Book description
A boy runs across a busy road.
His father smacks him.
A passer-by intervenes ...
When Billy Wright runs across a busy road, his world is altered irreversibly, even though he doesn't realise it at the time.
Because a passer-by has stopped to watch the scene. She has seen Billy's…
Why read it?
1 author picked What I Did as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Billy’s family gets caught up in the care system when the six-year-old narrator is smacked by his father. An only child surrounded by adults, Billy emulates the talk of others but mishears and repeats language incorrectly with hilarious results. Malapropism sees Billy using the word copulating instead of cooperating, he loves sayings but transcribes them incorrectly giving us a different cuttlefish rather than a different kettle of fish. Through Billy’s voice, readers are securely within the mind of a child. Extended periods of internal monologue and interrupted using an em dash to indicate speech. Questions directly to the…
From Gail's list on The best contemporary adult novels with young narrators.
If you love What I Did...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like What I Did?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like What I Did.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
175
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like What I Did, you might also like...
Sexy Selfie Nation
The problem is not with the actions young women take but with the toxic, sexist conditions they are responding to.
Tanenbaum found, based on six years of interviews with young people ages 14-30, that young women are navigating a culture littered with gendered dress codes, revenge porn, and sexually explicit…
In This Together
In This Together explores how we can harness our social networks to make a real impact fighting the climate crisis. Against notions of the lone environmental crusader, Marianne E. Krasny shows us the power of "network climate action"—the idea that our own ordinary acts can influence and inspire those close…
