The War That Saved My Life (2015) The War I Finally Won (2017)
⚡ Pace: medium · 🎭 Emotions: touching, hopeful · 🚪 Entry threshold: low · ⭐ Why read: emotional journey, character growth
Ada has spent her whole childhood inside one room – hidden away by a mother who fears the world will see the truth about her twisted foot. The war roaring across Europe feels distant, almost unreal. But when London’s children are evacuated, Ada seizes the only chance she’s ever had to run toward freedom instead of away from fear.
In the countryside, she meets a world that doesn’t call her broken: fields wide enough to breathe, a pony she learns to trust, and Susan Smith – a woman who never planned to care for anyone, yet slowly opens her home and heart. Still, Ada can’t stop waiting for everything to be taken from her again. How do you build a life if no one ever taught you you deserve one?
This story shows war not only as sirens and bombers, but as a force that breaks cages some people never escaped before. The hardest battles Ada fights happen inside: believing kindness, accepting love, letting herself hope. And every small victory feels like a step toward standing tall.
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley writes with clarity and huge compassion: found family, courage learned moment by moment, healing that comes with tears and laughter mixed together. Book two continues Ada’s journey – new dangers, deeper fears, and a girl who refuses to be silent about her own worth.
When you close the book, Ada’s voice still rings: freedom isn’t just surviving. It’s finally knowing you have a place in the world...
📚 Did you know 📖
The novel received both a Newbery Honor and the Schneider Family Book Award in 2016.
It was named one of the best children’s books of the year by the School Library Journal.
The author carefully researched Britain during World War II to create an authentic atmosphere.
The book’s success led to a sequel – The War I Finally Won.
Legend has it: Bradley admitted the story first came to her while driving, when she overheard a radio programme about evacuated children.