SuitabookHow I Live Now
Meg Rosoff
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside conversation rather than relying on content warnings alone. Pause after particularly violent or sexual material, check how the reader is responding, and discuss portrayal separately from approval.
- Themes
- War and survival: Daisy and her cousins are caught up in a war that disrupts their initially idyllic setting and leaves the wider world damaged. The war is presented as a force that changes ordinary life and tests survival, rather than as a simple backdrop.
- Love and morally troubling relationships: Daisy develops a romantic and sexual relationship with her cousin Edmond, and their relationship is connected with her survival and the aftermath of war. The relationship is described as romantic and without judgment, but its family connection and circumstances invite scrutiny rather than a straightforward positive reading.
- Narration and perception: Daisy narrates her changed life in a distinctive first-person voice, describing herself, Edmond and the unfamiliar situation around her. Her perspective appears central to how readers encounter events, including her uncertain understanding of the wider world; this can make interpretation active rather than straightforward.
- Worth knowing
- Approach with care if graphic wartime deaths, references to rape, sexual material, anorexia, smoking, self-harm or morally troubling relationships could be difficult. A trusted adult may help contextualise these passages.