What I Saw And How I Lied

Synopsis: It is 1947, and fifteen-year-old Evie Spooner's life is slowly returning back to normal. Her stepfather, Joe, has just come back from the war. Joe decides that they all need a break; "a much-needed vacation." Just like that, Evie and her parents pack their bags and head on for the trip.

They travel down from New York to Florida, where almost instantly, they meet a young ex-GI named Peter Coleridge, who served with Joe in the war. It is not at all difficult to like this young man; charming, handsome, respectful, mysterious, and kind. Soon, Evie Spooner finds herself falling in love with him. But with this seemingly perfect situation, she also soon finds that things around her are just not what it seems.
What I Saw and How I Lied shows a coming-of-age story of a young girl, who suddenly finds herself stuck in a web of lies, betrayal, and deceit.

Review: First, let me already say that I liked this book. I thought the plot was very original, and the writing was very simple but beautiful. I didn't feel as if any of the characters or their situations were cliche and over-the-top. I liked that it was a fast read, and that in its entirety, was very mysterious.
Another strength that this young adult book has is its ambiguity. It's one of those, 'You think you know what's going on, but you have no idea' sort of thing, and I find that extremely intriguing. Add on to that the very innocent and charming character of Evie Spooner, who I liked and rooted for the entire time. Yes, she is indeed a very naive girl, but I think this added to her likability factor, as weird as this may sound. Maybe it's because we've all been naive before, in one way or another?

That being said, I have to say that overall, I enjoyed this book. It is not great, and is far from being a favorite of mine, but I liked it nonetheless. It is well-written, has a creative story, and has a main character that we can all somehow empathize with.
Do I recommend it? I do, actually -- but only to certain readers. If you don't usually read YA books, but would like to check some titles out, this might not be such a good pick for you. However, if you read YA books already to begin with, go ahead and try it out.