What I Was

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Still brilliant - Rated
Even after the author's win last year, the Carnegie Medal nomination is well deserved. This is a thoughtful musing on age, youth, friendship, sex and gender set on the atmospheric Dunwich coast. No one else is writing books like this for teens, and though reluctant readers might find some of the language a bit challenging, enthusiastic book-loving readers will love it.

Not up to her previous standards - Rated
I greatly enjoyed Meg Rosoff's previous books, "How I Live Now" and "Just in Case," partly because of her writing style but partly because the novels included strong, subtle threads of magic. In "What I Was," the magic seems to have been ruthlessly excised, leaving the book as drab, grey and soggy as the boarding school it is set in. Disappointing.

Great Book - Rated
This is a wonderful tale about a boy named Hilary who is sent to boarding school then he befriends Finn, a mysterious boy living on his own in a seaside cottage.

Young friendships - Rated
This is an interesting story of contrasts. Hilary is in his fourth school, having been thrown out of three before this, the school really doesn't provide for him. When he comes across Finn, a youth who lives alone on a tidal island this changes his life. Finn doesn't go to school but has learnt as much as is possible with the resources available.

As time goes on the friendship deepens but can they keep their friendship a secret and what are the secrets that both are holding in their hearts?

It's a story of friendship, of finding a place in the world and of assumptions. It's heartwarming and interesting and would bear re-reading well.

Wow! - Rated
Even though the vocabulary itself is quite difficult and some unnecessary punctuation often disturbs the flow of the writing, the story itself with the very very very suprising twist towards the end. Meg Rosoff's writing style intertwines with the brilliant storyline of love. Yet again she has also managed to capture the essense of the mind of a boy and also written the book to perfectly suit adosolence and adults.