“Truth, justice… I always thought they were absolutes, like God. And Mom. And apple pie. But you could make apple pie from Ritz crackers. You could make cakes without sugar. We learned how to fake things, during the war.”
Evie Spooner is a fifteen year old girl who is living up the last days of summer in Brooklyn, New York before starting back to school. One night, Evie’s stepdad Joe announces that he is taking the family on a trip to Palm Beach. Evie’s mother Bev hesitates but Evie knows this is what her family needs to get back on track now that Joe is home from the war.
Upon arriving in Palm Beach, Evie notices right away that something is off; the hotels and houses are boarded up for hurricane season and the city is a ghost town. The hotel, Le Mirage, has only a handful of guests and Evie busies herself with touring the hotel and roaming poolside in the evenings. One night she meets Peter, a man a few years older than Evie’s fifteen. They strike up a friendship that turns into something more as the days progress and she and her mother spend more and more time with Peter.
When Joe finds out that Evie and Bev are spending so much time together he commands it to stop and when it doesn’t Joe and Peter become hostile towards one another. One stormy morning, Peter heads out to sea with Joe and Bev at Joe’s urging. While their out, a hurricane moves closer to Palm Beach and Peter is lost a sea. But when his body washes up on shore, the police are doubtful that his death is an accident and Evie’s parents are named the prime suspects in his murder. The mix of truth and deception that follows is a lot to grasp for a fifteen year old but Evie is ready to hold her own.
WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell is a story of love and loss, of secrets and lies, and how the line between each is blurred when family is involved. Fifteen Evie experiences her first taste of love- a universal feeling that any teenager can relate to. Each character is excellently written, from charming Peter to Evie’s war torn step-dad, Joe Spooner. Set in post war 1947, WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED contains a plot that is realistic even today. “The suspenseful story tackles issues of racism, sexism and class distinctions” (Austin, 2010). Although the era is different, the same issues still run rampant throughout our modern society. This beautifully written, dramatic story is a must read for anyone who enjoys quality literature.
Reference List:
Austin, Patricia. 2010. "What I Saw and How I Lied." Booklist 106, no. 16: 66. Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 19, 2011).
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