Well, this is certainly one of those books that you CAN judge by its cover! I was so intrigued by the vintage look of the cover: 40s hair style, the vivid red lipstick, that I just HAD to read "What I Saw and How I Lied," by Judy Blundell. Then, I started reading a lot of buzz on the book: the critics loved it, it was being mentioned as a possible candidate for the National Book Award; the author was better known as Jude Watson, writer of the children's Star Wars series. That sealed the deal.
Have YOU read the book yet? Are you interested in yet another coming-of-age story, but one filled with intrigue, murder, deception, anti-semitism, the loss of innocence on multiple levels? C'mon on back here when you've finished the story so we can share notes! I promise you won't be disappointed by this retro story filled with 21st century elements.
Testing...testing...
I had heard a lot of buzz on this book on my YALSA list-serv, and checked it out from my local library. I couldn't put it down! The cover jacket sounds a little salacious and cheesy--young love, heroes of war, that sort of thing. But you really join Evie on her path to adulthood, and the book takes you much more in depth than the jacket leads you to believe. A great read!
Posted by: Morgan | 06/03/2009 at 07:09 PM
A great read indeed! Even though I knew there would be more to Peter Coleridge than just being a "good guy" on the scene when he first appeared, I liked how the story played out & the ever-building sense of suspense!
And of course, I love the historical fiction aspect of the story.
Posted by: Dawn Foster | 06/12/2009 at 10:25 AM
This book is amazing I love how the charectors interactions seemed so real! It really stands out by the flow of the plot. Although it was somewhat disturbing, I really enjoyed the charectors and how I could relate to the charectors. The author is so good at writing descriptively that it feels like you are really there.
I would recomend this book to anyone who isn't affraid to be a little scared.
Posted by: Araminta Gwynne | 07/22/2009 at 11:47 AM
I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was very interesting and exciting. Judy Blundell is such a good author. I would definetly read more of her books, and i would also recommend this book very much!!!
Posted by: Sabrina Schultz | 07/30/2009 at 01:19 PM
This book was a slow starter and I wondered what all the buzz was about at first. However, it did pick up significantly as the story progressed. Overall though, I wasn't overly impressed...maybe because I had just finished Jellicoe Road and loved that book!
Posted by: Deidre K. Bradford | 08/11/2009 at 03:01 PM
Deidre,
I'm interested in your comment about Jellicoe Road. Can you elaborate>? Were their elements that were the same in both books? What makes you say that Jellicoe Road was a better read/story than What I saw .... just curious!
Posted by: Dawn Foster | 08/12/2009 at 12:17 PM
Really, it's that good. I read the first 3 chapters and didn't like it. I disliked it so much I abandoned it.
Posted by: Shawna | 09/08/2009 at 09:23 PM