Reviews for What I Was

The average rating for What I Was based on 2 reviews is 1.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-04-03 00:00:00 Paul Fraser I think I'm losing faith in Meg Rosoff. I LOVED How I Live Now, so much so that I even consider it one of my favourite books of all time, and when Just In Case came out, I snapped it up immediately. It too was a bit of a let down. This novel was well-written and immersive but ultimately I didn't come away from the book feeling like I'd been changed or learned something significant having read it. As a matter of fact, it didn't even feel like Rosoff was trying to tell me anything at all. I figured out the "big twist" about mid-way through the book and it made the entire story a lot less stimulating, not only because it eliminated the element of surprise, but because it was just an unenjoyable twist for me. Additionally, Rosoff meandered through the first part of the novel, with the last part feeling skimmed over and rushed. There was no satisfying denouement, no appropriate ending for the characters you might feel connected to. At just over 200 pages, this book could've done with a few extra chapters or a little more discription. I can't fault Rosoff's writing style-- it pulled me into the story as much as it ever has-- but I missed that slight hint of fantasy the two previous novels contained and I feel like I am maybe a How I Live Now fan, rather than a Meg Rosoff fan, as I'd previously thought.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-04-02 00:00:00 Chad Casey [ and the way he/she led his/her life by the sea, but the fact that Finn turned out to be a young girl/child absolutely surprised me, but did not convince me at all. Or to say, there were hints that Finn was a girl, but the outcome wasn't what I had wished for. (hide spoiler)]