What I Was

What I Was  - Meg Rosoff
Rating: 6/10

Toward the end of his life, H looks back on the relationship that has shaped and obsessed him for nearly a century. It began many years earlier at St. Oswald’s, a dismal boarding school on the coast of England, where the young H came face- to-face with an almost unbearably beautiful boy living by himself at the edge of the sea. 


Summary by Goodreads.com


Whilst I vaguely enjoyed the story, the characters, the plot I was disappointed to find them simple, linear and straightforward. The novel lacked for me the strong romantic aspect that the blurb suggested and the ending proved to be unfulfilling, merely a method for collecting loose ends in an unsatisfactory way. The whole novel led to a feeling of expectancy, constantly waiting for something that would barely appear, this detracted from an overall enjoyment of the book. However a unique portrayal and sense of writing saved the book from being utterly unreadable, the book was spot on for its target audience of young adults/ teens and I would not dissuade others from reading.

Good points: 

• Nice easy reading

Bad points:

• Lacks the strong romantic aspects of a romance novel
• Unfulfilling, misfit conclusion

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Borrow