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Meg Rosoff worked in publishing, journalism, politics and advertising before writing How I Live Now. Her books have won or been shortlisted for 18 international book prizes, including the Carnegie Medal and the Orange First Novel Prize, and been translated into over 20 languages. In 2016, Meg was the recipient of the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest children’s literature award. She lives in London with her family and two dogs.
Click here to read a Q&A with the author's Good Dog McTavish.
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2021 | With characteristic vision and grace Meg Rosoff has done it again in this exquisite novel that merits a place alongside I Capture the Castle, Bonjour Tristesse and The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes) for its coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence excellence. Though contemporary, it feels timeless and elementally affecting, much like the Great Godden’s impact on the family whose story it tells. With an idyllic seaside summer stretching ahead, the tingling anticipation of The Great Godden’s unnamed teenage narrator is deliciously palpable: “This year is going to be the best ever: the best weather, the best food, the best fun. The actors assembled, the summer begins.” But there are still two more actors to take to the stage - enter the Godden brothers in a shiny black car. The narrator’s older sister Mattie is immediately smitten by magnetic, handsome, self-assured Kit: “She was desperate to lose her virginity, and what sort of person would say no to Mattie? Surely not some movie star’s kid, fresh off the plane?” Though Mattie is certainly attractive, it’s obvious that charmer Kit has the upper hand of any situation, but might he also be a trouble-maker, as his curt, less-of-a-looker brother warns? Such wonderings underpin some of this novel’s essence. With the stage fully set and summer speeding towards the climax of a wedding, it poses fundamental questions about motivation, and the nature of agency, of lust, of the desire to be seen for who you are. Quivering with unease, passion and paranoia, it also reveals how past experiences engrave themselves upon us, creating fault-lines that may crack and cause future ructions. Sophisticated, seductive and smoothly readable, this is a summer story par excellence, and a coming-of-age tale for all times. Find out more about the YA Book Prize including all the shortlisted titles.
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2021 | Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2020 | July 2020 Book of the Month | With characteristic vision and grace Meg Rosoff has done it again in this exquisite novel that merits a place alongside I Capture the Castle, Bonjour Tristesse and The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes) for its coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence excellence. Though contemporary, it feels timeless and elementally affecting, much like the Great Godden’s impact on the family whose story it tells. With an idyllic seaside summer stretching ahead, the tingling anticipation of The Great Godden’s unnamed teenage narrator is deliciously palpable: “This year is going to be the best ever: the best weather, the best food, the best fun. The actors assembled, the summer begins.” But there are still two more actors to take to the stage - enter the Godden brothers in a shiny black car. The narrator’s older sister Mattie is immediately smitten by magnetic, handsome, self-assured Kit: “She was desperate to lose her virginity, and what sort of person would say no to Mattie? Surely not some movie star’s kid, fresh off the plane?” Though Mattie is certainly attractive, it’s obvious that charmer Kit has the upper hand of any situation, but might he also be a trouble-maker, as his curt, less-of-a-looker brother warns? Such wonderings underpin some of this novel’s essence. With the stage fully set and summer speeding towards the climax of a wedding, it poses fundamental questions about motivation, and the nature of agency, of lust, of the desire to be seen for who you are. Quivering with unease, passion and paranoia, it also reveals how past experiences engrave themselves upon us, creating fault-lines that may crack and cause future ructions. Sophisticated, seductive and smoothly readable, this is a summer story par excellence, and a coming-of-age tale for all times.
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month November 2019 | Full of Meg Rosoff’s delightful wit and evident affection for dogs, the is a great return for McTavish the big-hearted rescue dog who is already well-known for the good care he takes of all those around him. This time it is Betty who needs help. When Pa Peachey gets a new job the whole family is upheaved. Everyone is excited about it except for Betty. Not only has she got to move house but she also to say goodbye to her old friends and go to a new school. Betty does not want to be the new girl: she is terrified. Luckily, McTavish thinks of the best possible way to turn her arrival at a new school into a triumph rather than a catastrophe.
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | Even a dog as clever as McTavish has his work cut out for him looking after the Peacheys. In this new instalment of witty, sharply observed domestic drama, Mr Peachey has developed a passion – indeed, an obsession – with baking. He is convinced he will win the local bake-off with his entry, a recreation of the Palace of Versailles in gingerbread. His family are only too aware that his skill as a baker falls far short of his ambition. Fortunately, McTavish is prepared to do whatever it takes to save Mr Peachey from disaster and humiliation. McTavish’s dog’s-eye view of family life is very funny but also cleverly delivers shrewd messages for us all on how to get along. Delicious!
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | | A new story for that best of all dogs, McTavish, and another delicious helping of wry, insightful observation on human and family life. McTavish’s efforts to help the Peachey family become happier and more organised still has a way to go, but he’s an intelligent dog and up to the job. When the family embark on a camping holiday in a remote but beautiful bit of Scotland, McTavish needs all his cleverness and patience to show them how to relax and properly enjoy themselves. McTavish is an irresistible character, his gentle guiding of the Peacheys is very funny indeed, and this beautifully story will leave all readers smiling.
April 2017 Book of the Month | Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | | This characteristically sharp and witty comedy of modern life by Meg Rosoff stars a rescue dog who saves his new family, not from fire or external threat, but from themselves. When Mum Peachey in quiet protest withdraws from family life to concentrate on her own spiritual health, chaos ensues: there’s no-one to pick up the washing, cook the dinners, or make sure everyone gets to school on time. From his dog basket in the corner new arrival McTavish observes all and, without ever doing anything a dog wouldn’t do, successfully trains his new family to behave properly. A clever, funny and extremely stylish novella, and a wonderful bit of domestic satire.
April 2017 Book of the Month | Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | In a nutshell: dog to the rescue in witty domestic satire | This characteristically sharp and witty comedy of modern life by Meg Rosoff stars a rescue dog who saves his new family, not from fire or external threat, but from themselves. When Mum Peachey in quiet protest withdraws from family life to concentrate on her own spiritual health, chaos ensues: there’s no-one to pick up the washing, cook the dinners, or make sure everyone gets to school on time. From his dog basket in the corner new arrival McTavish observes all and, without ever doing anything a dog wouldn’t do, successfully trains his new family to behave properly. A clever, funny and extremely stylish novella, and a wonderful bit of domestic satire. ~ Andrea Reece
This characteristically sharp and witty comedy of modern life by Meg Rosoff stars a rescue dog who saves his new family, not from fire or external threat, but from themselves. When Mum Peachey in quiet protest withdraws from family life to concentrate on her own spiritual health, chaos ensues: there’s no-one to pick up the washing, cook the dinners, or make sure everyone gets to school on time. From his dog basket in the corner new arrival McTavish observes all and, without ever doing anything a dog wouldn’t do, successfully trains his new family to behave properly. A clever, funny and extremely stylish novella, and a wonderful bit of domestic satire.
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | In a nutshell: dog to the rescue in witty domestic satire | This characteristically sharp and witty comedy of modern life by Meg Rosoff stars a rescue dog who saves his new family, not from fire or external threat, but from themselves. When Mum Peachey in quiet protest withdraws from family life to concentrate on her own spiritual health, chaos ensues: there’s no-one to pick up the washing, cook the dinners, or make sure everyone gets to school on time. From his dog basket in the corner new arrival McTavish observes all and, without ever doing anything a dog wouldn’t do, successfully trains his new family to behave properly. A clever, funny and extremely stylish novella, and a wonderful bit of domestic satire. ~ Andrea Reece
Longlisted for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal - March 2014 Book of the Month | Award-winning Meg Rosoff brilliantly unravels a story of secrets and surprises as seen through the eyes of twelve year old Mila. An only child, Mila is a sharp observer of the world around her; she picks up the small details that people think they are keeping hidden and which adults easily miss. Accompanying her father on a long trip to a remote place to find his best-friend who has gone missing, Mila sensitively detects buried sorrows and tensions which may be useful as explanations. What Mila learns is important and leads to the uncovering of truths that have been kept from her. Meg Rosoff captures perfectly the way Mila, like other sensitive teenagers, sees behind what adults tell her and creates her own understanding of their actions.
Award-winning Meg Rosoff brilliantly unravels a story of secrets and surprises as seen through the eyes of twelve year old Mila. An only child, Mila is a sharp observer of the world around her; she picks up the small details that people think they are keeping hidden and which adults easily miss. Accompanying her father on a long trip to a remote place to find his best-friend who has gone missing, Mila sensitively detects buried sorrows and tensions which may be useful as explanations. What Mila learns is important and leads to the uncovering of truths that have been kept from her. Meg Rosoff captures perfectly the way Mila, like other sensitive teenagers, sees behind what adults tell her and creates her own understanding of their actions.
This is a special Movie Tie-in edition of How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff's debut novel originally published by Penguin in 2004. It won the Guardian and Branford Boase Awards and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Fiction as well as the Whitbread. It garnered the sort of rave acclaim most writers only ever dream of. Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, championed it right from the beginning, saying, 'That rare, rare thing, a first novel with a sustained, magical and utterly faultless voice. After five pages I knew that she could persuade me to believe almost anything.' At heart a story about falling in love, How I Live Now captures the confusion of adolescence especially at a time when the world is turned upside down. When Daisy first arrives in England she falls in love with a new way of life and also, passionately, with her cousin Edmund. When war breaks out, the two teenagers are swept apart. Everyone is struggling for survival. Daisy and Edmund both come through but while Daisy copes with the altered state of things, Edmund’s suffering when his world implodes changes him. He loses a part of himself that can never be replaced. How I Live Now subtly charts a jagged journey of finding out which captures the confusion of adolescence, especially when the world is turned upside down.
One of our Dyslexia Friendly Books of the Year 2013 - Interest Age Teen Reading Age 9 Award-winning Meg Rosoff is wickedly funny as well as deeply caring and empathetic in this intelligent and touching story about a teenager and her unusual baby. Being a teen mum brings opprobrium from all but when Jess gives birth to a baby moose, there are no holds barred to the advice and criticism she receives. Lightly but with very serious intent, Rosoff charts the pernicious ways in which society judges and rejects children who are born different. How Jess and her boyfriend Nick cope as outcasts is a triumph. It will spur all readers into thinking things differently.
Bob created the heavens and the earth and the beasts of the field and twenty-five million other species including lots of gorgeous girls. Imagine that God is a typical teenage boy. He is lazy, careless, self-obsessed, sex-mad - and about to meet Lucy, the most beautiful girl on earth. Unfortunately, whenever Bob falls in love, disaster follows.
A Lovereading4kids 'Great Read' you may have missed 2011 selection. Carnegie Medal winner Meg Rosoff gives a whole new look to life in this brilliantly entertaining novel about what if the job of being god was in the hands of a spotty adolescent. Being an average teenager, Bob has never been that reliable so it is no great surprise that the world he creates in just six days is not completely perfect. But when Bob falls in love with Lucy things get wildly out of hand! A romp of a story that makes the world look a different place!
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2011 Meg Rosoff has written another superb book for young adults, although this will be equally enjoyed by the more mature adults out there too! Pell leaves home determined not to get caught in the spiral of poverty and drudgery her mother fell in to and on the journey to find a better life she learns a lot about herself, the importance of family and above all about the true nature of love. A beautifully told book. A piece of passion from Francesca Dow, Managing Director of Puffin Books: "We are incredibly proud of every book we publish at Puffin but we want to share with you a handful of our exciting standalone novels. Gathered together under the umbrella of 'Fiction Puffin Loves', these are books we feel expecially passionate about. Here, you won't find the big bestselling series, but you are guaranteed writing at its very best - by debut writers as well as award-winners such as Melvin Burgess and Meg Rosoff. This is Fiction Puffin Loves."
Prize-winning author Meg Rosoff’s Vamoose!, a brilliant black comedy on the ups and downs of having any new baby but especially one who is different, is a gem. When a teen mum gives birth to a moose she and her partner have to listen to loads of patronising advice from well meaning officials. Much of what Rosoff parodies is a commentary on society’s current obsession with creating perfect and high achieving children. It is hilarious and thought provoking. This is just one of a number of Pocket Money Puffins. To view others click here.
Haunting, intense and with an incredible twist in the tale this is unlike anything you will have read before. It’s a story of friendship, love and secrets but also of tragedy and loss. It will almost certainly move you to tears but be equally uplifting as well. Shortlisted for the prestigious 2008 Carnegie. Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2007.
Winner of the 2007 CILIP Carnegie Medal and Winner of the Costa Children's book award.A razor-sharp portrait of a teenage boy and his relationship with his image, his inner life and fate itself. Shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie to be announced on 21 June, Just in Case was also shortlisted earlier this year for the Costa Children’s Book of the Year. A faultless narrative that combined with an original storyline makes it incredibly special. (12+)Judges' comment:A story that deals with anxiety, depression and coming of age that has real emotional resonance. This is a distinctive and outstanding book written in an intelligent, yet spare style. There is an ‘edginess’ to the way the author writes; the result is clever and bold. The character of the teenage boy is conveyed in an interesting way and is not at all stereotypical. This is a story of survival in the modern world that is utterly compelling.
Winner of the Carnegie Award 2007 and the Costa Children's book award. Shortlisted for the Book Trust Teenage Prize 2007.A razor-sharp portrait of a teenage boy and his relationship with his image, his inner life and fate itself. Shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie to be announced on 21 June, Just in Case was also shortlisted earlier this year for the Costa Children’s Book of the Year. A faultless narrative that combined with an original storyline makes it incredibly special. (12+)Judges' comment:A story that deals with anxiety, depression and coming of age that has real emotional resonance. This is a distinctive and outstanding book written in an intelligent, yet spare style. There is an ‘edginess’ to the way the author writes; the result is clever and bold. The character of the teenage boy is conveyed in an interesting way and is not at all stereotypical. This is a story of survival in the modern world that is utterly compelling.
How I Live Now was Meg Rosoff's debut novel published by Penguin in 2004. It won the Guardian and Branford Boase Awards and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Fiction as well as the Whitbread. It garnered the sort of rave acclaim most writers only ever dream of. Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, championed it right from the beginning, saying, 'That rare, rare thing, a first novel with a sustained, magical and utterly faultless voice. After five pages I knew that she could persuade me to believe almost anything.' At heart a story about falling in love, How I Live Now captures the confusion of adolescence especially at a time when the world is turned upside down. When Daisy first arrives in England she falls in love with a new way of life and also, passionately, with her cousin Edmund. When war breaks out, the two teenagers are swept apart. Everyone is struggling for survival. Daisy and Edmund both come through but while Daisy copes with the altered state of things, Edmund’s suffering when his world implodes changes him. He loses a part of himself that can never be replaced. How I Live Now subtly charts a jagged journey of finding out which captures the confusion of adolescence, especially when the world is turned upside down.
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2021 | With characteristic vision and grace Meg Rosoff has done it again in this exquisite novel that merits a place alongside I Capture the Castle, Bonjour Tristesse and The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes) for its coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence excellence. Though contemporary, it feels timeless and elementally affecting, much like the Great Godden’s impact on the family whose story it tells. With an idyllic seaside summer stretching ahead, the tingling anticipation of The Great Godden’s unnamed teenage narrator is deliciously palpable: “This year is going to be the best ever: the best weather, the best food, the best fun. The actors assembled, the summer begins.” But there are still two more actors to take to the stage - enter the Godden brothers in a shiny black car. The narrator’s older sister Mattie is immediately smitten by magnetic, handsome, self-assured Kit: “She was desperate to lose her virginity, and what sort of person would say no to Mattie? Surely not some movie star’s kid, fresh off the plane?” Though Mattie is certainly attractive, it’s obvious that charmer Kit has the upper hand of any situation, but might he also be a trouble-maker, as his curt, less-of-a-looker brother warns? Such wonderings underpin some of this novel’s essence. With the stage fully set and summer speeding towards the climax of a wedding, it poses fundamental questions about motivation, and the nature of agency, of lust, of the desire to be seen for who you are. Quivering with unease, passion and paranoia, it also reveals how past experiences engrave themselves upon us, creating fault-lines that may crack and cause future ructions. Sophisticated, seductive and smoothly readable, this is a summer story par excellence, and a coming-of-age tale for all times. Find out more about the YA Book Prize including all the shortlisted titles.
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2021 | Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2020 | July 2020 Book of the Month | With characteristic vision and grace Meg Rosoff has done it again in this exquisite novel that merits a place alongside I Capture the Castle, Bonjour Tristesse and The Lost Estate (Le Grand Meaulnes) for its coming-of-age, loss-of-innocence excellence. Though contemporary, it feels timeless and elementally affecting, much like the Great Godden’s impact on the family whose story it tells. With an idyllic seaside summer stretching ahead, the tingling anticipation of The Great Godden’s unnamed teenage narrator is deliciously palpable: “This year is going to be the best ever: the best weather, the best food, the best fun. The actors assembled, the summer begins.” But there are still two more actors to take to the stage - enter the Godden brothers in a shiny black car. The narrator’s older sister Mattie is immediately smitten by magnetic, handsome, self-assured Kit: “She was desperate to lose her virginity, and what sort of person would say no to Mattie? Surely not some movie star’s kid, fresh off the plane?” Though Mattie is certainly attractive, it’s obvious that charmer Kit has the upper hand of any situation, but might he also be a trouble-maker, as his curt, less-of-a-looker brother warns? Such wonderings underpin some of this novel’s essence. With the stage fully set and summer speeding towards the climax of a wedding, it poses fundamental questions about motivation, and the nature of agency, of lust, of the desire to be seen for who you are. Quivering with unease, passion and paranoia, it also reveals how past experiences engrave themselves upon us, creating fault-lines that may crack and cause future ructions. Sophisticated, seductive and smoothly readable, this is a summer story par excellence, and a coming-of-age tale for all times.
SHORTLISTED for the Costa Children's Book Award 2020. This is the story of one family, one dreamy summer - the summer when everything changes. In a holiday house by the sea, in a big, messy family, one teenager watches as brothers and sisters, parents and older cousins fill hot days with wine and games and planning a wedding. Enter the Goddens - irresistible, charming, languidly sexy Kit and surly, silent Hugo. Suddenly there's a serpent in this paradise - and the consequences will be devastating. From bestselling, award-winning author Meg Rosoff comes a lyrical and quintessential coming-of-age tale - a summer book that's as heady, timeless and irresistible as Bonjour Tristesse and I Capture the Castle but as sharp and fresh as Normal People.
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month November 2019 | Full of Meg Rosoff’s delightful wit and evident affection for dogs, the is a great return for McTavish the big-hearted rescue dog who is already well-known for the good care he takes of all those around him. This time it is Betty who needs help. When Pa Peachey gets a new job the whole family is upheaved. Everyone is excited about it except for Betty. Not only has she got to move house but she also to say goodbye to her old friends and go to a new school. Betty does not want to be the new girl: she is terrified. Luckily, McTavish thinks of the best possible way to turn her arrival at a new school into a triumph rather than a catastrophe.
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | Even a dog as clever as McTavish has his work cut out for him looking after the Peacheys. In this new instalment of witty, sharply observed domestic drama, Mr Peachey has developed a passion – indeed, an obsession – with baking. He is convinced he will win the local bake-off with his entry, a recreation of the Palace of Versailles in gingerbread. His family are only too aware that his skill as a baker falls far short of his ambition. Fortunately, McTavish is prepared to do whatever it takes to save Mr Peachey from disaster and humiliation. McTavish’s dog’s-eye view of family life is very funny but also cleverly delivers shrewd messages for us all on how to get along. Delicious!
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | | A new story for that best of all dogs, McTavish, and another delicious helping of wry, insightful observation on human and family life. McTavish’s efforts to help the Peachey family become happier and more organised still has a way to go, but he’s an intelligent dog and up to the job. When the family embark on a camping holiday in a remote but beautiful bit of Scotland, McTavish needs all his cleverness and patience to show them how to relax and properly enjoy themselves. McTavish is an irresistible character, his gentle guiding of the Peacheys is very funny indeed, and this beautifully story will leave all readers smiling.
April 2017 Book of the Month | Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | | This characteristically sharp and witty comedy of modern life by Meg Rosoff stars a rescue dog who saves his new family, not from fire or external threat, but from themselves. When Mum Peachey in quiet protest withdraws from family life to concentrate on her own spiritual health, chaos ensues: there’s no-one to pick up the washing, cook the dinners, or make sure everyone gets to school on time. From his dog basket in the corner new arrival McTavish observes all and, without ever doing anything a dog wouldn’t do, successfully trains his new family to behave properly. A clever, funny and extremely stylish novella, and a wonderful bit of domestic satire.
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