by Meg Rosoff
First published 2004
Fifteen-year-old Daisy arrives from Manhattan to stay with relatives she has never met. Her aunt lives on an English farm with four children: three teenage boys and their younger sister. When her aunt leaves on a business trip, Daisy settles into life with her cousins. The next day, bombs explode in London. An unnamed enemy attacks and occupies the country. Power grids collapse and communication systems shut down. The farm becomes cut off from the outside world. Without adults to supervise them, the children create their own rules. Daisy develops an intense connection with her cousins that grows deeper each day. The farm feels like paradise, a place where anything seems possible. But the war creeps closer. Soldiers and checkpoints appear. The children must navigate a landscape that has become dangerous and unpredictable. Daisy faces choices that will test everything she believes about family, survival, and love.
Genres: dystopia, war, adventure, contemporary, adolescence, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Manhattan, England, London
Period: 20th-century
Paperback · Penguin Group for World Book Night
Content warnings: violence, war