Blundell, J. (2008). What I Saw and How I Lied. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN-13: 9780439903486
•Plot Summary
Evie Spooner has always thought her mother (Bev) was beautiful, a woman with the looks of a movie star, and that her step-father, Joe, was just the sort of dad she'd wanted during a childhood of harsh living. It's 1947, and the lean years of WWII are over, rationing has ended, and Joe has started three appliance stores. Then, one night the phone rings, and the next morning Joe has Evie and her mother along for vacation in Palm Beach. It's the off season, and their hotel as very few guests, but it's at the pool that Evie meets Peter Coleridge, who served with Joe. As it turns out, the two made off with a small fortune in goods that had been confiscated first from the Jews by German soldiers, and then by Joe and Peter when the Nazi's surrendered. But Joe made it home first, and rather than save Peter's share as promised, he invests some, and keeps the rest. During this vacation, Joe meets Tom Grayson, and the two plan to buy/manage a hotel together, but Tom is thrown out of the existing hotel when it's discovered that he is Jewish. Evie falls in love with the handsome, sincere Peter, unaware that her mother has been carrying on an affair with him. It isn't until Joe, Bev, and Peter go out in a boat right before a hurricane hits Florida, that the truth begins to surface. Evie knows that what is described as an accident, may have been murder, and that her parents might have killed Peter in order to keep the remaining money. Following the inquest, during which Evie lies about having her own affair with Peter, she removes the remaining money from its home on a closet shelf. Joe had planned to use the money as a down payment on a dream house, but Evie gives it to Mrs. Grayson, knowing it means she will have to continue living with parents that might have lied to her, and Joe's mother, who while she paid for legal services, never even asked if Joe had killed Peter at all.
•Critical Evaluation
A smart read, it begins with an Evie that has managed to remain naive, despite the troubles she and her mother went through before Joe arrived in their lives. In the midst of falling in love, and knowing possible betrayal, Evie quickly matures into a woman.
•Reader’s Annotation
This book may initially come across as suitable for younger teens, but it quickly advances to what could be a wonderful film noire script. One could see this being a Hitchcock style film, especially with the late 40's setting.
•Information about the author
Judy Blundell was living in Palm Beach when she began thinking of the plot for this novel, so many of the street names are ones with which she is in fact familiar. Currently, she lives in Katonah, NY with her husband and daughter.
In 2004, her novel Premonitions became an ALA Reluctant Readers Best Picks and was also chosen by the New York Public Library as a 2004 Best Books for the Teen Age. She is working on the fourth book of the popular The 39 Clues series, and under the name Judy Watson, is working with Lucas Films by writing a journal for the Star Wars character Queen Amidala.
•Genre
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
•Curriculum Ties
History
•Booktalking Ideas
Racism following WWII, teenagers in the courtroom
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19
•Challenge Issues
Evie is only fifteen, but she's in love with an older man, one her mother is having an affair with, and who is likely the target of her parents' homocide attempt. In combination, any of these factors could make this novel one to be challenged, but Blundell has set the entire novel in such a surreal way, that one almost overlooks the more reprehensible elements, even as they are pointed out.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I liked the cover on this one, it reminded me of Hollywood glamour, and I've always been a fan of movies from the 30's and 40's, especially the mysteries.
