finished it. So be warned.
What can I tell you about it without being a spoiler?
The heroine, Daisy, is a 15 year old American who is
very thin – it's not explained directly but she has an eating disorder which
developed as a way of getting noticed by her father – he, having a new wife and
baby. She is funny, sassy and smart.
Daisy gets shovelled off to cousins in the UK. Just after she arrives the world goes crazy
and the UK is at war and is occupied. It
is never quite explained why.
You just experience everything through Daisy. I ended up feeling I understood eating
disorders a bit better. I enjoyed
Daisy's relationships with her cousins.
There is no doubt, though, that parts of the book were harrowing.
The setting is in about 2004 – the action feels much
older than that because there is no electricity so no email etc.
The book was made into a movie in 2013 – although I
never saw it.
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