num_pages: 209
description: An unusual coming-of-age story that examines the fluidity of identity and the ways in which people consciously redefine themselves in the face of love.In the not too distant future, a one-hundred-year-old man called H sails the eastern coast of England with his godson. H recalls when he himself was sixteen—his godson’s age—as they search for the site of H’s life-altering friendship with a boy named Finn. Finn lives alone on an isolated slip of land and follows no rules: he spends his days swimming, fishing, and collecting driftwood for his tiny beach hut. H, on the other hand, is an upper-class boarding school boy stifled by monotony and endless rules. They meet by chance on the beach, and H is immediately awed by (and jealous of) Finn’s way of life. They strike up an unlikely friendship but the gap between their lives becomes difficult to bridge, and before long the idyll that nurtured their relationship is shattered by heart-wrenching scandal. Meg Rosoff was formerly a YA author, but her work transcends categorization and we are delighted to bring it to adult readers for the first time. What I Was is a timeless, enthralling story destined to become a classic.
language: English
title: What I Was
titlecomplete: What I Was
genres: Romance, Fiction, Coming Of Age, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Historical, Queer, Young Adult, LGBT, Boarding School
ratings_count: 4433
awards: awardedAt: 1262332800000
name: Goldener Lufti, awardedAt: 1199174400000
name: Carnegie Medal
publisher: Viking Adult