At times, Ada does not know what to make of this kindness, often reacting inappropriately.Īda begins to experience a life she never imagined - she starts caring for a horse, Butter, connects to neighbors in the village, and makes a best friend, the wealthy Maggie Thorton.

Susan helps Ada learn to read, sews her clothing, and most strikingly, hopes to arrange an operation for her foot. However, the three soon forge an incredible bond. Susan is grappling with a deep grief of her own, and is initially hesitant about caring for children. The unkempt and malnourished siblings struggle to find placement but are ultimately sent to live with a woman named Susan Smith. Mam forbids Ada to go, insisting that nobody will want her but on the day Jamie is set to leave, Ada escapes with him. Ada’s only interactions with the outside world occur through the sliver she can view from the apartment window.Īs the war worsens, children are sent to stay with families in the countryside.

Ada was born with a clubfoot and Mam frequently insults and mistreats her, keeping her trapped in their dingy apartment. Ada lives with her younger brother, Jamie, and Mam, her abusive mother, in a London flat. I love Ada's bold heart.Her story's riveting.The year is 1939 and World War II is raging. ★ 'Brisk and honest.Cause for celebration.'Įmotionally satisfying. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?Īchingly lovely.Nuanced and emotionally acute. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan-and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn't waste a minute-she sneaks out to join him. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. *Winner of the Schneider Family Book Awardīestseller is an exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War II, from the acclaimed author of

The war that saved my life book buy