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4.48 AVERAGE
4.48 AVERAGE
A wonderful sequel to The War That Saved My Life. I loved learning more about Ada, her family and community. Brubaker Bradley is an expert at implying things that aren't said, at realistic dialogue--especially with kids--and with providing just enough detail to convey the privations, stress and horrors of war without going into excessive or age-inappropriate content.
There's also humor, growing relationships, and triumphs small and large.
Recommended for about 4th grade and up, for anyone interested in historical fiction. Horse fans will enjoy the story too. But definitely read The War That Saved My Life first!!
There's also humor, growing relationships, and triumphs small and large.
Recommended for about 4th grade and up, for anyone interested in historical fiction. Horse fans will enjoy the story too. But definitely read The War That Saved My Life first!!
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved this book. What a powerful conclusion to an already great series. These two books are seriously making me reconsider my classroom policy of only reading the first book in a series to my kiddos. I may just read both of these next year. They're that good!
I hope this wins the Newbery to make up for The War That Saved My Life not winning.
The first book blew me away, and this one does, too, but for completely different reasons. It is a delight to hear Ada's acerbic, forthright questions again, and to continue to see the world through her eyes. The war becomes more immediate, and we start to see the larger picture of WWII. At the same time this book is all about negotiating relationships, about truth, about healing, and about how bald-faced bravery turns into trust. It's not an easy story, and it's not an easy road. I think I value it all the more knowing how many children in this world are experiencing trauma or are trying to find their way back from it. This book is a little bit of a road map for that -- it doesn't pretend the rough parts don't exist, it doesn't stick with happily ever after. Great sequel to an astounding first book.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this is the second book in a dilogy. Reading the first, i fell in love with the characters and plot. reading the second, i found my love growing and connected with the characters in a new way. i cannot tell you how hard this book made me cry. Chapter 38 made me sob. I physically had to set the book down in order to stop crying. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley made me fall slightly in love with Jonathan and then took him away ðŸ˜.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Antisemitism, Grief, Abandonment, War
When last we left our evacuees, Ada Smith and her younger brother Jaime, they had been taken away from Susan Smith (no relation), with whom them had been living after being evacuated from London, and brought back to London by their mother despite the constant bombing. Sure enough, one night during an air raid, they don’t make it to the shelter because of Ada’s severely clubbed foot, and in the midst of everything, Susan appears to take them back to her house in the countryside.
Now, with her club foot surgically corrected, thanks to the generosity of her best friend’s wealthy parents, Lord and Lady Thorton, Ada returns to the country with Susan and Jaime. And, since Susan’s house has been destroyed by a bomb, they will be living in a cottage on the Thorton estate.
Then word comes that Ada’s mother was killed in a bombing raid, and Ada finally begins to feel that maybe she isn’t the terrible person her mother always said she was. When Susan becomes their legal guardian, Jaime immediately begins to call her Mum, but Ada can’t bring herself to do that, and actually resents that Jaime could do it so easily. Calling Susan Mum would require a level of trust that she will always be there, and as Ada knows all too well, you just can’t count on that during a war.
When the government requisitions the Thorton manor for war use, the very formidable Lady Thorton moves in with Susan, Ada and Jaime. And when Ruth, a Jewish refugee from Germany is brought there by Lord Thorton to receive math instruction from Susan, so that she can eventually join him in his secret war work in Oxford, things really get tense. Ada and Jaime are convinced that Ruth is a spy, but Lady Thorton takes an immediate dislike and intense to Ruth, seeing her only as a enemy German, and the reason her son Jonathan had joined the RAF and put his life in danger.
Ruth and Ada don’t hit is off, either, until they discover a mutual love for horses. But Lady Thorton refuses to let Ruth anywhere on the estate property, except the cottage, and especially the stables. When Susan gives her horse Butter to Ada as a gift, Ada lets Ruth ride her in secret and slowly the two girls develop a fragile friendship.
There is lots going on in The War I Finally Won, which I liked. War is a chaotic, confusing, demanding time and Bradley has really captured that. At the same time, the characters that appeared in The War That Saved My Life have the same feel to them, as they should, and even Jaime, whom I felt was a little thin as a character before has become a more developed personality.
The thing I found most interesting was the relationship between Susan and Ada. In the first book, it seems so clear cut, but now, Ada keeps Susan at an unexpected distance. Why? With her mother dead and gone (no, that is not a spoiler), I had expected that the three of them would form a nice, lasting family unit. But, ironically, it will take more loss, more sorrow and the realization that anything could really be gone in the blink of an eye for Ada to finally see the need to let herself trust more and that is the war she must finally win.
The War I Finally Won is so more than just a satisfying coming of age sequel. While it explores the theme of trust, within that theme, it also explores the idea of how we define family. For those who haven’t read the first book, The War That Saved My Life, I would highly recommend doing so (though it isn’t necessary to enjoy this second book). Luckily, The War I Finally Won won’t be available until October 3, 2017, so there’s still plenty of time to read, or for some to re-read book 1.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from the publisher
Now, with her club foot surgically corrected, thanks to the generosity of her best friend’s wealthy parents, Lord and Lady Thorton, Ada returns to the country with Susan and Jaime. And, since Susan’s house has been destroyed by a bomb, they will be living in a cottage on the Thorton estate.
Then word comes that Ada’s mother was killed in a bombing raid, and Ada finally begins to feel that maybe she isn’t the terrible person her mother always said she was. When Susan becomes their legal guardian, Jaime immediately begins to call her Mum, but Ada can’t bring herself to do that, and actually resents that Jaime could do it so easily. Calling Susan Mum would require a level of trust that she will always be there, and as Ada knows all too well, you just can’t count on that during a war.
When the government requisitions the Thorton manor for war use, the very formidable Lady Thorton moves in with Susan, Ada and Jaime. And when Ruth, a Jewish refugee from Germany is brought there by Lord Thorton to receive math instruction from Susan, so that she can eventually join him in his secret war work in Oxford, things really get tense. Ada and Jaime are convinced that Ruth is a spy, but Lady Thorton takes an immediate dislike and intense to Ruth, seeing her only as a enemy German, and the reason her son Jonathan had joined the RAF and put his life in danger.
Ruth and Ada don’t hit is off, either, until they discover a mutual love for horses. But Lady Thorton refuses to let Ruth anywhere on the estate property, except the cottage, and especially the stables. When Susan gives her horse Butter to Ada as a gift, Ada lets Ruth ride her in secret and slowly the two girls develop a fragile friendship.
There is lots going on in The War I Finally Won, which I liked. War is a chaotic, confusing, demanding time and Bradley has really captured that. At the same time, the characters that appeared in The War That Saved My Life have the same feel to them, as they should, and even Jaime, whom I felt was a little thin as a character before has become a more developed personality.
The thing I found most interesting was the relationship between Susan and Ada. In the first book, it seems so clear cut, but now, Ada keeps Susan at an unexpected distance. Why? With her mother dead and gone (no, that is not a spoiler), I had expected that the three of them would form a nice, lasting family unit. But, ironically, it will take more loss, more sorrow and the realization that anything could really be gone in the blink of an eye for Ada to finally see the need to let herself trust more and that is the war she must finally win.
The War I Finally Won is so more than just a satisfying coming of age sequel. While it explores the theme of trust, within that theme, it also explores the idea of how we define family. For those who haven’t read the first book, The War That Saved My Life, I would highly recommend doing so (though it isn’t necessary to enjoy this second book). Luckily, The War I Finally Won won’t be available until October 3, 2017, so there’s still plenty of time to read, or for some to re-read book 1.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from the publisher
emotional
hopeful
The author was really good at dropping clues that a reader could infer facts of WW2 into their reading of the book, such as Susan's relationship with Becky and with her family, which was treated with great love and respect, the code breakers of Bletchly Park, and Hitler's genocide of the Jewish people. These are all things you might pick up on, but at the time, they weren't widely known or addressed directly. Even without that knowledge, it would still be an enjoyable read. It would also get me wanting to learn more about this time period in the real world.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes