BOOK: What I Was - Meg Rosoff

Title: What I Was
Author: Meg Rosoff
Genre: Teens
Publisher: Penguin, 2007
Pages: Paperback, 199
Language: English
Rating: 9/10
Summary: Written in first person and until the end the main character doesn't tell his name. We do know that he is a teenage boy, who has been kicked off several boardingschools until he is sent to St Oswalds, located in a far away coastal village. He is a loner and doesn't connect with any of his classmates, but when he discovers a beachhut and its intriguing occupant Finn, he tries to be friends.

Spoilerfree review
As in Rosoff's How I Live Now the main character falls prey to idolizing his 'object of affection', even if he has to emphasize all the time that what he feels for Finn is not a crush (it can't be). Because Finn doesn't talk much, as a reader you only get the point of view of the narrator. He learns a lot of survivaltechniques from Finn: fishing, repairing the hut and cooking amongst other things. There are hardly any conversations, just a lot of innermonologues and there is plenty going on in his head. His relationship with Finn comes with many doubts, but it's mostly a motivation to stay at St Oswalds. He may not pay a lot of attention to the official curriculum, but it sure turns out to be an educational schoolyear. Exceptional story.