What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
World War II has just ended, and the world seems to be looking up for fifteen year old Evie Spooner.  Her beloved stepfather is back from the war and running a successful appliance business in Queens, which easily provides for Evie and her movie star-glamorous mother. 

However, the peace is soon broken by reasons that Evie doesn’t understand, and the family takes a last minute vacation to steamy Florida.  They end up in Palm Beach during the off season, which is a beautiful ghost town where the heat is as oppressive as the mystery that soon surrounds them.  Evie falls in love with a charming ex-GI that served with her stepfather in the war who happens to be staying at the same resort.  As they grow closer, Evie begins to question his relationships with her family and motives for being in Florida.  The lazy days come to an end when tragedy strikes and Evie must uncover the truth and decide where her loyalty really lies. 

What I Saw and How I Lied is the 2008 winner of the National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category, and I definitely think that Blundell deserves the award.  This book was gripping and mysterious as the reader watches Evie change from a naïve girl to a world weary woman during her time in Florida.  The descriptions are beautiful and really capture the tense, electric feeling that makes this book seem like a noir crime movie.  I highly recommend this lyrical thriller.