What I Saw And How I Lied Essay

The book I chose, What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell, stood out to me immediately. The first thing that caught my attention was the setting, as it is based in 1948. This is peculiar because it is right when World War II ended, which is a time period that I am not too familiar with. I was eager to discover whether the setting would play a role in the plot of the novel or not. Furthermore, a basic description of the plot also persuaded me to select the book because it was described as a coming of age story for a young girl and those types of novels always allow me to obtain the deepest insights and connections. What I Saw and How I Lied is about a girl named Evie who has just had her father return home from the war. Evie’s family and

First, she meets a glamorous couple, in which she becomes close with the woman who is named Mrs. Grayson. This couple is later revealed as being Jewish and are kicked out of the hotel, opening Evie’s eyes to reality. She also encounters a soldier who served under her Father during the war, and immediately begins falling for him. But, there are lots of secrets that surround him as he is much older than her, making the girl and her parents fight about youth, adulthood, and the importance of family and trust. Mainly, the book focuses on the theme message of the loss of innocence. Evie, who in the beginning of the book wants to grow up as fast she can, realizes the pureness of youth after being faced with the true reality of adulthood. She experiences this after witnessing a hotel manager throw out Mr. and Mrs. Grayson for being Jewish, in which Evie says “‘They’re leaving in the morning. Peter you don’t understand, the manager. He enjoyed it. I don’t get it’” (Blundell 144). This quote expresses Evie realizing the cruelty of the world. She did learn information about World War II and the Holocaust, but it was different than her actually observing it before her