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dranostaj 's review for:
The War I Finally Won
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The War that I Finally Won, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradly, is the eagerly anticipated sequel to The War that Saved My Life. If you loved the first one in the series, chances are, you won’t be disappointed with this work. But that's getting ahead of myself. I will say this, before my review: Bradley's latest work proves that this resonates with adults, such as myself, on so many levels. Certainly, this was written for children in mind, but, like the first book of the series, there is plenty material that you (the reader) know much more about. Ada may not understand what pilots DO in the war, but she sure understands when pilots she saw last Christmas don't come home next year.
Firstly, why did I love this book so much? Have you ever heard of the saying, “The proof is in the pudding?” Honestly, when I first started reading this book, I was afraid that in this book, it would be a little too similar to the last one written by the author. The story is told from the view point of Ada, and because she has been locked away from the world (quite literally by her Mam) she is trying to navigate between each situation and each new word she doesn’t know. Add to that, the war is really quite hitting home for her, Susan and Jamie. But that’s just it, things really developed from there (and I don’t want to spoil or given anything away) but in the last book, the war really didn’t touch any one 100%. I mean, sure there were air raids and rationing, but from a child’s view point, things really didn’t’ upset Ada. Not until Lady Thornton moved in (again spoilers, sorry!) and made Ada feel jealous.
I think too, the addition of Ruth (I won’t spoil who that was, or the story behind her) was an interesting touch, and really made Ada more aware that other people (much like her) were being effected by the war. People on both sides. True, they were living in different countries, speaking different languages, but when it comes down to it, everyone was powerless when it comes to war.
In a lot of ways, Ada is young, and needs to realize she is just a young lady. She doesn’t realize she needs a lot of things… Christmas, presents… a mother (Susan). You can easily explain it away as Ada never had any of those, she doesn’t think she needs them.
Like for example she doesn’t realize that she doesn’t have to take care of Jamie anymore, that’s Susan’s job. Ada really dislikes that, and doesn’t understand when Susan says to Ada “it’s your turn to be a child.” To be fair, once you climb inside Ada's head, she doesn't know what a family is. She doesn't know what to think since, well, she only had the view at her flat. And that view, sadly, didn't let her see (or learn) much.
I also found it interesting that Ada uses the dictionary she is given as a gift for Christmas as her tool to figure out what is going on around her. I mean, today, we would either Google or look up something on our smart phone. But Ada doesn’t ask questions. She consults her dictionary. It’s so like her.
I think the greatest message this book sends its readers is that war (or other circumstances) often forces people together. In the case of Susan, Ada and Jamie, they had to all adjust when Lady Thornton came to live in the house. Now, not spoiling too much, but this all led to a bit of bad blood between Ada and Lady Thornton as well as between Susan and Lady Thornton. It was an interesting take on class in the UK as well as how women were treated in society at the time (don’t forget, Lord Thornton was only all too happy to use Susan for wartime work because of her Oxford education). When Ruth came to live in the household this created a lot of friction between the characters. Both Ada and Lady Thornton didn’t want Ruth in the house, albeit for different reasons. In the end, Ada and Ruth came to an understanding about each other.
I think I'll stop giving away as much as I already did in my review. There is certainly a lot to think about in this book, and I can't say this enough, it resonates with me on so many levels. You really feel sorry for Ada during the story. She's just never had it in life, you may end up thinking.... but on so many levels, she doesn't give up and let that stop her. She triumphs over so many things in these two books, as do some of the same characters in this book. And that, is what made me tear up at times reading this book. She may be a 12 year old girl, but her innocence, her lack of experience in life gives her some of the best insight into what is going on in life during the war.
As stated earlier, if you enjoyed the first book of the series, you will really enjoy this one. I think, unlike the first novel, each character in The War that Saved Me has a set of challenges they must overcome. Wars begin with people and they end with people. And in this novel, no one is truly untouched by modern war. However, from the view point of a 12 year old girl, it took a war to change her life. And change, quite often like war, can be chaotic and unpredictable.
Firstly, why did I love this book so much? Have you ever heard of the saying, “The proof is in the pudding?” Honestly, when I first started reading this book, I was afraid that in this book, it would be a little too similar to the last one written by the author. The story is told from the view point of Ada, and because she has been locked away from the world (quite literally by her Mam) she is trying to navigate between each situation and each new word she doesn’t know. Add to that, the war is really quite hitting home for her, Susan and Jamie. But that’s just it, things really developed from there (and I don’t want to spoil or given anything away) but in the last book, the war really didn’t touch any one 100%. I mean, sure there were air raids and rationing, but from a child’s view point, things really didn’t’ upset Ada. Not until Lady Thornton moved in (again spoilers, sorry!) and made Ada feel jealous.
I think too, the addition of Ruth (I won’t spoil who that was, or the story behind her) was an interesting touch, and really made Ada more aware that other people (much like her) were being effected by the war. People on both sides. True, they were living in different countries, speaking different languages, but when it comes down to it, everyone was powerless when it comes to war.
In a lot of ways, Ada is young, and needs to realize she is just a young lady. She doesn’t realize she needs a lot of things… Christmas, presents… a mother (Susan). You can easily explain it away as Ada never had any of those, she doesn’t think she needs them.
Like for example she doesn’t realize that she doesn’t have to take care of Jamie anymore, that’s Susan’s job. Ada really dislikes that, and doesn’t understand when Susan says to Ada “it’s your turn to be a child.” To be fair, once you climb inside Ada's head, she doesn't know what a family is. She doesn't know what to think since, well, she only had the view at her flat. And that view, sadly, didn't let her see (or learn) much.
I also found it interesting that Ada uses the dictionary she is given as a gift for Christmas as her tool to figure out what is going on around her. I mean, today, we would either Google or look up something on our smart phone. But Ada doesn’t ask questions. She consults her dictionary. It’s so like her.
I think the greatest message this book sends its readers is that war (or other circumstances) often forces people together. In the case of Susan, Ada and Jamie, they had to all adjust when Lady Thornton came to live in the house. Now, not spoiling too much, but this all led to a bit of bad blood between Ada and Lady Thornton as well as between Susan and Lady Thornton. It was an interesting take on class in the UK as well as how women were treated in society at the time (don’t forget, Lord Thornton was only all too happy to use Susan for wartime work because of her Oxford education). When Ruth came to live in the household this created a lot of friction between the characters. Both Ada and Lady Thornton didn’t want Ruth in the house, albeit for different reasons. In the end, Ada and Ruth came to an understanding about each other.
I think I'll stop giving away as much as I already did in my review. There is certainly a lot to think about in this book, and I can't say this enough, it resonates with me on so many levels. You really feel sorry for Ada during the story. She's just never had it in life, you may end up thinking.... but on so many levels, she doesn't give up and let that stop her. She triumphs over so many things in these two books, as do some of the same characters in this book. And that, is what made me tear up at times reading this book. She may be a 12 year old girl, but her innocence, her lack of experience in life gives her some of the best insight into what is going on in life during the war.
As stated earlier, if you enjoyed the first book of the series, you will really enjoy this one. I think, unlike the first novel, each character in The War that Saved Me has a set of challenges they must overcome. Wars begin with people and they end with people. And in this novel, no one is truly untouched by modern war. However, from the view point of a 12 year old girl, it took a war to change her life. And change, quite often like war, can be chaotic and unpredictable.