When We Were Monsters

Gr 10 Up–Niven (All the Bright Places) dives right into this psychological mystery by introducing eight elite students who have been selected to attend “Jan Term,” a prestigious semester that offers the chance for one student writer to win a career opportunity of a lifetime. The students will live and compete at the school founder’s historical and mysterious home while under the care and instruction of the infamous writer Meredith Graffam. Adapting to Graffam’s bizarre teaching styles, the teens’ tolerance for risk-taking is tested as they are eliminated one by one. Already known for writing realistic fiction, Niven proves her ability to tap into the human psyche with this dark academia tale. She delves deep into human nature’s duality of good versus evil with a thrilling plot full of mystery, sprinkled with several literary references and poetry. The characters are pitted against one another and given the opportunity to do whatever it takes to win, deciding whether the win is worth the loss of their humanity. There is LGBTQIA+ representation. This is best for mature teens due to language, sexual content, and violence.