Customer Reviews

What I Saw And How I Lied

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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

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!

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!

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.

Evie thinks she is just on a glamorous vacation with her mother and stepfather. Evie thinks that Peter is her first real love. Evie thinks her life is about to begin. Only too late does Evie learn the truth. The truth about her mother, her step father, Peter, and the world at large. And once she does learn the truth, she abandons it, in favor of what she thinks is necessary.

I really like books from the WWII and post WWII era, if the setting is done well, and I think this one fits the bill. Set in the days after the war, when GIs were struggling, and scraping to make a life as civilians. The setting of the book feels luxurious, and slightly glamorous, decadent even. Yet real life is made glaringly apparent, time and time again.

I enjoyed the character of Evie, and watching her really become an adult, albeit too soon, over the course of the story. In the beginning she seems to young, and by the end, she had matured so much. And while it saddened me to see the turn in some of the characters, I recognized it as being necessary for the story.

There is a lot going on in the story. Romance. Suspense. Crime. Racism. It is a lot for young adult readers to take in, although they are the targeted demographic. Yet I think books like these are good for high school readers, letting them see history in a new way. Letting them learn what the life was like in the late 40s and early 50s. And although the topics are serious and somewhat adult, there is nothing lurid about the book.

All in all, an intriguing read, making me anxious to see what else Blundell publishes.

I don't understand why this book is not more known. What I saw and How I lied is a very well-written book that lingered on my mind a long time after I had finished reading it.
After World War II is over, Evie Spooner is happy to have her stepfather Joe back home from the war. She just wants things to be normal again.
Evie is dying to grow up, be a woman, explore, experiment, but her mother still treats her like a child.
On a whim , Joe takes Evie and her mother to Florida on a holiday. There they meet Peter Cooleridge,who had served with Joe in the war. Peter is handsome, charming and Evie finds herself falling for him.
But he has his secrets and Joe's dislike for him becomes more and more apparent. Evie is soon caught in a tangle of lies, secrets and her world tumbles upside down after a tragic accident and she doesn't know whom to trust anymore.
Judy Blundell has created a great atmospheric novel. I love the feel of the 1940s and I love how the author has described it. I found myself engrossed in Evie's story, so much so that I read the book in a span of 3 hours!!
Though its a sad story and has a sad ending, its a very well-written realistic coming-of-age story.
Every character is beautifully etched out. I really loved Evie and truly felt for her.... I felt her pain, her inner emotional turmoil. Evie with her dreams, desires was so relatable.
Blundell's writing is beautiful, even haunting.Her descriptions are so vivid, especially the descriptions of Evie's love, her feeling of being betrayed..they have been so well done that they almost feel real.

Overall:
Beautiful and Lingering.

Recommended?
Yes, to all lovers of good coming-of-age novels

I came upon this book in the library of my town (I live in The Netherlands and the book was translated into Dutch). I was intrigued by a small sticker saying "Winner National Book Award" and the cover of a girl with red lipstick. I read the first page and I was immediately hooked by its writing style. I started reading Saturday evening and came to page 70. The following day I finished this lovely book. I would say: read it yourself, you won't be disappointed, well, at least that's what I hope....

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!

I loved this coming-of-age story about a teen girl in the late 1940s. Evie Spooner's stepdad is recently back from the war and she and her mother are trying to adjust. Though the stepdad is finding success selling appliances, he is not as easygoing as he was before the war. When they take a spur of the moment vacation to Florida, a young man keeps showing up - complicating the family relationships and exasperating an already tense situation. I loved watching Evie grow from a little girl whom her mother was trying to keep that way to a beautiful young woman who has a tough choice to make. I enjoyed the layers of mystery and intrigue, especially watching Evie peel them away. I highly recommend this book to both teens and adults.

All 15-year-old Evie Spooner wants to do is grow up. Fast. We first see her and her best friend, Margie Crotty, smoking candy cigarettes and talking about wearing lipstick. Her beautiful mother, Beverly, is all Evie wants to be when she grows up. "You couldn't stop looking at her. She was a knockout. The way she held a cigarette, the way she danced in the kitchen, the way she could make supper with a cocktail glass in one hand --- that was movie star glamour. You could almost forget she was just a housewife from Queens."

But Evie's mother is overprotective. She still treats her like a child and doesn't want her to dress like an adult, telling her that she shouldn't be in such a hurry to grow up because "it's not all polka dots and moonbeams."

Evie's stepfather, Joe, has just returned from the war and owns two thriving electronics stores. But something is brewing in the air of post-war happiness. Joe is drinking a lot and getting anonymous phone calls that make him angry and agitated. On the spur of the moment, he decides that the family should go on a late summer/early fall trip to Palm Beach, Florida.

Upon reaching their destination, they arrive in a ghost town. Most of the hotels and establishments are already closed for winter. They check into one of the only open ones, Le Mirage, where they befriend Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, a rich and glamorous couple from New York City. One night Evie dresses up in her mother's clothes and shoes in an attempt to look older. Evie's mother and Mrs. Grayson discover her secret dress up game and assist, then push her to join the high school dance taking place that night in the hotel ballroom. While at first thinking she's glamorous, Evie finds herself feeling stupid and leaves the dance to go outside to the pool. There, she meets a movie-star gorgeous boy named Peter Coleridge. They dance, and Evie is immediately smitten.

It turns out that Peter isn't exactly a stranger. He is an ex-GI who knew Joe from the war, and his presence at the hotel only agitates Joe further. But Evie is still smitten. The 21-year-old nicknames her "pussycat," showering her with attention that she never has had from a boy, let alone a man.

However, things at Le Mirage are hardly as they seem. Evie overhears conversations and sees mysterious notes. Something is astray with the Graysons. Plus, Joe's agitation over Peter's presence becomes even clearer, and Beverly, Evie's mother, is disappearing, taking long shopping trips on her own. Everything comes to a shocking halt involving tragedy and a web of lies unlike any other, and Evie finds herself smack dab in the middle of it, unsure of what to do or say.

WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED is told like a film noir mystery. The story unfolds in black and white coupled with the history and language of the 1940s. It's the puzzle of the mysteries surrounding and entwining all the characters and of Evie's own self-discovery. As the mysteries are unveiled, Evie learns that not everything is as it seems, and maybe she doesn't care to be the girl she thought she wanted to be after all.

Winner of the 2008 National Book Award in the Young People's Literature category, WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED is an addictive read unlike any other. Evie's character undergoes such a journey that the reader can truly feel her struggles and be there for her as she uncovers her own version of falling down the rabbit hole, like Alice in Wonderland.