by Meg Rosoff
Every war has turning points and every person too.”
Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.
As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way. (From Goodreads)
I've had a hard time coming up with the perfect way to describe this book because, really, it's just that good. All of the awards it was given? They're for a reason. Even a week after finishing it, I'm still thinking about what happened, and the themes of war and terrorism and the world we live in. (Just as a side note, I went to Fleet Week in San Francisco this past weekend to watch the air show--which was spectacular--but also really kept reminding me of this book in a creepy, military, be watchful sort of way.) Anyhow, the writing and lack of quotation marks at the start of the book took a little getting used to, but Daisy's voice was captivating, and well worth working out the logistics of who said what. Also, the ending was just, well, wow. It's a short one--just go check it out for yourself!
Anyone else read this one? In some ways it reminded me of books I've read about WWII, although it was very different.
