What I Saw and How I Lied by Blundell

Title: What I saw and how I lied  by Judy Blundell.

Publisher: Scholastic Press, p2008, c2008

ISBN-13: 978-0-439-90346-2

Interest Level/Reading Level: YA/ 4.5

Book Summary:

War changes everything. 15-year-old Evie wants nothing more than to grow up. Her step-father Joe returns home from war with more secrets than most.  Joe takes Evie and her mother, Bev, on vacation to get away from a suspicious person who keeps calling their home. Suddenly Evie learns that growing up is not always what she thought.  All the adults around her lie, cheat, hurt each other because of race and money, and even possibly murder for love.  Evie doesn't know who to trust or believe and she must learn the worse grown up lesson... how to lie.

Favorite Quotes:

“But while I'd be their daughter, while I'd eat the roast and come home from dates and wash the dishes, I would also be myself. I would love my mother, but I'd never want to be her again. I would never be what someone else wanted me to be. I would never laugh at a joke I didn't think was funny. I would never tell another lie. I would be the truth-teller, starting today. That would be tough.

But I was tougher.”

― Judy Blundell, What I Saw and How I Lied
 

“I understood the word 'swoon'. It felt that way, like 'sweep' and 'moon' and 'woo', all those words smashed together in one word that stood for that feeling, right then.”

― Judy Blundell, What I Saw and How I Lied 
 

“I loved him like a fever. Then he left. He kicked through love like it was dust and he kept on walking.”

― Judy Blundell, What I Saw and How I Lied 
 

“I loved all the parts of him, even the ones I didn't understand.”
― Judy Blundell, What I Saw and How I Lied

My Thoughts:

This is a masterfully written historical fiction. Blundell poured out historical information without ever making the reader feel unconnected to the characters. First love and loss, coming of age, facing harsh realities, facing lines between right and wrong, parent's who try to keep their children from being "grown up" these are all themes that readers today can connect to. There were parts in this story that were "gritty" and mature, so this is defiantly for older young adults.  While some of the content is mature, I think that would capture interests of older readers who have lived through similar situations.   The added unresolved mystery makes a perfect example of how the grown up world works; that issues do not always resolve.
Overall, historical fiction must be just like this one...able to connect to today's readers while staying true to the time period it is written for.

Library Toolbox of Tips and Tricks: 

This is a heavy book for use in the library. I would suggest using this as a booktalk on character. Older readers will love discussing the different character connections and choices.  All of these offer excellent discussion topics:

• Evie's friendship with Margie and their treatment of Ruthie
• The family dynamics between Evie, Bev, Joe, and Grandma Glad.
• Evie and Peter's relationship
• Peter's relationship with Bev
• Relationship between Joe and Peter
• Relationships between Evie, Bev, and Mrs. Grayson
• The relationship between Evie and Walley
• The professional relationship between Joe and Mr. Grayson
• Mr. Forney's treatment of the Graysons
• The Court reactions during the trial                 

 This book also offers and excellent opportunity for rewriting the ending. Students will love changing what happens on the boat, the trial, or even what Evie chooses to do with the money. 

References:

  

Image: What I Saw and How I Lied [cover image] Retrieved from: 

     http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=ac2d6f7da7a0b93f2c0f4ef1bc871b66

The Ruby in the Smoke by P. Pullman

Title: The ruby in the smoke / Philip Pullman.

Publisher: Knopf, p2008, c1985

Original ISBN-13: 978-0-375-84516-1

Interest/Reading Level: YA/6.5

Book Summary:
Poor orphaned Sally is left with the mysteries surrounding her father's death at sea and the difficulties of living with an aunt who blatantly dislikes her.  If feeling like an destitute and unwanted charity case was not  trouble enough, Sally soon finds that there are people who desperately want her dead.  Nightmares haunt Sally's sleep of murderous images from when she was a child. With the help of a shipping clerk, an actress, and a photographer, Sally learns that a ruby, opium, and murder not only stalk her present but are the keys to her past! 

My Thoughts:
I shall not tell a lie, other than Nancy Drew as a child, I have never read a mystery novel. While Miss Drew was interesting, she was not enough to ever hook me on the genre. However, I must admit that darling Sally has completely won me over and I just can't seem to get enough of her story! It was interesting to see the implementing of a modern feminist perspective, the intelligent wanting-to-work Sally and Bohemian lifestyle of her friends, while still giving Sally a soft likable personality. Pullman artfully entwines murder, mystery, and humor. I found myself looking more forward to the antics of the Sally's friends than I did solving the mystery. The language is fairly difficult not only encompassing a different time period but dialects as well. However, this will not stop an avid reader who loves mysteries!

Library Toolbox of Tips and Tricks:

This is the perfect book to introduce characterization,  inference, and deduction.  Read the first 20-27 pages in the library to help kick off this book for teachers to use. Have students
 1. Look at the front cover and reflect on the font, 
     title, and images. Deduce what they think will 
     happen in the story.
2. Work in pairs to create a character 'who's who' by 
    listing all the characters that were introduced,  
    who they are, and how that character hooked the 
    student into wanting to read more. 

References: 

Image The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Mystery) [cover image].
    Retrieved from: http://www.titlewave.com/cover?FLR=0408MC8&
    SID=194a0098d7b19514b1c4a33cbae593d5&type=cover

Jones, T. [Review of the book Ruby in the Smoke by P. Pullman]. (1987, April). 
     School Library Journal, 33(8), 112.