What I Saw And How I Lied [Paperback]

Judy Blundell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010

This National Book Award winner set during the aftermath of WWII is now available in paperback!

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 she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 9 Up—In 1947, 15-year-old Evie, her mother, Bev, and her stepfather, Joe, leave Brooklyn for a vacation in Palm Beach, FL, during the off season. There they meet Arlene and Tom Grayson, who lavish attention on the family and convince Joe to go into the hotel business with them. When Peter, an army acquaintance of Joe's, appears, Evie is smitten by his charm and attention. Her budding interest in romance, while protectively discouraged by her parents, is actually encouraged by Arlene, who helps Evie develop a sense of style. Evie enjoys her outings with Peter and interprets her mother's insinuating presence as protective, when in reality Bev is having an affair with the younger man. Joe's jealous distrust of his wife, established while he was at war in Europe, does not obviate the intimacy between Bev and Peter. Evie's closeness to her mother will not permit her to acknowledge the affair even when it becomes impossible to deny. Meanwhile pervading anti-Semitism sours the hotel deal, and the Graysons are forced out of Palm Beach. When Joe insists on one last boat trip, Peter dies during a storm and Joe is accused of murder. It is during the ensuing hearing that Evie learns that adults, even those closest to her, are not always what they seem. Blundell navigates this multidimensional plotline with unique, well-developed characters and insightful dialogue. Yet it is Evie and her rapidly maturing perception of herself and those around her that carry the story. In many ways she becomes the adult in the group, motivated by truth and justice rather than greed or superficial appearances.—Sue Lloyd, Franklin High School Library, Livonia, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In this sophisticated thriller, 15-year-old Evie grows up quickly when she discovers her adored parents are not the people she thought they were. While on vacation in Palm Beach in 1947, Evie’s parents, Joe and Bev, get involved in a shady business deal with the Graysons, another couple on holiday. Meanwhile, Evie begins a flirtation with Peter, a handsome ex-GI who served with Joe and just happens to be staying at their hotel. Evie soon learns that Peter’s presence is no coincidence and that he threatens to uncover a terrible secret that Joe has kept since the war. Then Bev, Joe, and Peter go boating, but only two of them return. Evie must sort through secrets, lies, and her own grief to find the truth. Using pitch-perfect dialogue and short sentences filled with meaning, Blundell has crafted a suspenseful, historical mystery that not only subtly explores issues of post–WWII racism, sexism, and socioeconomic class, but also realistically captures the headiness of first love and the crushing realization that adults are not all-powerful. Grades 8-12. --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Reprint edition (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439903483
• ISBN-13: 978-0439903486
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (126 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 23, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What I Saw And How I Lied (Hardcover)

World War II is over and life is slowly getting back to normal. For Evie Spooner, that means having her father, Joe, back from the war and her parents back together again. On a whim, Joe decides to uproot the family for an extended vacation to Florida.

While there, Evie and her family run into Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served with Joe in the war. Peter is charming and movie-star handsome, and Evie soon finds herself falling head over heels. But Peter has brought with him secrets about Evie's family and Evie finds herself caught in a web of lies. No one is who they seem and Evie has to decide who she should trust and who to betray.

When I opened my copy of WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED and saw it described as a mystery/detective novel, I knew I was in for a treat. This is an engaging coming-of-age novel set against mystery and scandal. I loved the film noir style, which helped move the mystery along at a quick pace. I was immediately drawn into the story and the setting and felt like I was there with Evie as she was uncovering the truth.

If you get your hands on WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED, be prepared to be sucked into the 1940s and be up reading all night. This is a book that should not be missed!

Reviewed by: Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars livrelovre, November 9, 2008

By 

livrelovre - See all my reviews

This review is from: What I Saw And How I Lied (Hardcover)

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!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good thriller for ages 13 and up, December 28, 2008

A Kid's Review

This review is from: What I Saw And How I Lied (Hardcover)

Teenaged Evie longs to be grown-up and glamorous, like her bombshell mom, but she gets more than she bargained for when her stepfather whisks the family away to Palm Beach and she falls in love with a charming "older man." Peter is 23, wealthy, and seems to be fighting his feelings for her. He also seems to be fighting with her stepfather. Peter claims Evie's stepfather cheated him in an end-of-WWII business deal (not a very nice or ethical deal -- it involved stealing & selling valuables confiscated from the Jews during the war), and the tension between the two men eventually comes to a head, leaving one of them dead and Evie in an unthinkable position.

I liked this book a lot. The writing, though not overly detailed, still paints a colorful picture of post-war life, lingo, and style. The plot makes its twists and turns, and though the reader can see where things are going, young, naive Evie cannot. When she finally understands "what she saw," and takes a second look at all the things she'd misinterpreted, her astonishment is palpable to the reader.

As for "how Evie lied," I don't want to give away too much, because this book is absolutely worth reading, but I liked Evie's innocence and upstanding forthrightness and was disappointed when she lied. I realize that this is a coming-of-age story, and the whole point is, Evie _loses_ her innocence. Boy does she ever -- I found her transformation from the simple world of childhood to the complicated, compromised world of adulthood heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking when it happens to any of us (though it doesn't happen to many of us in the exact way it happens to Evie -- most of us don't end up testifying in a criminal trial!), but happen it must. I guess my unwillingness to accept Evie lying is a testament to how realistically her character was drawn; I liked innocent Evie and was sad to see her grow up.

Good book, fast read. Check it out!