The War that Saved my
Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Publisher: Dial Books
Release Date: January 8, 2015
Born with a club foot and an abusive mother, ten-year-old
Ada Smith has never left her London apartment. When German bombs threaten the
city and her younger brother is evacuated, Ada seizes her chance and sneaks
away with him. The pair is shipped to the English countryside with other evacuees
and pawned off on Susan, a single woman who never had children and never wanted
any.
Encountering a freedom she has never known before, Ada physically
thrives in the country. She walks with the aid of crutches, teaches herself to
ride a horse, learns to read and write, and hunts for German spies. While Ada’s
well-honed survival instinct tries to keep her heart locked up tight, she slowly
learns to trust Susan.
The emotional arc of this story is very satisfying. Each
set-back that Ada experiences forces her to open up a little more. On a subconscious
level she recognizes that Susan cares for her, but this thought terrifies Ada.
Someday her mother will come to reclaim her. When that day arrives, Ada fears
she will once again become the ugly, stupid, crippled girl so she cannot
relinquish her emotional armor. Ada fights Susan’s love with a feisty flippancy
that middle-grade readers will recognize. But even while Ada verbally holds
Susan at arm’s length, she also brews Susan’s tea, knits Susan a Christmas
scarf, and lets her shoulder lean against Susan’s arm as they sit side-by-side.
This emotional evolution feels genuine and earned.
My one complaint with this book was its lack of historical
detail in the setting. The story takes place in England in the middle of World
War II. That time and place was not communicated with the rich detail that can
transport a reader to the distant past.
The War that Saved my
Life was a Newbery Honor winner for 2016 and it deserved such an accolade.
This is a moving story about one girl’s personal war for survival in the midst
of a national struggle. Readers will root for Ada Smith, a girl with determination,
courage, and a great capacity for love.
Bio: Judy Dodge Cummings writes MG/YA fiction and nonfiction
from her home in rural Wisconsin. A former history teacher, Judy has a MFA in
Creative Writing for Children and Teens from Hamline University. Her latest
book, Human Migration: Investigate the
Global Journey of Mankind, will be released by Nomad Press in June 2016.
Website: judydodgecummings.com
Twitter: @JDodgeCummings
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