What I Saw and How I Lied Betrayal

Yikes. People turn on each other so much in What I Saw and How I Lied that there's more drama than a season of The Real World. There is romantic betrayal in terms of Bev's blatant affair with Peter Coleridge—in which she betrays her own daughter Evie and her husband at the same time. And then there is Joe's betrayal of Peter when he keeps all of that stolen money to himself instead of sharing it as promised. Even sweet Evie betrays Peter Coleridge in death when she refuses to testify against her parents. Loyalty sure is hard to come by in this book.

Questions About Betrayal

1. Do you think that Joe and Peter were right to take the money that they found in the war? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think Bev decides to have an affair with Peter? Do you think she really loves him?
3. Do you think that Joe ever really trusts Bev? Why or why not?

Chew on This

Even though Evie betrays Peter Coleridge by lying for her parents during the trial, she makes it up to him in her own way by taking the money away from Joe and giving it to the Graysons.

Bev betrays Joe by having an affair with Peter Coleridge, but she betrays Evie even more deeply. In having the affair, she both takes away Evie's young romance and snatches away her idealized image of her mother.