Ratings31
Average rating4.4
Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?
Featured Prompt
2,708 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
Series
2 primary booksThe War That Saved My Life is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2015 with contributions by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.
Reviews with the most likes.
Read this book for class in elementary school, great book I think it has a great storyline.
I liked the pluck and sass of Aida's character, and thought the audio narrator gave her a realistic voice, but as Jennifer so perfectly said: it's essentially Good Night, Mr. Tom and that book was much better!
I enjoyed this overall, but I was expecting something on another level based on the rave reviews. Ada at times seemed more of an object lesson in trauma response than a real person, and Mam was simply a cartoon character. Wish that she in particular had received a more nuanced treatment, as she surely had pressures and traumas of her own that made her the way she was. I also wonder if characters at this time and place would really say “okay” as much as they do.