What I Saw and How I Lied

by Judy Blundell

Book Overview

Murder and intrigue surround a girl in this mystery set in American in the aftermath of WWII

When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439903467
• ISBN13: 9780439903462
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Stunning and Magnetic

When Evie's stepfather Joe Spooner, a soldier who has recently returned home after fighting in World War II, takes Evie and her mom on vacation to Palm Beach, Florida, Evie is so excited that she hardly thinks anything at all of Joe's strange behavior. When they get to Florida though, Evie's family befriends the Graysons, wealthy hotel owners, and Evie meets the mysterious and charming Peter Coleridge. Peter is wealthy, young, and served with Joe. Evie falls head over heels in love. But with her new romance comes some strange secrets--secrets that affect the way she thinks and views her life, and threaten to tear her life apart if they come to light. What I Saw and How I Lied is a gripping, galvanizing read that perfectly portrays one girl's struggles and insecurities amidst the post-war anxieties and hopes and the United States, and the glamour of the 1940's. Evie's character is intensely likable, and readers will be able to identify with her dreams, her crushes, and her impatience at being stifled by her beautiful and alluring mother. Blundell's writing is excellent; it is tight and descriptive, but moves briskly, making What I Saw and How I Lied very readable. Blundell also introduces topics that were not spoken of as freely in the 1940's as they are now in a sensitive, yet straightforward, manner. Evie's reactions are believable as she comes to realize many things about the circumstances and relationships she is surrounded by, and though her actions may not always be admirable or true, one can't help but admire her for her sense and bravery. As for the setting of the novel, it is apparent that it is very well researched and flows seamlessly with the plot, making it an easy book for even reluctant readers to get through. Blundell has created a smart and thought-provoking read full of keen insights, mystery, first love, and a good dose of reality. Cover Comments: I like the dark cover--it's very fitting, and the model partly in shadow is very catching. Also, the dramatic lipstick and the GORGEOUS hair and the font of the title are all very 1940's--this is such an excellent cover!

Very Good Coming Of Age Story

This novel by Judy Blundell and Published by Scholastic Press was excellent. I plan to pass it on to my 12 year old grandaughter. It is the story of 15 year old Evie and her family in post WWII America. Evie's father, Joe, was in the war and hasn't been quite the same since he has returned. One day out of the blue he tells his wife, Beverly and Evie "Lets head down to Palm Beach, Florida. So they left New York and headed down even though it was the beginning of the school year. There was virtually nobody in Palm Beach, a place that people only vacation in the winter months. Evie is an average teenager, feeling awkward and not quite pretty enough, curious about boys and so on. While in Florida she meets Peter Coleridge, a young vet who as it turns out served with her father in the war and share a very disturbing secret. Evie falls hard for Peter and eventually the relationship gets entwined with her mother, father and another couple vacationing there as well. Many lies are told and Evie gets involved in such a web of them she has very hard choices to make in her life and experiences some very life changing hurts and losses. She grows up during this small period in her life and is no longer a young innocent yet her eyes are wide open. I enjoyed this from beginning to end. It starts smoothly and moves quickly and tensely until the end. Read it, it won't disappoint.

"We Learned To Fake Things During The War"

A short, extremely well written novel suitable for young adults as well as mature readers, WHAT IS SAW AND HOW I LIED has many excellent qualities. Evie, the narrator, is an almost sixteen year old who makes a very appealing heroine. She's a smart girl who has been perhaps overprotected by her young, beautiful mother. Evie comes of age through the storyline as she finds first love and begins to understand the world and the many conflicts adults encounter. The book offers a very firm sense of time and place. The time is the mid 1940's when the world is recovering from World War II and a married woman might smoke and dress glamorously but her place is in the home. The setting of the book ranges from Evie's native Queens, New York to a nearly deserted Palm Beach, Florida hotel where her stepfather takes the family on a mysterious late summer vacation. The book raises many questions through its well executed plotline. Why does Evie's stepfather, Joe, dodge phone calls from army buddies asking for help? Why does formerly impoverished Joe suddenly have money to start three appliance stores after returning as a soldier from Europe? Why is Joe's new friend Mr. Grayson so anxious to go in to business with Joe and why does this make Mrs. Grayson so worried? Who is handsome ex-GI Peter really romantically interested in? And for that matter why are the Graysons, Peter, Evie, and her parents even in a nearly deserted hotel in pre-air conditioning Florida during the September hurricane season? Answers to these questions are for the most part revealed though author Blundell wisely leaves a few things ambiguous to both Evie and the reader. The book is perfectly paced, rich in themes, very believable and highly, highly, recommended.

Brilliant

LA Confidential meets coming-of-age in a simply amazing book. Beautifully written, suspensful, surprising. Evie's character makes an incredible journey from sheltered girl to a young woman in control of her destiny. I didn't see the way it ended coming and couldn't have imagined anything so satisfying when I got there. I was only sad that it did end. Tweenagers will love this....and so will any adult who happens upon it.

livrelovre

When I first realized the book was set in the 1940's, I wasn't sure I'd like it, but within just a few chapters, I was totally caught up in the story. The characters are complicated and realistic - from the uncomfortably charming salesman stepfather to the beautiful overly affectionate mom to the disapproving grandma who grudgingly allows her son's new family to live in her house while he's at war. The main character's innocence heightens the reader's reaction to the dark discoveries she makes about the world around her. When she witnesses anti-Semitism, Evie says, "And the manager's face. He had been waiting to deliver that news. He had been happy to do it. That was the ugliest part." I loved the way Evie weighs family loyalty against being true to herself when the adults in her life let her down. "I touched the place on my temple that her lips always found, ever since I was a baby. Did everything funnel down to that one delicate place, the place where love was?" Blundell's writing is really beautiful, and her descriptions of first love and the pain of betrayal are touching and very true to life. Oh, and on top of a writing style that takes your breath away, it's a great murder mystery (including adultery, blackmail, and courtroom drama) with a really satisfying ending. It's been so long since I read a book I fell in love with, I'd almost forgotten what it feels like. This is one I'll pass along to all my reader friends!