The War That Saved My Life
By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Why this book?
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s brilliant storytelling brought me into Ada’s world and made me root for her right from the start. I could feel the excruciating physical and emotional pain she experienced both at the hands of her abusive mother and from her clubfoot. She was prevented from ever leaving her apartment and interacting with anyone besides her younger brother Jamie. I cheered Ada on when she secretly taught herself to walk so she could escape London, and her mother, with Jamie as children were being evacuated by train to the English countryside to get away from the dangers of World War II. However, it was Ada’s relationship with Susan, the woman who is forced to take her and Jamie in when they arrive in the countryside and have nowhere to stay, that I found most powerful and moving. It showed that with patience, trust and mutual respect a bond can grow that can turn strangers into a loving family.
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