Advertisement ::

Enlarge Cartoon

Meg Rosoff’s novels are popular with mature teenage readers. She writes about young, independent thinkers who are placed in unusual situations, without the influence of adults. They have exciting experiences and have to act resourcefully. The novels are gripping.

How I Live Now introduces a disaffected young American girl who arrives to live with her four fascinating teenage cousins in a strange England that is just on the verge of an even stranger war.

Daisy falls in love with her cousin, Edmond, and that love guides her through the confusing situation she is soon plunged into when a twenty-first century terrorist-driven war blankets out all news. We are seeing and hearing through Daisy and only slowly piece together the puzzle.

Daisy finds herself crossing a war-torn country with her delightful young cousin, Piper, in search of Edmond. Piper’s survival skills are invaluable but Daisy’s love and maturity are equally important. The novel culminates with a very clear message about the harmful effects of a war.

What I Was is equally enthralling but in a different way. This time, the protagonist is male – a schoolboy in a remote boarding school who develops a passion for Finn, a young person living alone on an East Anglian island.

Finn’s competence and way of life are enchanting to the schoolboy narrator, and he longs to be Finn or share Finn’s life. Slowly a relationship develops but it is shattered by the crisis that occurs.

Meg Rosoff holds a surprise for the reader in her final pages. This is fine writing for a teenage or even an adult audience.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.