Book Review: What I Saw and How I Lied, Judy Blundell

Title: What I Saw and How I Lied
Author: Judy Blundell
Published: 6th July 2009, Scholastic Children's Books
Pages: 265
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5
Murder mystery with a dash of romance, a strongly written coming-of-age novel set in the aftermath of the Second World War which won the 2008 National Book Award in the USA. It's 1947 and 15-year-old Evie is desperate to grow up, go on dates and look glamorous like her mother. But then a handsome and mysterious ex-GI turns up. Peter served with Evie's stepfather during the war and seems to have a strange control over him; slowly, Evie realises she's falling for Peter, despite his dark secrets.

What I Saw and How I Lied tells the story of Evie and her parents as they go on a much-needed post-WWII vacation to Palm Beach, Florida. However, all is not what it seems when they meet Peter, a man who served with Evie's stepfather, Joe.

What I Saw and How I Lied is a nice quick mystery perfect for teens. This was a reread for me and I last read it when I was a teen so around 12 years ago so I couldn't remember too much of the story. Reading it now, I can see why I liked it back then. It has romance, mystery, and a foreign location - what teenager wouldn't enjoy it.

I really liked the setting of the hotel in Palm Springs. It gave the book a bit of a classic mystery feel. And the post-war period definitely helped too.

I liked Evie, although she did annoy me sometimes (we'll blame my age now). But she's very relatable for any 15-year-old. She just wants to be treated like a grown-up and wants to experiment with her style. In particular, to catch the eye of Peter. Although, as Peter is 23, the romance is dodgy even if it was slightly more the norm back then. But still what 15-year-old hasn't had a crush on an older guy so nothing against Evie's character.

The story is told from Evie's POV so the reader finds things out as she does. I'd say the story is medium-paced - it gets faster the further into it. I wouldn't say the ending is the most climatic although there are some surprises. And because her parents want to shield her, Evie does not find out the truth about a few things so these were annoyingly kept hanging at the end.

Overall, I did enjoy the story, especially paired with the setting. I think I'd definitely recommend What I Saw and How I Lied to teens. However, I'm not sure if I'll pick up another Judy Blundell book in the future as I'm too old to relate to the YA characters. 

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