The War That Saved My Life

Ada has never been out of her small apartment because her mother is too embarrassed of her. Instead she watches all the other children, including her younger brother, from her spot by the window. Living in a dirty apartment with a mother who is angry all the time is a sad way for a little girl to grow up. Ada realizes she needs to try to walk even though it isn't easy because of her disfigured foot, but her mother has forbidden her from doing it. World War II has begun and now it's reaching England. When bombs are threatening London and children are being sent out to the country, Ada hatches a plan to leave first thing in the morning with her brother. No one wants them when they get out to the country, but they finally go live with a woman named Susan Smith. She cleans them up, gives them a place to live, and treats them with respect. Susan sees no reason why Ada shouldn't be able to do everything everyone else is doing. For the first time in her life Ada is spending time outside. She even meets her beloved Butter, the horse who resides on the Smith property. The freedom Ada feels is amazing. There are hard days too, and Ada’s mom cannot be reached to approve a surgery for her club foot. Are things too good to last? What will happen when the war is over? Will Ada ever get her surgery so she can wear regular shoes? You will not be able to put this book down!

I first heard about The War That Saved My Life on The Children’s War blog. I am so happy I had a chance to read it. The characters in the book really come to life. I loved some of them and hated others. My heart went out to Ada because of her struggles with her foot and I winced at the way her mother treated her. She was an amazing older sister though! I thought it was also interesting how something as terrible as a war could end up saving someone's life in a different way. I recommend this to kids in fourth grade and up who like historical fiction and easy to relate to characters. I look forward to reading more books by this author!

Has anyone else read The War That Saved My Life? Or have you read another book by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!

~L

Auggie and Me- Three Wonder Stories

I read Wonder back in 2012 and loved it (read myreview).  In it we learn about what 5th grade at Beecher Prep is like for August Pullman, a boy who has undergone countless surgeries due to his birth defects. I have reread it twice, and it has touched me each time. Auggie's voice captivated me, and it was fascinating reading what his year was like for a few other important characters.


I was excited to see Auggie and Me: Three Wonder Stories by R.J. Palacio.  I knew I had to read it and find out what was going on with some of the other characters I hadn't heard from yet. In Wonder we see his classmates through Auggie's eyes, and now we get to hear from the bully, Julian, his old best friend, Christopher, and Charlotte, who he met when he toured the school. Each story fills in gaps and shows us that there really are two sides to every story. We start with Julian, and it's no surprise that we get some insight behind his mean treatment of Auggie. We also get to see shortly past the end of their 5th grade year. Christopher has know Auggie since birth, and we find out what it was like being friends with someone who needed to have so many surgeries and how their friendship changed over the years.  Lastly, Charlotte sheds light on other drama and social occurrences that were happening throughout the year that we didn't know about from Auggie.

Auggie and Me is perfect for readers who enjoyed Wonderand wanted more. It's an interesting addition to Auggie's story because we don't learn much more about his life after 5th grade, except for the summer months, which Julian tells us about. Instead we learn that there is often more going on than what we see on the surface. In any situation we may think we have all the facts, but someone else may show us information that makes us think differently. I can't say reading this book made me think Julian is an awesome boy, because I still think he's mean. I do understand him better, and I do have hope that he will be different in the future. There is something very special about diving back into a favorite story, and I recommend this journey for anyone who wants to have a little more time with Auggie and friends. This is an excellent book for kids and adults who want to see what a story is like from another point of view. I would recommend this book to readers in third grade and up.  You will finish the book feeling like you have more pieces of the puzzle. Definitely read Wonder first if you haven't already!

Back when we reviewed Wonder we were lucky enough to interview R.J. Palacio. To find out more about the story behind the story check out what she had to say.

Has anyone else read Wonder or Auggie and Me? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!
~L