The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for LS5603.20, Genre 6—fantasy, fiction and young adult.
1. Bibliography
Rosoff, M. How I Live Now [compact discs]. Kim Mai Guest (Narrator).
New York: Listening Library, 2005. ISBN: 978-0-307-28184-5
Rosoff, Meg. 2004. How I Live Now. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.
ISBN 0-385-74677-6
2. Plot Summary
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth (Daisy) is sent from New York to live
with her aunt and cousins in England when her stepmother is
pregnant. While Daisy is in England, a global terrorist war breaks
out and her aunt is sent out of the country as part of the war
effort. Daisy and her cousins must try to survive on their own
for LS5603.20, Genre 6—fantasy, fiction and young adult.
1. Bibliography
Rosoff, M. How I Live Now [compact discs]. Kim Mai Guest (Narrator).
New York: Listening Library, 2005. ISBN: 978-0-307-28184-5
Rosoff, Meg. 2004. How I Live Now. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.
ISBN 0-385-74677-6
2. Plot Summary
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth (Daisy) is sent from New York to live
with her aunt and cousins in England when her stepmother is
pregnant. While Daisy is in England, a global terrorist war breaks
out and her aunt is sent out of the country as part of the war
effort. Daisy and her cousins must try to survive on their own
against war and starvation and separation from each other.
3. Critical Analysis
This unabridged audiobook is a set of four compact discs in a
double jewel case with a paperboard slipcase. The front cover
of the slipcase matches the cover of the book, while the back
has a brief excerpt from the story and pictures of the author
and the narrator.
At the beginning of Disc 1, there is a thirty second introduction
of the book title and the narrator. The introduction is accompany-
ied by a piano solo. No composer or performer is identified on the
case or slipcover. On the last disc, at the completion of the story
itself, there is a ninety second commercial for audiobooks. Jim Dale,
the narrator of the Harry Potter books suggests using audiobooks
with children as another form of reading aloud to them. Between
Chapter 29 and the epilogue, there is a piano solo like the one in
the introduction.
For the story itself, there is only one reader, Kim Mai Guest.
According to the information on the slipcover, Ms. Guest has acted
in several animated movies and many commercials and video games.
Her voice is very easy and pleasant to listen to, and she enunciates
each word clearly. She manages to convey the “Oh Yeah, This Is
So Much What I Usually Do” (Rosoff, p. 5) tone of a teenaged New
Yorker, but at the same time, keep the story lively and interesting.
There are no sound effects or background noise of any kind, and no
other voices are heard during Guest’s five-hour telling of the story.
This is entirely appropriate because the book is written in first
person, so it reflects only Daisy’s memories and thoughts. The
story is so completely Daisy’s that until the epilogue, there are not
even any direct quotations or conversation, only her retelling of
them. Any other voices or sounds on the recording would be a
distraction.
The experience of listening to this audiobook was completely
absorbing. Hearing the story read aloud added another
dimension to the book itself because it brought out different details
and nuances than reading silently. It helped make How I Live Now
truly unforgettable.
4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: “Kim Mai Guest reads with a light, slightly
saucy tone which is just right for a New Yorker like Daisy.”
(August 1, 2005)
Booklist: “Fifteen-year-old heroine Daisy’s first-person voice--run-on,
wry, and solipsistic--is what makes this 2005 Michael L. Printz Award
winner an unforgettable novel. Guest’s narration is a perfect fit.”
— Karen Cruze
5. Connections
Use this audiobook in conjunction with Meg Rosoff’s book, either with
an entire class or individual students.
3. Critical Analysis
This unabridged audiobook is a set of four compact discs in a
double jewel case with a paperboard slipcase. The front cover
of the slipcase matches the cover of the book, while the back
has a brief excerpt from the story and pictures of the author
and the narrator.
At the beginning of Disc 1, there is a thirty second introduction
of the book title and the narrator. The introduction is accompany-
ied by a piano solo. No composer or performer is identified on the
case or slipcover. On the last disc, at the completion of the story
itself, there is a ninety second commercial for audiobooks. Jim Dale,
the narrator of the Harry Potter books suggests using audiobooks
with children as another form of reading aloud to them. Between
Chapter 29 and the epilogue, there is a piano solo like the one in
the introduction.
For the story itself, there is only one reader, Kim Mai Guest.
According to the information on the slipcover, Ms. Guest has acted
in several animated movies and many commercials and video games.
Her voice is very easy and pleasant to listen to, and she enunciates
each word clearly. She manages to convey the “Oh Yeah, This Is
So Much What I Usually Do” (Rosoff, p. 5) tone of a teenaged New
Yorker, but at the same time, keep the story lively and interesting.
There are no sound effects or background noise of any kind, and no
other voices are heard during Guest’s five-hour telling of the story.
This is entirely appropriate because the book is written in first
person, so it reflects only Daisy’s memories and thoughts. The
story is so completely Daisy’s that until the epilogue, there are not
even any direct quotations or conversation, only her retelling of
them. Any other voices or sounds on the recording would be a
distraction.
The experience of listening to this audiobook was completely
absorbing. Hearing the story read aloud added another
dimension to the book itself because it brought out different details
and nuances than reading silently. It helped make How I Live Now
truly unforgettable.
4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal: “Kim Mai Guest reads with a light, slightly
saucy tone which is just right for a New Yorker like Daisy.”
(August 1, 2005)
Booklist: “Fifteen-year-old heroine Daisy’s first-person voice--run-on,
wry, and solipsistic--is what makes this 2005 Michael L. Printz Award
winner an unforgettable novel. Guest’s narration is a perfect fit.”
— Karen Cruze
5. Connections
Use this audiobook in conjunction with Meg Rosoff’s book, either with
an entire class or individual students.
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