Meg Rosoff, multi award winning author of How I Live Now, explores the pain of first love and coming-of-age in her compelling novel What I Was, which was once described by The Times as 'Samuel Beckett on ecstasy.'

Shall I tell you about the year I discovered love?

I'd been kicked out of two boarding schools and the last thing I wanted was to be here, on the East Anglian coast, in a third.

But without St Oswald's, I would not have discovered the fisherman's hut with its roaring fire, its striped blankets, its sea monster stew.

Without St Oswald's, I would not have met the boy with the beautiful eyes, the flickering half-smile, and no past.

Without St Oswald's I would not have met Finn.

And without Finn, there would be no story.

Shall we begin?

' . . . thrilling and sensitively told' - Observer

' . . . mordantly funny and searingly well written' - The Times

Bestselling author Meg Rosoff has received great critical acclaim since the publication of her first novel How I Live Now (winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize). Her other novels, Just in Case (winner of the 2007 Carnegie Medal) and The Bride's Farewell, are also available from Puffin. Follow Meg on Twitter @megrosoff.

About the Author
Meg Rosoff had three or four careers in publishing and advertising before writing her highly acclaimed first novel, How I Live Now. She moved from New York City to London in 1989, where she lives with her husband and daughter. What I Was is her third novel, after How I Live Now and Just in Case, for which she was awarded the Carnegie Medal.

Reviews
Praise for What I Was: 'Already a classic' -- Sunday Times 'Mesmerizing' - Daily Telegraph 'Mordantly funny and searingly well written' - The Times


Awards
Runner-up for New Angle Prize for Literature 2009. Short-listed for Carnegie Medal 2008 and Costa Children's Book Award 2007.



Book Information
ISBN 9780141322469
Author Meg Rosoff
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Random House Children's UK
Weight(grams) 159g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 14mm