RECENT AWARD WINNER REVIEW

Blundell, Judy. What I Saw, And How I Lied. New York: Scholastic Press. 2008.

AWARDS:
2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

SUMMARY: The story revolves around a 15 year old girl, Evie Spooner who lives in Queens, New York. She lives with her mother Beverly, her stepfather Joe, and his mother. Joe has been away serving in the Army overseas during World War II. The war has recently ended and he has only been home a short while. Joe has bought a store which sells appliances.

School is about to start and Joe suddenly decides that they need a vacation. Joe, Beverly, and Evie get into the car and head for Palm Beach, Florida. They meet a couple, the Graysons. They become friends and spend most of their time together. Standing by the poo one evening, Evie sees a very attractive man named Peter Coleridge. Evie is infatuated with Peter instantly. Peter begins hanging out with Evie and her family, as well as the Graysons.

Joe and Beverly begin fighting and Evie seeks out Peter whenever she can. Mr. Grayson proposes that Joe and he go into business together. He wants to buy the hotel where they are staying. Beverly and Joe disagree over the business deal. Evie and Beverly spend most of their time with Peter. Evie thinks that Peter is interested in her, but it begins to become clear that Peter wants her beautiful mother Beverly.

The business deal between the Graysons and Joe falls apart when the hotel owner finds out that the Graysons are Jewish. They are asked to leave the hotel and never come back. The Graysons leave and Joe is angry over this development.
The last day of their stay, Joe suggests that Peter take Joe and Beverly out on a boat. A Hurricane is headed toward Palm Beach but is not supposed to hit immediately. Joe insists that Peter go ahead and take them out on the boat. The hurricane hits and the boat doesn’t return. Evie and a boy from the hotel, Wally, offers to go to the beach to help her look for them. He makes a pass at Evie, which she resists. Wally tears her dress and the hotel manager sees this on their return. Wally is fired for his indiscretion.

Joe and Beverly come back with the boat, but Peter was thrown overboard and drowned. Joe and Beverly might be charged with murder. Joe and Beverly hire then convince Evie to lie.

Wally comes forward and states that he saw Beverly kissing Peter on the beach one night during their stay. Evie gets on the stand and tells what Wally tried to do to her trying to discredit him. She states that it was her in her mother’s dress that was kissing Peter on the beach. The case is dropped and Evie, Joe, and Beverly go back to Queens.

Before his death, Peter tells Evie a secret about Joe. Peter was a serviceman under Joe. It seems Joe took money during the war from selling items he recovered from the Nazis. These items belonged to Jewish people killed or imprisoned during the war. Joe was supposed to give Peter half the money but never paid him.

Once back home, disgusted with her parents behavior, she gets the stolen money and finds the Graysons. She gives the Graysons the money and tells them to help out any Jewish people the Graysons might know who were affected by the war. She knows it will be hard living with her parents because of the money, but she knows she is doing the right thing.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a great mystery and also includes historical fiction. I thought this book read more like an adult mystery told through a teen-ager’s eyes. It was fast paced and caught my attention immediately. The characters were believable and the plot was exciting, but not too complicated for a teenager to understand. I liked the main character, Evie, and I felt the anguish that Evie feels when she realizes that Peter is attracted to her beautiful mother. Teenagers can relate to Evie dealing with her stepfather and that she never knew her real father. They can also relate to Evie having little confidence with boys and always standing in the shadow of her beautiful mother. Seeing the characters develop, you are not surprised at their actions at the end of the story.

I don’t think this would be a book I would recommend for reluctant readers because the plot is somewhat sophisticated. I think girls will like this book more than boys. I found there were no male characters with any kind of integrity. They were all disappointing. Evie is a heroine and great example for girls. Although she lies for her parents, she tries making everything right in the end.

CONNECTIONS:
I think this book has some great opportunities for class discussions. Would your students lie about a murder to save their parents? Do they understand the underlying plot about the Jewish friends, the Graysons? Did they realize there was prejudice toward Jews in this country? Could they have done something so unselfish as turn the money over to Mrs. Grayson to help other Jews? Was it right for Evie to steal money that wasn’t hers any more than it was Joe’s? These are some of the great discussion questions proposed by this story.

BOOK REVIEWS:
Booklist Review:
“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."

Publisher’s Weekly:
"Readers can taste Evie's alienation and her yearning; it's a stylish, addictive brew."

RESOURCES:
Blundell, Judy. What I Saw, And How I Lied. New York: Scholastic Press. 2008.

Judy Blundell website.
http://www.judyblundell.com/
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