What I Saw and How I Lied

Blundell, Judy.  2008.  What I Saw and How I Lied.  New York: Scholastic Press.  ISBN 043903467

For Evie Spooner, life is simple in New York now that her step-father has returned from the war. Candy cigarettes, ice-cream and crushes on boys rule her world until the family takes a trip to Florida. In off-season Palm Beach, Evie and her parents enjoy a relaxing, though hot, vacation filled with new friends and acquaintances, forbidden romance and…something else. A mysterious past and incongruent facts lead the reader into a world filled with mystery, sorrow and sometimes pity.

The characters are well-developed, and their motivations are known and believable. What I Saw and How I Lied effectively portrays a girl torn between her family, her first love and a choice that may destroy more than one of those people. While coming to terms with her feelings and struggling toward what seems the impossible, Evie also finds her voice and learns to recognize injustices hitherto unknown to her. Though the novel is slow to start, the pace does increase at the halfway-point, and readers will be absorbed by the plot twists and suspense that follow.

Set in 1947, Judy Blundell delivers a coming-of-age story filled with intrigue, suspicion and greed. World War II is in the hearts and minds of each of the characters, and many ideals and prejudices of the time are written with truthful care. Florida’s 1947 hurricane also makes an appearance, and the fear and uncertainty of a natural disaster is made real by the author. The characters’ speech patterns are not overtly indicative of the nineteen-forties, but in-text descriptions of and references to styles and actors give the feeling of that time. Blundell notes some of resources in her “Acknowledgements,” but other research notes and further reading suggestions are omitted. Overall, this is an ejoyable story, but it lacks the intensity in the opening pages to keep every reader invested.

"Blundell navigates this multidimensional plotline with unique, well-developed characters and insightful dialogue.” (School Library Journal /December 2008)

“...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.” (Booklist/November 2008)

Possible Discussion Questions:
1) What impacts you the most about this story? Love, prejudice, greed, sex?
2) Would you respond differently to Evie’s choices in the end of the book? Why or why not?
3) What prejudices have you seen or experienced?
4) What do you think about Evie’s treatment of Wally? Vice versa?
5) Have you ever been involved in a natural disaster? If yes, what was your experience? If no, can you respond to the hurricane as an observer?