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When We Were Monsters

£9.99

Eight students walk into an exclusive writers’ retreat, but only one will walk out with a life-changing opportunity to realise their creative dreams.

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ISBN: 9780241772492 Category: Children's - Young Readers Tags: Children's / Teenage fiction: Romance & relationships stories, Children's / Teenage fiction: Thrillers, Children's / Teenage personal & social issues: death & bereavement, Children's / Teenage personal & social issues: Sexuality & relationships
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Description

The compulsive new thriller from multimillion-copy bestselling author Jennifer Niven.

Eight students walk into an exclusive writers’ retreat, but only one will walk out with a life-changing opportunity to realize their creative dreams.

Effy is piecing together a story about the tragic betrayal that led to her mother’s death. Arlo hopes to publish a novel – but he’s also trying to start a new chapter with Effy after he broke her heart and ghosted her three years earlier.

Their mentor is Meredith Graffam, enigmatic writer, director and actress, whose compelling accounts of her own near-death experience on the same retreat decades before continue to spark controversy.

But this celebrated teacher is not all she seems, and her students gradually realize they are fighting for something much more primal than academic advantage. As Graffam’s unorthodox teaching methods push them past breaking point, they reveal their darkest secrets, take unthinkable risks and slowly start to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her . . .

The Secret History meets One of Us is Lying in the most gripping thriller of the year.

Read a sample here

Additional information

Weight 0.281 kg
Dimensions 19.7 × 12.8 × 2.4 cm
Author

Niven, Jennifer

Publisher

Penguin Books

Imprint

Penguin Books

Cover

Paperback

Pages

384

Language

English

Edition

Paperback original

Dewey

813.6 (edition:23)

Readership

Children – juvenile / Code: J

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HOBAF WRAPPED 2025 📣
What are our best-sellers? What are our sleeper hits? We couldn't have achieved any ridiculous records without the support from our excellent reading community - here's to another year of books, bakes, and brews!

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✨JANUARY BOOK CLUB ✨

Huge thank you to everyone who has joined us for our book clubs throughout 2025! Next year, we're kicking off with Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Suntano. Booksellers Lydia and Lily will be hosting this one and they can't wait to see you all! 📚

Tickets and more information available on our website, via the link in our bio, or ask in-store and our booksellers can get you registered. As always, there are three sessions with complimentary tickets available if needed. 🎟️

Swipe along to see some photos from last night's Winter Book Club Social, as well as our gorgeous cake from Munchie Mummy's

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WHAT ARE OUR BOOKWORMS GIFTING THIS SEASON?

Get some inspo from our booksellers for the ultimate winter gift this year - if you really can't decide, don't forget we have Christmas Eve boxes available to order and have shipped to you too!

#bookhaul #indiebookstore #bookrecs #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #booktok #indiebookshop

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CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS! ❄️🎅

We have extended our opening hours over the christmas period to aid in your gift shopping (or for a quick drink refuel drink between busy markets!).

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FESTIVE MENU UPDATE 🎄☕

We have a wide variety of seasonal offerings on the menu this December, from Christmas club sandwiches to mince pie blondies, there is something for eveyone!

We are also now serving Mulled Wine and Baileys (either on its own or in a hot drink) which are the perfect finishing touch to a day full of christmas shopping!*

*Alcohol is only served from 12pm Thurs-Sun (until NYE). We operate Think 25 policy and reserve the righ to refuse service to anyone without ID.

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House of Books & Friends is thrilled to welcome Rhonda Carrier and Tracey Davies on Thursday 29th January at 6pm to discuss their new book, ‘Wayward Women: Sex, Friendship and the Midlife Reset‘.

Tickets at the link in our bio!

As always, we have a limited amount of complimentary tickets for this event for anyone who needs it. Please contact us directly at bookworms@houseofbooksandfriends.com or call 07597365380.

About the book

Wayward Women is a unique, searingly honest, devastatingly raw two-person memoir about the friendship, travels and sex lives of two fiftysomething women finding their way again after divorce.

It’s an entertaining, emotional and geographical journey that bounces around the world from Florida to India, Lapland to Hong Kong, as the authors -both leading travel writers – relay their experiences as midlife women – love, loss, parenthood, divorce, menopause – along with the tales of the inspirational women they meet along the way, and the growth of their friendship.

@bedfordsq.publishers
@rhondacarriertravels
@traceydangerjourno_comedian


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