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  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Resources for Connection
    • News
  • Shop
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
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    • Loneliness Awareness Week 2026
  • Our Café
    • Bookish Afternoon Tea
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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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🏳️‍🌈📚We're proud to be a queer-friendly space in the heart of Manchester City Centre. This month marks a time for celebration and reflection as the UK has fallen to its lowest-ever ranking in the annual Europe Rainbow Index of LGBTI+ rights, once region-leading in 2015. Our booksellers are on hand to provide some inclusve recommendations, but why not start with these picks off our shelves!🏳️‍🌈📚

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May 31



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Think Poetry isn't for you? Think again 👀

Most of us have grown up with poetry without even realising it, from nursery rhymes as kids to the lyrics we stream on repeat today.

Ever heard a song lyric that hit you right in the chest or made you feel completely understood? That’s poetry.

Manchester-based publisher Carcanet has something for every reader, whether you love contemporary voices like Sophie Hannah or want to dive into classics like Dante’s Inferno. Poetry might just surprise you. 

@carcanetpress

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At HOBAF we want to create opportunities for people to meet over coffee and good conversation, providing the chance for people to forge new friendships and community. For Loneliness Awareness Week 2026, we’ll be celebrating those little moments of connection that make such a big difference with Coffee & Connections! 🤝

Free to attend with the added bonus of a free hot drink, what's to love? ☕

Find out more at the link in our bio! 🔗

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NEXT WEEK 🎉

Ella Willis joins us on Wednesday 3rd June at 6pm to discuss their new book 'LITERALLY: A Joyful Guide to the Ups and Downs of Being Autistic'. Our bookseller Leah will be in conversation with Ella, and this is what she has to say of the book:
'What a breath of fresh air to read an account of neurodiversity that feels more like chatting to a friend than reading a medical webpage. Ella is funny, honest, and creative in their writing, and I can't wait to talk with them!'
Tickets are still available on our website or in-store now 💛💙
@_ellawillis

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THANK YOU to everyone who came along to discuss The Vet's Daughter in May. For June, we will be reading The Director by Daniel Kehlmann. We have multiple sessions available to choose from, including our baby-friendly session on Thursday mornings.

Information and tickets available in-store or on our website.

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Loneliness Awareness Week (15 – 21 June) is a campaign dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness. It’s all about creating supportive communities by having open, honest conversations, acknowledging that loneliness affects us all at different times of our lives.

In acknoweldgment of this, Our Chatty Café Volunteers will be around to do what they do best – chat! Why not pop in to the shop, enjoy some free pastries, and have a good natter. No need to book, just drop in.☕🥐

🕑Monday & Wednesday 12 – 1pm


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