Customer Reviews

What I Saw And How I Lied - Audio

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"What I Saw and How I Lied" by Judy Blundell is the loss-of-innocence, coming-of-age story of fifteen-year-old Evie Spooner living in Queens, New York after WWII. As you would expect of a National Book Award winner, the narrative is well-written with its elements of mystery and suspense tightly controlled. But more than that, all the characters--their dialogue, relationships, and actions--ring consistently true. There are no moments when you think, "It wouldn't have happened that way. She wouldn't have said that. He wouldn't have done that."

While the story begins in Queens, where Evie lives with her mother, step-father, and Grandma Glad Spooner, it quickly moves to West Palm Beach, Florida where Evie and parents travel on an impromptu vacation and end up staying in the only hotel open there in the off-season. At the hotel her parents meet the Graysons and quickly strike up a friendship. Mr. Grayson and Joe, Evie's step-father and WWII veteran, enter into a partnership to buy the hotel, which is for sale. Also staying at the hotel is Peter Coleridge, a young man in his twenties, whom knew Joe during the war. Evie, on the verge of womanhood, falls hard for Peter. But there are currents moving among the adults that Evie can't see and, on the final day of their stay, Evie is pushed into a rising and turbulent emotional tide. As a hurricane bears down on the coast, Evie's parents and Peter embark on an ill-fated afternoon fishing trip with unforeseen consequences for all. In the storm's aftermath, Evie must sort through everything she has heard and seen and make a decision that could destroy or save those she loves most.

"What I Saw and How I Lied" is a story with depth and cross-currents that raise questions without easy answers. It's definitely one for your to-be-read list.

This review is of the unabridged audio version narrated by Caitlin Greer.