Rate this book

What I Saw And How I Lied (2008)

by Judy Blundell(Favorite Author)

3.54 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0439903467 (ISBN13: 9780439903462)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Scholastic Press

review 1: Describing a novel as a "coming of age" story is all too easy, and yet that description really suits this novel. Evie is 15, on the cusp of 16; all innocence and gawkiness at the beginning of the story, she has become "pretty" without realising yet. Evie is the only child of a young, beautiful mother, and as the story unfolds the reader (and Evie) begin to understand that her mother has deliberately kept her looking young and innocent -- both to protect her, but also, to keep her from becoming sexual competition. This aspect will become an element of the plot, but Evie's loss of innocence is far more than sexual -- or even emotional. One of the outstanding things about the story is that it manages to be specifically about this one young girl, but also -- in a much larg... moreer way -- about the United States and even the legacy of war. It challenges all of those myths and slogans and simplicities that get generated in war-time. In many ways, Evie's experience is about learning how muddled and grey everything is. This is definitely not a "good guy" and "bad guy" story where every loose plot end gets tied up. Like Evie, the reader will not be entirely sure of what has happened -- or how to think or feel about all of the characters in the book.The story begins in a working-class neighbourhood in Queens in 1947. The war is over, and it's all about fresh starts and opportunities -- yet the novel immediately signals that something bad, maybe even tragic, has happened. Evie's stepfather Joe takes them down to Palm Beach, Florida, but there is much more to this road-trip than the need for a holiday. It's clearly a "get-away" in both senses of the word. There is a dark, steamy atmosphere to the novel that reminds me of 1930s film noir -- and the author several times references famous movies and actors. The characters, particularly Evie, are self-consciously "acting" out their roles and trying on different identities -- and there are several interesting incidences of this, particularly the Jewish Grayson couple who are attempting to "pass" in a world which doesn't allow Jews, and the character of Pete who reinvents himself in Jay Gatsby style. The novel lacks some quality -- is it emotional depth or soulfullness? -- that kept it from ever really touching my heart; but overall, it is an engrossing story that captured and kept my attention.
review 2: I will readily admit, as soon as I see an award seal on the cover of a book, my expectation of the book raises significantly. In light of that, this novel was fine. If it was not award winning, I think I would have enjoyed it more. There was a lot of potential in the story, but I think it fell flat. I didn't dislike it, but it was not, in my opinion, an award winning novel. It was fine. There just could have been so much more. less

Download links for: What I Saw and How I Lied

Advertising