Module 6: Historical Fiction: What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

Summary: Evie, a teenager in a post-World War II nuclear family, finds that things aren't always as simple as they seem. Upon meeting and developing a romantic interest in a soldier who served with her stepfather, Evie is soon torn between her allegiance to him and her parents.

Citation: Blundell, J. (2008). What I saw and how I lie. New York: Scholastic Press.

My Thoughts: I am fascinated by World War II and enjoyed this coming of age thriller set in this historical period. Evie's struggle as she finds out that sometimes perception is not reality is very poignant and, at time, painful to experience alongside her.

Reviews:

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 19)

Spontaneously moving to Florida seems like a dream come true to 15-year-old Evie, her mother, Beverly, and her stepfather, Joe, newly home from World War II. They move into a mostly abandoned hotel in Palm Beach, where Evie meets her first crush, Peter, a war buddy of Joe’s. After a deal with a New York hotel owner falls through, Peter dies, and Joe and Beverly become murder suspects. What Evie sees turns out not to be much at all, and how she lies about it takes up a grand total of ten pages. In fact, what she sees are only small, deceptive fragments of a larger scandal involving money that Joe and Peter stole during the war, fragments left for the reader to piece together. Awkward Evie, slowly gaining worldliness through her new surroundings, is interesting to follow, but the book falls prey to too many conventions: The first major plot twist comes at exactly the halfway point, a second plot twist around the three-quarter mark, and the denouement contains just the required amount of symbolism. Disappointing. 2008, Scholastic, 288p, $16.99. Category: Mystery/historical fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jennifer Hubert (Booklist, Nov. 1, 2008 (Vol. 105, No. 5)

In this sophisticated thriller, 15-year-old Evie grows up quickly when she discovers her adored parents are not the people she thought they were. While on vacation in Palm Beach in 1947, Evie’s parents, Joe and Bev, get involved in a shady business deal with the Graysons, another couple on holiday. Meanwhile, Evie begins a flirtation with Peter, a handsome ex-GI who served with Joe and just happens to be staying at their hotel. Evie soon learns that Peter’s presence is no coincidence and that he threatens to uncover a terrible secret that Joe has kept since the war. Then Bev, Joe, and Peter go boating, but only two of them return. Evie must sort through secrets, lies, and her own grief to find the truth. 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. Grades 8-12

Suggested Uses: What I Saw and How I Lied is a great historical fiction novel to accompany a unit on World War II. Due to the challenging nature of the content, it lends itself to a discussion group. A novel approach would be to use technology for students to discuss via a message board. This way additional classes, perhaps from additional schools, could join in the discussion.