The War That Saved My Life

The War that Saved My Life

Author	Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Language	English
Genre	Historical Fiction
Publisher	Dial Books for Young Readers
Publication date	2015
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	316
Followed by	The War I Finally Won

The War that Saved My Life, written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, is a 2015 children’s historical novel published by Dial Books for Young Readers. The War that Saved My Life was a Newbery Honor Book in 2016 and was Bradley’s first Newbery Honor Book.

Plot

This story is about a ten-year-old girl who has never left her apartment in London, as her mother 'Mam' is too embarrassed to let her go outside because of her clubfoot, even though she claims Ada is "simple" and "not right in the head" instead. The one time Ada tried to escape their small one-bedroom apartment, her mother beat her until her shoulders bled and was sobbing. If Ada is really bad she gets put in a little cabinet under the sink where many, many roaches live. She is used as a servant and cooks and takes care of her six-year-old brother Jamie. Ada’s mother is very abusive towards her. She will pound Ada hard at any given moment for any reason. For example, she made Ada sleep in a small cupboard, with roaches, under the sink when she caught Jamie stealing.

In September 1939, World War II has started. The British government begins to evacuate children out from London, to escape from the war, sending them to the countryside. Ada’s mother refuses to send Ada saying nobody will want to take care of her, and refuses to send her away. Meanwhile, Ada has spent all summer teaching herself how to walk and decides to leave with Jamie without their mother knowing. Susan, a woman who lives in the village, is forced to take Ada and Jamie in. Susan lives alone in a house with two floors and makes it very clear that she does not want kids, thinking she is not fit to care for them. Ada's experience in the countryside is very different from her life in London, as she is able to go outside and communicate with others. Ada's low self-esteem makes her not want to get used to living with Susan. In the countryside, Ada teaches herself how to ride a horse. She learns how to read and write. She also learns that her clubfoot has nothing to do with her intelligence whatsoever.

After months of Susan trying to contact Ada's mother for permission to operate on Ada's foot, Ada's mother comes and takes the children away, angry that Ada is where people can see her. She brings them back to London where she has moved to a new apartment and throws Ada's crutches away. Continuing to abuse Ada more and more and refusing to let her outside, she is not interested in taking care of her or Jamie and only moved them back because it was going to be cheaper for her. As London is bombed, Ada and Jamie leave the house to find shelter, where they see that Susan has come back for them. After that, Ada confronts her mother and finds a way for her and Jamie to move in permanently with Susan. The story ends with Ada and Jamie being able to live with Susan after a bomb struck Susan's home while they were away, completely obliterating it. Ada and Jamie return the favor of Susan taking them in by saving Susan's life from the bombs.

Characters

Main Characters

• Ada Smith (Aid-uh Smith): A ten-year-old girl whose right foot is affected by clubfoot. She has been emotionally and physically abused by her mother. While living in the countryside with Susan, Ada learns how to walk, ride a horse, read, and write. She experiences a medical condition called dissociation where she can just go to a blank place in her mind where she is completely out of touch with the real world.
• Jamie Smith: Ada's six-year-old brother. He discovers his passion for planes when he and Ada move to the countryside.
• Susan Smith: Ada's designated guardian. She is not a nice person at first but learns to love and take care of both Ada and Jamie. She too has parental issues as her father shuns her for her life choices.

Secondary Characters

• Mam: Ada and Jamie's mother. An uncaring, stern, aggressive, and abusive mother who continuously blames Ada for her "ugly foot"; Mam dies in the second book, after being killed by a bomb.
• Stephen White: Ada's friend. He helps Ada in the train station and carries her to the train. He also cares for Colonel McPherson and does not leave with his mother.
• Billy White: Jamie's friend. He is Stephen's younger brother and leaves the countryside shortly with his mother and sisters.
• Lady Thorton: The head of the Women's Volunteer Service. At the beginning of the book, she is called "Iron Face Lady". She is Maggie's mother.
• Becky: Susan's best friend, who died three years prior to the story from pneumonia.
• Dr. Graham: Ada and Jamie's doctor in Kent, who helps Ada´s foot.
• Butter: Susan's pony. He was a gift from Becky to Susan. Ada quickly fell in love with Butter and learned to ride him.
• Colonel Robert McPherson: Stephen's new guardian. He is a veteran of the British Army.
• Fred Grimes: The man in charge of Lady Thorton's horses. He becomes a friend of Ada.
• Bovril: Jamie's cat. Jamie found the cat when he was coming home from school.
• Maggie: Ada's friend who goes to boarding school. Ada met Maggie when Maggie's horse threw her off and Ada helped her get home and helped her wounds.
• Daisy: She helps Ada get drinks for the soldiers. She is also Ada's friend.
• David: A soldier.

Awards and Nominations

• Bluesteem nominee 2017
• Mark Twain Readers Award 2017
• William Allen White Award 2017
• Newbery Honor Book HONOR 2016
• Odyssey Award AWARD 2016
• Schneider Family Book Award AWARD 2016
• Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award (Middle School)
• Winner of the Josette Frank Award
• Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Books of 2015
• New York Public Library’s 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
• Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best Books 2015
• Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2015
• Kirkus Best Books of 2015
• Horn Book Fanfare Book 2015
• Good Book 2069

Reception

The War That Saved My Life received very good reviews. The Horn Book Magazine claims "This is a feel-good story, but an earned one". School Library Journal talks about the emotional connection readers will have "Readers will ache for her as she misreads cues and pushes Susan away, even though she yearns to be enfolded in a hug. There is much to like here-Ada's engaging voice, the vivid setting, the humor, the heartbreak, but most of all the tenacious will to survive exhibited by Ada and the villagers who grow to love and accept her". Thom Barthelmess in The Horn Book Magazine stated "Bradley’s novel is exceptional for the characters’ deep humanity".

Translations

• 《橱柜里的女孩》, trans. by 王映红 (Nanning: 接力出版社 Jieli Publishing House Co. Ltd., 2018), ISBN 9787544853408 (Simplified Chinese translation)

See also

• 2016 in literature
• Children's literature