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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
War occupation violence; starvation, killings, and the brutality of occupation depicted honestly
Language
Some
Adult language appropriate to the YA war novel
Sexual Content
Some
A romantic relationship between cousins is present; not sexually explicit but emotionally central
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological horror of surviving occupation and the long aftermath of violence — and the disorientation of the relationship at the novel's center — create genuine and sustained intensity
What this book is about
Meg Rosoff's Carnegie Medal-winning YA novel follows fifteen-year-old Daisy, visiting her English cousins, when an unspecified war breaks out and the children are left to fend for themselves. The novel is intense and unsettling in several ways: the war's occupation violence is depicted with real horror, the starvation sequences are harrowing, and the novel's most controversial element — a romantic relationship between Daisy and her cousin Edmond — is present though not explicit. For mature YA readers with content awareness.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Cousin romantic relationship
War violence and occupation throughout
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