A review by sara_phoenix
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Young Ada doesn’t know her birthday. She can’t walk. She’s never left her filthy one-room apartment in London because her cruel mother can’t bear Ada’s horribly mangled clubfoot. Ada’s little brother, Jamie, runs wild and free through the London streets, and when WWII looms and Jamie is to be shipped to the English countryside for safety, Ada escapes with him.  But when they arrive in the country, they are thrust upon Ms. Susan Smith, a depressed recluse forced to take the children in when they are left for last.  As Ada, Jamie, and Susan adapt to their new environment in a time of war, they are all forced to confront their traumatic past, hope for the future, and learn to love in the process. 
 
The War that Saved My Life won the 2016 Newbury Honor and the Schneider Family Book Award for “artistic expression of the disabled experience for child and adolescent audiences.” This book may be labeled as Middle Grade fiction, but it is anything but!  The characters are authentically honest and flawed, Ada’s emotion is raw and beautifully depicted as she confronts the horrors that she once experienced at the hands of her spiteful mother, and Ms. Smith evolves into a woman of purpose and love. A powerful depth pervades the story as Ada and Jamie reconcile who they were in London with who they are becoming under the care of Ms. Smith, and who Ms. Smith is becoming because of Ada and Jamie. A pure and enormously rewarding read, never juvenile, and full of hope and healing, The War that Saved My Life is an instant classic. 
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