What I Saw and How I Lied

Fifteen-year-old Evie has always felt overshadowed by her mother’s movie-star looks but as American society begins to shake off the austerity imposed by World War II, Evie is filled with a sense of new possibility and the desire to be treated like a child no longer.

Evie’s stepfather returns from the war and prospers; when he whisks Evie and her mother from their Brooklyn home to a hotel in Florida, their lives are changed forever.

Evie falls in love with a handsome ex-army comrade of her stepfather and her eyes are opened to an adult world where, beneath the glamour, lies a web of anti-Semitism, adultery and secrets. Soon she is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life.

This beautifully written coming-of-age tale juxtaposes the pain of first love with the suspense-laden atmosphere of film noir; it was the winner of the 2008 National Book Award in the US.