What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

When Evie's father returned from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just war stories. Movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company, shows up, and Evie finds herself falling for him, ignoring the secrets that surround him... until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two. As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed was really a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between loyalty to her parents and feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to betrayed. The question is... who? - from book cover

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Set in the sticky summer weather in a Florida hotel in 1947, What I Saw and How I Lied is a stunning tale of deception and what happens when a string of vicious secrets is finally surfaced... or downed. 
Evie is a teenager in the 1940s, right after the second World War. Her handsome step-father, Joe Spooner, and her mother, the exquisite Beverly Spooner, set out on a summer vacation in Florida with Evie. Upon arriving in Palm Beach, the Spooner family is unable to find a nice hotel and are forced to rent a room in West Palm in a much older part of town. Nearly board to death by her parents (even though they meet a curious couple), Evie soon discovers that one of Joe’s old comrades from the war is also staying in the same hotel. Caught up in his mysterious and suave attitude, Evie falls in love... or so she thinks. As one cause of events leads to another, dangerous and heartbreaking secrets are uncovered that will make Evie choose between telling the truth, or believing a lie. Evie is just a naive, boy-crazy girl who–at the beginning of this book–desperately wishes she was just like her mother, but knows nothing about Beverly’s so-called “dazzling” life. At the end we discover a girl who has experienced an adult world she never would have imagined.

Based on other [mixed] reviews I’ve read about What I Saw and How I Lied, I’m not quite sure everyone agrees that this book was “good” enough to win a National Book Award title. I don’t really believe it was extremely worthy of that title either, but I will say this: it wasn’t the content that counted; it was the meaning behind the story that won that award. The meaning behind the story is lies. What I Saw and How I Lied brings us a message of the effect of lies and how the truth can come out in some very strange, and frightening ways. Both Evie and the reader will learn that being truthful from the very start is much, much better than creating and living in a network of deception.

I can’t say much more without revealing the very engaging plot of this book, but I will leave you with this: What I Saw and How I Lied is the perfect book for every library, book club, or bookshelf. True, you may only read this book once, but I think it’s worth having around just for the sake of how beautifully and cunningly written What I Saw and How I Lied is. The colorful and delightful slang of the 1940’s is also to die for.

My Recommendation: Again, a great suggestion for libraries, book clubs, and your own personal shelf. Although it’s not such a oh-so-fab, happy story, I think it will be very appealing to both teens and adults for the intriguing plot and message. I recommend for ages 14+.

This Book is For: Teens and adults starting at age 14. History lovers will enjoy this as well–lots of great details about the ‘40s!
This Book is Not For: Young teens or children. (See content)

Content: This book deals with sensuality, both in reference to other characters as well as Evie. Evie makes-out with Peter Coleridge as well as another boy who ends up going a bit too far. (PG-13) There is also a bit of language; not too harsh, but not mild either.

The Last Straw: A taste of slang in 1947: “Jeepers!”, “How do?”, “He cheesed me”.

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Pages: 281|Year Published: 2008|Publisher: Scholastics|

|Genre: Historical fiction, teen romance, World War II|

|Content: PG-13|Age Group: YA, ages 14+|

|Enjoyed It: 4/5|Content Rating: 3/5|Cover: 4/5|

|Overall: 4/5|

When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton

Jimmy lives in Rowlesburg, West Virginia, during the 1940s. He does all the things boys do in the small mountain town: plays a mean game of football, pulls the unforgettable Halloween prank with his friends in “the Platoon,” and promises to head off into the woods on the first day of hunting season— no matter what. He also knows his father belongs to a secret society, and is determined to uncover the mysteries behind it! But it is a midnight encounter with a train that shows Jimmy the man his father really is.

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When the Whistle Blows is mixture of historical fiction, small town memories, and the final years of the stream engine.

It was actually pretty good historical fiction material, but to me it was more of a coming of age story (or even memoir) and reminded me a lot of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

The story takes place on All Hollow's Eve (Halloween) starting the year

of 1943 and ending with Jim's final memory of his father in 1949. Throughout those final six years with his father, Jim experiences some valuable school lessons, his first football season, trains, and the town's secret society. Besides Jim's compelling story, When the Whistle Blows brought to life the world of trains, their makers, and how they shaped our nation-one whistle at a time. Overall, Slayton did a great job on her debut novel and I hope we see more from her in the future.

When the Whistle Blows is Slayton's first novel for young readers and was in fact based the on the life of her grandfather.

Pages: 162 Year Published: June 2009 Genre: Historical/1900s/WWII

Age Group: YA, ages 10+ Content: Very mild language (1-2 words)

Personally Enjoyed It: 4/5 Rating: (according to content)

The Boy Who Dared: The True Story of a Hitler Youth by Susan C. Bartoletti

As Helmuth sits in his prison cell awaiting a death sentence, he recounts his life as it leads up to his rebellious choices.
In Helmuth's world you can't say bad stuff about the government, you can't write or read things criticizing the government, freedom of speach is gone, and the Gestpo [police] constantly bully people into bending to their will. What will? The will of the Nazis. Helmuth lives in Germany during Hitler's rule in the 1930s-1940s, and he is not happy about it either. Everything Hilter does is supposedly "good" for the Fatherland. But does that seriously include killing Jews, imprisoning/murdering fellow Germans, filling minds of false "honor" and "duty" to their country, and trying to control half the world?
Helmuth sees lies and he wants others to see the truth-but will it all be worth it in the end?
The Boy Who Dared pries deep into Nazi Germany where so many believe in "protecting" Germany from Communism, Jews, etc.; yet there are some-like sixteen year old Helmuth Hubener-that see past the lies of Hitler. This book is based on the true story of Helmuth's life and how he sought to uncover the truth.

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There always has been corrupt governments and dictators and their will always be. After The Great War (or WWI) Germany was in great need of a leader. Hitler's patriotic and promising words of “hope” made him leader, but Germany (and the rest of the world) paid for it. With his twisted ways and corrupt thinking, the world will forever remember ONE of the cruelest leaders, Adolf Hitler; will the world forget to spot another "Hitler" and his corrupt government? This is what this book told me. What will it tell you?

This book contains graphic reality and mild violence.

Pages: 192    Year Pub.:2008   Level: YA (ages 13+)   Fiction: Historical

Time Period: World War II/1900s           This Book Is For: Guys & Girls

Should I Waist My Eyes On This? Yes      Buy or Borrow: Both

           Rating & Reviewer Enjoyment:

Remember the Holocaust: A Booklist (1)

Today, April 21st, is Holocaust Remembrance Day. In honor of the people who died in during the Holocaust, am I featuring a booklist of WWII era books. I will also be posting a special book review for The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti on Thursday. Today is not just a day to remember, it's a day to make sure another holocaust never happens again; to pick our leaders wisely. Remember how Hitler came to power, remember the consequences. Read about the past to apply to the future. Happy reading guys!

The Boy Who Dared by Susan C. Bartoletti, Good Night, Maman by Norma F. Fox, & Stones in Water by Donna Jo Napoli

The Great Escape The Book Thief Memories of Anne Frank

by Mike Meserole by Markus Zusak by Alison Leslie Gold

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

by John Boyne

White Sands, Red Menace by Ellen Klages

FROM THE JACKET:

It is 1946, and the events of The Green Glass Sea have changed the world—and Dewey Kerrigan’s life. She’s now living near the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico with the Gordon family. Dr. Gordon is working on rockets that will someday go to the moon; Mrs. Gordon is working on stopping the Bomb. Meanwhile, Dewey and her “sister,” Suze, share secrets, art, and science as they adjust to high school in an isolated desert town. Then, like a different kind of dropped bomb, Dewey’s long-lost mother, Rita Gallucci, reappears in their lives. And she wants to take her daughter away. 

The Review

Like it says above, it's the sequel to The Green Glass Sea. Though I didn't read the first book first, I'm glad I didn't. Who knows, if I hadn't picked up the second book because: #1 there's not many books about life after WWII; #2 it took place in Alamogordo, New Mexico, I may have not never gotten to meet Dewey and Suze.

It was fun reading about the 40s with it's first Harley Davidson gangs, old movies, slang words of the era, the first TVs, and the inside scoop on the missiles being tested out on the White Sands Missile Range.

This book will make you look for the nearest Drug Store that sells old fashion sodas! 

 Dewey and Suze are two average girls (with the exception of "bomb scientist" parents): one's the artsy string bean and the other is the "whiz kid". Having The Wall gave the book a great whimsical fling to it. (Dewey and Suze literally built a entire wall with moving gizmos, levers, pulleys, a diorama of the Alamogordo fair, and other movable objects.) I definitely recommend reading this book-wether or not you've read the first one.

-Alamogordo Now-

Alamogordo hasn't changed much (I pass through there often since I live in NM), just a little newer. The School for the Blind is still there, so is the scrap yard that's mentioned in the book (it's three times as bigger now and filled with old cars), and the Missile Range is as active as ever.

There is no "Little Chihuahua" anymore, but since the German Military Base was founded, there has been hundreds of German moving in. So many, that there is now German side of town.

Well there you have it. The past and present history of Alamogordo, NM. Now, you need to get a better taste of it through Ellen Klages White Sands, Red Menace!

Rating: 4 stars    Pages: 352        Year Pub.:2008   Level: YA        

Fiction: Historical    Time Period: 1940s    This Book Is For: Girls   

 Should I Waist My Eyes on This? Yes    

(see the ratine scale at the bottom of this blog)

Morgan & Julie