13iscute 's review for:

The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

4.0

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2022 Reading Challenges
• ATY #21 A book with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover (horse & rider)

How I selected this book
I read [b:The War That Saved My Life|20912424|The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)|Kimberly Brubaker Bradley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453342842l/20912424._SY75_.jpg|40277782] last year and loved it - and I immediately added this sequel to my TBR.

Plot summary
This novel picks up soon after the first one ended.

Spoiler

Ada gets surgery for her clubfoot, and after a few months recovery she can walk almost normally. Ada and Jamie's Mam dies when the munitions factory where she worked was bombed. Ada, Susan, and Jamie move into a cabin on the Thornton's property, since Susan's house was destroyed in the battle of Britain. Lady Thortnon moves in after the army takes over her house. A German Jewish teenager, Ruth, moves in for Susan to tutor her in mathematics. Maggie's mostly away at school, but when she's at home she shares a room with Ada. Jonathan promises to take Ada riding, sneaks away to do so, and then dies in battle shortly thereafter. Susan gets very sick from pneumonia, but recovers. Ada takes Susan to Becky's grave, and finds out that Becky's father died. They run into Becky's mother and start a tentative relationship.

Likes
• The characters
• Ada's arc as she learns to feel safe and to trust the adults around her
• The story of Ruth to show how the British didn't understand what was going on with the Jews in Germany, at least for the first few years of the war.

Dislikes
• Not much of a resolution

Final thoughts
Anyone who doesn't read modern middle-grade books is missing out!