What I Was

A sixteen-year-old boy arrives at his third boarding school on the East Anglian coast in 1962, facing another year of rigid routines and institutional life he despises. During a cross-country run, he discovers Finn, a mysterious teenager living alone in a beach shack who supports himself through fishing and market work. The protagonist begins making secret visits to the shack, creating a parallel life away from the suffocating atmosphere of his school. The story is narrated by the protagonist as an elderly man looking back on this pivotal year of his youth, recounting the events that shaped his understanding of friendship and identity. This coming-of-age novel explores themes of freedom versus conformity, while examining how memory and perspective transform our understanding of past experiences.

Most readers describe this as a melancholic coming-of-age story that captures the intensity of teenage emotions and first love. The atmospheric coastal setting and Rosoff's lyrical writing style receive frequent mention in reviews. Readers liked: - The evocative descriptions of the Suffolk coast - The subtle, understated narrative voice - The realistic portrayal of adolescent friendship - The historical 1960s backdrop Readers disliked: - The slow pacing, especially in the first half - An ending some found abrupt or unsatisfying - Limited character development beyond the two main characters - Narrative shifts that some found confusing Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (5,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (90+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.8/5 (300+ ratings) Common review notes: "Beautiful prose but moves too slowly" and "A quiet, contemplative book that won't appeal to readers seeking action or drama." Several readers mentioned struggling to connect with the unnamed narrator.

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🌊 The East Anglian coast, where the novel is set, has one of the fastest-eroding coastlines in Europe, losing up to 2 meters per year in some areas. 📚 Meg Rosoff didn't begin her writing career until age 46, proving it's never too late to become a successful author. 🏆 The author's debut novel "How I Live Now" was adapted into a film starring Saoirse Ronan and won the prestigious Michael L. Printz Award. 🎓 The British boarding school system, central to the novel's setting, dates back to medieval times when monasteries first began educating young scholars. ⌛ 1962, the year in which the story takes place, was a pivotal time in British youth culture, marking the rise of counterculture movements and challenges to traditional institutions.