The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley REVIEW

Book Details:

Pages: 316

Publisher: Dial Books

Released: January 8th 2015

Synopsis:

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?

Review:

This was a beautiful and heartwarming story about overcoming emotional and physical abuse, and learning to accept unconditional love from yourself and from others. What I also loved about this book is that it didn't sugar coat the harshness of life. This is a historical fiction that take place during World War 2. This book is about a nine year old girl, Ada, who has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by her 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 and she sneaks out to join him. An adventure begins as 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.

I had been in a mood for Historical Fiction at the time, and I really wanted to pick up the Book Thief but I found this on my shelf and I decided to give it a try. This was the second time I read this novel because the first time I got halfway through and never finished it. It was too slow and I lost interest pretty quickly. Now I know you might be saying if you lost interest why did you pick it up again, well I did that because I hate to DNF (Did Not Finish) books. So as I was reading this the same thing occurred. I fell into a reading slump, and I was so mad because I just wanted to throw the book at a wall. I had gotten halfway through again. My dad suggested that I listen to it in audiobook format, so I gave it a try, and boy did that work out!!

I alternated for the rest of the novel. Sometimes I would read and others I would listen to the audiobook. This book ended up surprising me. I definitely give it credit. Even though this was an extremely slow paced book at first it was a good book (average read), and I am happy to have read it. I would recommend it. It was a cute heartwarming WWII story. I loved Ada and was hoping that things would work out for her. She became so strong, and continued to push on. She tried harder and harder no matter the pain. She learned to love and accept herself for who she was. The ending was actually a little surprising which I enjoyed because I can usually predict the ending.

3.75 stars