The War that Saved My Life: (Newbery Honor Award Winner)
Product ID: 103585524
* Newbery Honor Book * Forbes 25 Top Historical Fiction Books Of All Time selection * #1 New York Times Bestseller * Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award * Wall Street Journal Best Children's Books of the Year selection * New York Public Library's 100 Books for Reading and Sharing selection * A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Century An exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War II, from the acclaimed author of Fighting Words , and for fans of Fish in a Tree and Number the Stars . Ten-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 for 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? This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity—a classic in the making. "Achingly lovely...Nuanced and emotionally acute." — The Wall Street Journal "Unforgettable...unflinching." —Common Sense Media "Touching...Emotionally charged." — Forbes ★ “Brisk and honest...Cause for celebration.” — Kirkus , starred review ★ "Poignant." — Publishers Weekly , starred review ★ "Powerful." — The Horn Book , starred review "Affecting." — Booklist "Emotionally satisfying...[A] page-turner." — BCCB “Exquisitely written...Heart-lifting.” — SLJ "Astounding...This book is remarkable." —Karen Cushman, author The Midwife's Apprentice "Beautifully told." —Patricia MacLachlan, author of Sarah, Plain and Tall "I read this novel in two big gulps." —Gary D. Schmidt, author of Okay for Now "I love Ada's bold heart...Her story's riveting." —Sheila Turnage, author of Three Times Lucky Review: it does not make you hope a good part will come - A Total page turner The book The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is a must read. This book is full of emotion, it does not make you hope a good part will come, and it have moments full of suspense. I think this book makes you have more empathy and you realize how hard it was for some people. The main character's name is Ada, she lives with her mom and her brother Jamie. They live in London and they are poor. Ada’s mom hates her because she thinks Ada is ugly and a disgrace because Ada has a clubfoot. This story takes place in the 2nd world war with Hitler. One day Jamie tells his mom that his friend Billy is leaving for the country in the summertime because of the war and asked if Ada and him can go. His mom says that he can go because he’s a normal but Ada would stay in their house no matter what happened. That summer Ada learned to walk without her mom knowing and when all of the children needed to leave London Ada and Jamie snuck out of there house and ran to the train station that would take them to the country. When they get there every child but them is chosen to go home with someone. until a lady takes them to a home with another lady named Susan, can they stay safe in the country from Hitler or will he invade? The book The War That Saved My Life. Is packed with emotion. One of the first things the author puts in the book to make it full of emotion is, “Don’t you be talkin’ to nobody’ mam said. I let you look out of the window with the kindness of my own heart, but i'll go an board it up if you go talking to anyone,” (p.g1). At this part of the story it’s when Ada’s mom hit her because she looked out her window and wanted to talk to people when her mom told her no. Another thing the author put in the book to make it full of emotion is “you ugly piece of rubbish! no one would want you! your trash,” (p.g214). At this part of the story Ada is trying on a dress and she remembers what her mom said about her. That is why I think the book The War That Saved My Life has lots of emotion. Also, this book does not make you hope a good part will come one bit. something the author put in the book to make it not make you hope a good part will come is, “And the horse made a frantic leap over the wall and the rider disappeared ,” (pg 95-96). at this part of the story Ada is riding a horse and she’s sees another person riding a horse and she gets kicked off. Something additional the author added in the text was, “The man-an ordinary looking man,at least from the distance-he took something from his rucksack, he unfolded it and buried in in the beach,” (pg 276). At this moment in the story Ada sees someone on the beach and no one is allowed on it so she thinks he’s a spy. And that is why I alo think the book The War That Saved My Life does not make you hope a good part will come Additionally the book is full of suspense and you always want to know what happened next. One thing the author put in the book is, “whoop-Whoop Whoop-Whoop Whoop-Whoop you would have thought the bombs were in our bedroom,” (pg 266). at this part of the story the bomb alarm is going off. concluding to that the author put in her story is “Under billows of black smoke across the road, we could see the orange flames and twisted pieces of metal,” (pg 114). That is when an airplane crashes in the military base and people die. All in all The War That Saved My Life is a must read full of suspense, emotion, and it's a page turner. I really think it makes you have more empathy but you can also take away for this book perseverance. Review: My Students LOVED this Book! - I am a 4th and 5th grade teacher and I read this aloud every year to my students, as well as the sequel, The War I Finally Won. I understand the "concerns" you may have regarding the abuse that takes place- that's a real world problem and discussion you should have with your students. Now, the "undisclosure of sexuality" of Susan, however; the author does this in such a beautiful, tasteful way by offering it in a way that there is no "indoctrination" to our kids. When I got to the word "slut", I simply changed it so it wasn't read aloud, and I did not have to address what that was. Be smart people, you can change words. About Susan, being gay, my students have never figured it out, they just know that Susan's bestfriend was named Becky, and Susan was very sad, and became extremely depressed when she died. Clearly, I feel this is a "normal" way of displaying grief. I have read this book aloud to my 4th and 5th grade students for the past 5 years, and not one "figured out" that Susan was gay-they only know if you tell them. And I have never had that discussion with them-- There are subjects that you do not have to discuss as a teacher, use your own discretion. This book is amazing. I WANT to read it every year because it truly holds the interest of everyone of my students and they never want me to stop reading it. To be fair, if these subjects do come up, know your audience, yet use wisdom and discernment on how to approach these subjects. It's not the bulk of the story, it's subliminal. If you want to control of the story, read it aloud like I do. If you decide to let your child read it, have those discussions with them if its warranted. Honestly, this age is too young to understand "Susan", but as they get older, have the discussion. It doesn't mean you are going to ruin them. It's a beautiful story. The author does an amazing job with all of the characters- and Ada is a true warrior! As a teacher, you can do an amazing novel study with this book. It's a YES in so many ways!
| Best Sellers Rank | #44,938 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #1 in Children's Abuse books #3 in Children's European Historical Fiction (Books) #5 in Children's Books on Disabilities |
C**R
it does not make you hope a good part will come
A Total page turner The book The War That Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is a must read. This book is full of emotion, it does not make you hope a good part will come, and it have moments full of suspense. I think this book makes you have more empathy and you realize how hard it was for some people. The main character's name is Ada, she lives with her mom and her brother Jamie. They live in London and they are poor. Ada’s mom hates her because she thinks Ada is ugly and a disgrace because Ada has a clubfoot. This story takes place in the 2nd world war with Hitler. One day Jamie tells his mom that his friend Billy is leaving for the country in the summertime because of the war and asked if Ada and him can go. His mom says that he can go because he’s a normal but Ada would stay in their house no matter what happened. That summer Ada learned to walk without her mom knowing and when all of the children needed to leave London Ada and Jamie snuck out of there house and ran to the train station that would take them to the country. When they get there every child but them is chosen to go home with someone. until a lady takes them to a home with another lady named Susan, can they stay safe in the country from Hitler or will he invade? The book The War That Saved My Life. Is packed with emotion. One of the first things the author puts in the book to make it full of emotion is, “Don’t you be talkin’ to nobody’ mam said. I let you look out of the window with the kindness of my own heart, but i'll go an board it up if you go talking to anyone,” (p.g1). At this part of the story it’s when Ada’s mom hit her because she looked out her window and wanted to talk to people when her mom told her no. Another thing the author put in the book to make it full of emotion is “you ugly piece of rubbish! no one would want you! your trash,” (p.g214). At this part of the story Ada is trying on a dress and she remembers what her mom said about her. That is why I think the book The War That Saved My Life has lots of emotion. Also, this book does not make you hope a good part will come one bit. something the author put in the book to make it not make you hope a good part will come is, “And the horse made a frantic leap over the wall and the rider disappeared ,” (pg 95-96). at this part of the story Ada is riding a horse and she’s sees another person riding a horse and she gets kicked off. Something additional the author added in the text was, “The man-an ordinary looking man,at least from the distance-he took something from his rucksack, he unfolded it and buried in in the beach,” (pg 276). At this moment in the story Ada sees someone on the beach and no one is allowed on it so she thinks he’s a spy. And that is why I alo think the book The War That Saved My Life does not make you hope a good part will come Additionally the book is full of suspense and you always want to know what happened next. One thing the author put in the book is, “whoop-Whoop Whoop-Whoop Whoop-Whoop you would have thought the bombs were in our bedroom,” (pg 266). at this part of the story the bomb alarm is going off. concluding to that the author put in her story is “Under billows of black smoke across the road, we could see the orange flames and twisted pieces of metal,” (pg 114). That is when an airplane crashes in the military base and people die. All in all The War That Saved My Life is a must read full of suspense, emotion, and it's a page turner. I really think it makes you have more empathy but you can also take away for this book perseverance.
M**S
My Students LOVED this Book!
I am a 4th and 5th grade teacher and I read this aloud every year to my students, as well as the sequel, The War I Finally Won. I understand the "concerns" you may have regarding the abuse that takes place- that's a real world problem and discussion you should have with your students. Now, the "undisclosure of sexuality" of Susan, however; the author does this in such a beautiful, tasteful way by offering it in a way that there is no "indoctrination" to our kids. When I got to the word "slut", I simply changed it so it wasn't read aloud, and I did not have to address what that was. Be smart people, you can change words. About Susan, being gay, my students have never figured it out, they just know that Susan's bestfriend was named Becky, and Susan was very sad, and became extremely depressed when she died. Clearly, I feel this is a "normal" way of displaying grief. I have read this book aloud to my 4th and 5th grade students for the past 5 years, and not one "figured out" that Susan was gay-they only know if you tell them. And I have never had that discussion with them-- There are subjects that you do not have to discuss as a teacher, use your own discretion. This book is amazing. I WANT to read it every year because it truly holds the interest of everyone of my students and they never want me to stop reading it. To be fair, if these subjects do come up, know your audience, yet use wisdom and discernment on how to approach these subjects. It's not the bulk of the story, it's subliminal. If you want to control of the story, read it aloud like I do. If you decide to let your child read it, have those discussions with them if its warranted. Honestly, this age is too young to understand "Susan", but as they get older, have the discussion. It doesn't mean you are going to ruin them. It's a beautiful story. The author does an amazing job with all of the characters- and Ada is a true warrior! As a teacher, you can do an amazing novel study with this book. It's a YES in so many ways!
E**N
Great for girls
Amazing book so inspiring historical fiction but really important. Read to understand the setting/ time period
L**A
I wish I could read this for the first time again.
I really like this book. I read this in middle school. This was the only non graphic novel book I liked. The story is interesting and if you like this book I would recommend definitely buying the second one.
M**2
Good WWII book for upper elementary children
My 10 year old daughter and I used our Kindle and the immersion reading (audio book and ebook to follow the words) to listen/read this book. We enjoyed the narrator. I felt like the book was appropriate 10 year old & was an introduction into WWII and how it affected civilians living in the English country side and the city children who were sent there. This was a very personal story of one girl, Ada, and how being evacuated and leaving her mother ended up being the best thing for her. The only complaint that I have is that the character of Ada's mother is very one-sided (all evil) and not very believable. I wish the author had given some clue as to her extreme dislike and abuse of her children. Through reviews on Amazon, it seems like this is a very similar story to one that was written in the 1980's, Goodnight Mister Tom. I am just starting to read Goodnight Mister Tom, and it does seem like there are many similarities between the two books.
J**Z
suspense
Great children’s book with suspense. I like as how you feel like you’re really there with the characters. Totally recommend if your ages 8-12.
Z**P
Amazing story
I loved this book. The children were heroic. The lady who kept the displaced children learned to love them. Fantastic story
C**R
10 year old review
Hi! This book is one of my favorite books in the entire world!!!its about a girl named Ada and her brother Jamie in World War II. The beginning is a bit dark and creepy. Ada and Jamie live in London and are abused by their mother. Some parents probably don’t want to have their kids reading it because of that. If you get passed that part it is the most amazing book ever!!!!!!! Ada and Jamie get evacuated to Kent ( some place in England) where Miss Smith adopts them temporarily and Ada learns how to ride ponys/horses. Also I forgot to say that Ada uses crutches to walk. She has a club foot, if you don’t know what that means DO NOT LOOK IT UP. I will explain: her ankle goes up instead of down. If you look it up you will get terrifying pictures at the top. I recommend this book to 4th and up. Our old school librarian recommended it to my twin sister and she read it and thought it was so good she recommended it to me, now our Dad is reading it to us. This is an amazing book. Spoilers below. Random fun fact ( not spoiler) there are mind controlling spores on earth. They do not affect humans. **spoiler** Ada and Jamie start to wish miss smith was their mom. Their mom takes them back and then they escape to miss smith. Also the second book is more amazing than this one.
J**S
Best book I ever read
Here is my review on The War That Saved My Life. It is an excellent book, it has a lot of drama, which I really enjoy in a book. I also really like that it is based on something that really happened. The book is based on World War 2, the book is fictional but it seems like it is a nonfiction book. There are two big ideas/themes. The first one is World War 2 as I said before the book revolves around World War 2, as in children having to be evacuated, not having a lot of food, and a lot of things getting ruined. The second idea is about a girl who finds her true identity. The girl who finds her identity is named Ada, Ada is the main character and she is also my favorite character. Adas mom does not treat her well because she has a club foot. Ada has a younger brother named Jamie, Ada has to be the adult to Jamie since her mom is barely home. When the war started Ada and Jamie go to ms.Smith's house to stay there during the war, because she does not live in London. Those are just some of the things that happen in this amazing book. I would personally recommend this book to anyone, because it is such an amazing book. That is why I enjoyed the book The War That Saved My Life.
ヒ**ト
人間ドラマに重点をおいた時代小説
2016年ニューベリー名誉賞。尖足で左脚の不自由な少女アダは母親に不自由な生活を強いられていた。第２次世界大戦のロンドンで空爆の危険から疎開する弟ジェイミーにこっそりついて二人はスーザンの元で暮らす。スーザンの優しやや毅然とした態度を見てアダは成長していく。いつかは母親の元に帰る運命の二人なのだが、３人はどうなるのか。 歴史(時代)小説には史実に重点をおいた話と、時代設定を踏まえつつ人間ドラマやストーリに重みをおいた作品がありますが、後者の方ですね。現代ではありえな設定ですが、この時代では不自然を感じません。印象に残ったのはスーザンの毅然な態度と優しさですね。アダは心に傷があることから、スーザンを誤解していますが、だんだんと打ち解けていきます。３人で暮らしていく時の雰囲気がいい。聡明で優しく毅然として、社会的にも活躍するスーザンとアダに読んど人は共感を覚えるのかな。身体障害、迷信、嘘、家族とは、について考えさせられる作品。児童文学はタメになって面白い、しかし説教臭くなってないのがいいですね。 ピーターパン、不思議の国のアリス、スイスの家族ロビンソン、たのしいかわべが本作に登場してて読んでみたくなりました。
H**.
Ein großartiges Buch
Nachdem sie das Buch schon mehrmals von der öffentlichenBibliothek ausgeliehen hatte, haben wir ihr das Buch zu Weihnachten geschenkt damit sie es in ihre Bibliothek aufnehmen kann.
S**I
Lovely read for 4th to 6th graders.
My kids enjoyed reading this and so did I.
O**M
It turned out that the books are absolutely random choice and do not tie to her age bracket (most were teenage romance stories w
After trying to understand why my daughter,12, was not so keen on reading, I went to check what she actually reads at school. It turned out that the books are absolutely random choice and do not tie to her age bracket (most were teenage romance stories which might have been an easy read but had no value story wise. I think I read half of one and gave up myself, where normally I wiz through books and finish them even if not that interesting. I tell you, the most simple, unsophisticated stories ever, these were..). So I thought, maybe she just don't know how to make choices herself. I checked out school library during first parents' evening and I kid you not, there are no interesting books whatsoever for her age...! All looked random, in alphabetical order (!!!!!) and seriously run down. I get there is not much funding, but surely this can be improved. Anyways, I decided to compile a reading list for her myself. It had to be paper books as she has 'reading time' once a week and needs to bring the book in. The was that saved my life found its way to the list, based on two books my daughter read over the holidays and was so fond of them... it was Wonder (which I so highly rate for any child starting high school) and Counting by Sevens. The story is so moving and deep, there are different aspects of it - war by different meanings. Daughter loved discovering what the actual title meant. Very age appropriate and asking kids to think about more than just who the main character has a crush on... Very powerful mother / daughter storyline there, as well as brother/sister. It makes the nowadays privileged children stop and think - not everyone has a mother that love; not everyone fights with siblings. Some things made my daughter laugh although she said they were not funny but put in a funny in the book - where Ada, the main character was guessing what things and places are - the bank, money shop, grass, etc. I would recommend to any child - will just develop the hunger for reading.. We are moving down our list, we have Sylvia and Aki, Stella by Starlight, Return to Sender, One crazy summer, Sweet Pizza (as we love Wales, thought she might relate to it). I also have I am Nujood, age 10 and divorced which my daughter eyeing and not sure if she wants to read now. She loved this book so much, she shared it with her friend, and this must mean something!
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