meg rosoff is officially my favourite ya author. i really think that this woman cannot fail to write a psychologically gripping novel. one of the most amazing things about her i think is that she hasn't fallen into the trap of repetition. although i think i would be able to recognize a rosoff book if presented with one, it is not in the same way that you recognize a book by the hooblers or by hiaasen. "what i was" takes place in the early 60's, and is set in a somewhat decrepit boarding school on england's south-east coast. the narrator is a teen aged boy, who is, according to himself, rather non-descript in both character and appearance. he is one of those boys of who it might be said is failing to reach his potential, but you might just be being polite in saying that. desperate to escape from the gaol that is this particular british public school he befriends a young man who lives alone in a fisherman's shack on the shore. finn is everything our narrator is not, self-assured, capable and beautiful, although somewhat socially inept. as their friendship grows rumours of "perversion" grow and the narrator's need for finn's company eventually lead to destruction. another great book by rosoff, and quite a bit darker than most boarding school novels. don't expect the public school system to be presented with many redeeming qualities herein.
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