" The main character of What I Was is a 16-year-old student at a boy's school in England. He has already been kicked out of 2 schools, for bad behavior and grades. But even this is due to a blandness about him. He narrates the story beginning the year at a new place, St. Oswald's school, where he eventually meets an enigmatic orphan named Finn who lives alone in a house by the sea. Finn is everything the narrator wishes he could be: independent, straightforward, quiet, and extremely competent. Although Finn never seems happy to see him, the boy sneaks out of school as often as possible to come to his house. Eventually, everything falls apart, and a twist is revealed that made me literally go back and read the whole story again. I can't say that I loved this book, but I was dying to know what would happen next. "
— Casandria, 1/27/2014