Book Cover Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://searh.barnesandnoble.com/What-I-Saw-And-How-I-Lied/Judy-Blundell/e/9780439903462/?itm=1, accessed September 13, 2009.Bibliography:
Blundell, Judy. 2008. WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439903462
Critical Analysis:
"The match snapped, then sizzled, and I woke up fast. I heard my mother inhale as she took a long pull on a cigarette. Her lips stuck on the filter, so I knew she was still wearing lipstick. She’d been up all night.”
Judy Blundell's WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED is a fast paced, intriguing novel set in the months after World War II has ended. Evie, the main character, is a naive fifteen-year-old being raised by her glamorous mother, Bev, and stepfather, Joe, in Brooklyn, New York. One night, after receiving a phone call that obviously agitates him, Joe tells Evie and her mother that they are going on an extended vacation to Palm Beach, Florida. Once there, they meet Tom and Arlene Grayson, whom Joe decides to go into the hotel business with. They also meet Peter, the dashing young army acquaintance of Joe's, who becomes upset by Peter's presence in Florida. As Evie falls in love with Peter, the reader is drawn in to the mystery and intrigue surrounding the complex characters in the story. When a hurricane hits and causes a suspicious death, Evie must grow up quickly, examine what she knows to be true and do whatever it takes to save her family.
The author's use of dialogue is superb and her use of chic language and imagery keeps the reader focused on all that the book has to offer. "I breathed in and out, perfume and smoke, perfume and smoke, and we lay like that for a long time, until I heard the seagulls crying, sadder than a funeral, and I knew that it was almost morning." The underlying message of of anti-Semitism and hidden agendas will keep you guessing and the courtroom drama leads to an unpredictable and climactic ending. This book would be great as a classroom assignment or as a pleasure read as it gives good insight to the details of the era.
Winner of the 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Review Excerpts:
VOYA: "This smart 1940's coming of age novel is steeped in noir mystery, suspense, deceit, scandal and lies. Fifteen-year-old Evie lives in the shadow of her mother's glamorous beauty. amidst the intense changes wrought upon daily civilian life by the impact of the end of the Second World War. Her stepfather Joe's return from war put the family on a new track headed down to Florida where they stay in a posh hotel, meet wealthy and intriguing guests with secrets of their own, and Peter, a young, handsome veteran and the focus of Evie's first crush. The reader finds herself peeling awkward little Brooklyn Evie like an onion, page by page, until a confident, in-control and mature Palm Beach Evelyn emerges."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "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."
Classroom Connections:
Although this book has some mild adult situations, it could be used for discussions on the pre and post World War II era in the United States. Students are exposed to terms such as rationing and Victory Gardens and learn what happened economically in the United States after the World War II ended.
Discussions about the Holocaust and how Jewish citizens were treated in Europe and the United States could also follow the reading of this novel.
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