After being shipped to England to live with distant relatives, fifteen year old Daisy ends up in an unthinkable situation. The world has broken out in war. With her Aunt, the only adult in the English household, away on business in Oslo, Daisy and her cousins must do their best to survive while battling raging hormones, immaturity, and an eating disorder.
Ok, let’s get to it. This book has me torn. I didn’t actually enjoy this book until about halfway through which is saying something since the book is so short. Daisy was an interesting character, though I can’t altogether say that I liked her. She was shipped off from America by her evil step-mother, who Daisy is convinced was trying to poison her, and has a blind hatred for her unborn sibling. When Daisy gets to England, she develops an untraditional relationship with her cousin Edmond. Ok, ok, she ends up boinking him and falling head over heels in love.
If you can get over this part, which somehow I managed to, the book actually has a lot of redeeming qualities. Essentially, this book is about survival and the human condition. It sheds light on the things that happen during war. Unless you’ve gone through the destruction and the terror of having to fight to live, you simply can’t imagine the situations. The kids in this book have to grow up fast and Piper and Daisy practically become sisters. I do have to say that I was expecting a different ending. It was neither happy nor sad, which left me feeling slightly unsettled at the end. It felt as if there was no resolution.
After taking a break from young adult books, I have to say that this was a good one to come back to. I’m not sure I will add this book to my permanent collection, but it was a satisfying read. I give it a solid 3 stars. Mainly because I had a hard time getting into it and it took me an alarmingly long amount of time to finish. If you are a fan of teenage weird novels with taboo situations, this is the book for you.
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