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Book Cover for: When We Were Monsters, Jennifer Niven

When We Were Monsters

Jennifer Niven

Reader Score

76%

76% of readers

recommend this book

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places comes "a standout dark academia thriller" (e. lockhart, author of We Were Liars) about the monsters who walk among us--even in the glittering upper echelons of society.

A dead teacher at an elite boarding school. Four students who had every reason to want her gone. Who is the monster?

At an elite New England boarding school, eight students are selected for an exclusive storytelling workshop with the one and only Meredith Graffam--an enigmatic writer, director, and actress. For sixteen days, they will live in the isolated estate of the school's founder, surrounded by snowy woods and a storm-tossed seas. Only one of the chosen will walk away with a lifechanging opportunity to realize their creative dreams.

Everyone, including Graffam, has a compelling reason to be there--Effy, the orphan, Isaac, the legacy, Ness, the wallflower, Ramon, the outsider, and Arlo, whose unexpected arrival leaves Effy spiraling--but only the most ambitious will last the term. Graffam's unorthodox methods push the students past the breaking point, revealing their darkest secrets, taking unthinkable risks, and slowly starting to turn on one another. But Graffam never expected they would turn on her . . .

Book Details

  • Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
  • Publish Date: Sep 2nd, 2025
  • Pages: 400
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.55in - 5.88in - 1.35in - 1.03lb
  • EAN: 9781524713027
  • Recommended age: 13-17
  • Categories: Thrillers & Suspense - PsychologicalRomance - ContemporaryMysteries & Detective Stories

About the Author

JENNIFER NIVEN is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of All the Bright Places, Holding Up the Universe and Breathless. Her books have been translated in over 75 languages and have won literary awards around the world. An Emmy-award winning screenwriter, she co-wrote the script for the All the Bright Places movie-- currently streaming on Netflix and starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith. She is also the author of several narrative nonfiction titles and the Velva Jean historical fiction series. Jennifer divides her time between coastal Georgia and Los Angeles with her husband and literary cats.

Praise for this book

"Niven's signature ingredients: deep sensitivity, romance, poetry, and misunderstood, passionate characters. Now add a gothic mansion, a dangerous cliffside and a charismatic genius, and she's serving up a standout dark academia thriller." --E. Lockhart, #1 New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars

"A poignant story of young love, yearning, and the desire to live. Like the best gothic mysteries, this one is drenched in atmosphere and unease---a taut, exquisitely executed novel from start to finish." --Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Girl

"Fans of dark academia will enjoy this atmospheric story of art, lies, and redemption that features a lurking, slowly building sense of dread that grows throughout the novel. Leisurely and spine-tingling." --Kirkus Reviews

"[A] satisfying psychological thriller." --Publishers Weekly

"This homage to the works of Shirley Jackson and Lois Duncan is a sinister look at unchecked ambition and creativity pushed to the brink of madness." --Booklist