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JanB's Reviews > The War That Saved My Life
The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)
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JanB's review
bookshelves: 2020-reads, audiobook, historical-fiction, middle-grade-fiction
Oct 27, 2020
bookshelves: 2020-reads, audiobook, historical-fiction, middle-grade-fiction
In the midst of a reading slump I decided to try a different genre – middle grade fiction. I’ve seen great reviews (thanks Debbie!) and when an IRL friend also recommended it (thanks Jan!), I decided to pick it up. What a gem! The audiobook was narrated by Jayne Entwistle, who narrates the Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley. Her narration is perfection.
Eleven-year-old Ada was born with a clubfoot and her abusive and cruel mother uses it as an excuse to keep her a prisoner in their one room apartment, often in a tiny closet as ‘punishment’ for minor infractions.
The family lives in England during WWII. To escape the war, Ada's mother prepares to evacuate her brother, Jamie, out to the countryside where families have agreed to take children in for the duration. But not Ada, since according to her mom, “no one would want her”, but Jamie is her life and Ada sneaks out with him anyway. They make their way to the countryside and are reluctantly taken in by Susan, a recluse who has issues of her own.
Ada, not surprisingly, struggles with navigating the outside world, and has anxiety and trust issues. “I wanted Mam to be like Susan. I didn’t really trust Susan not to be like Mam.” The author does a great job of realistically depicting Ada’s struggles without overplaying it.
How these three learn to live and heal together, along with the age-appropriate realistic depiction of WWII, made for a riveting read that was never juvenile, boring, or manipulative. I fell in love with all the characters, but I simply adored spunky, determined Ada. War is terrible, but this war literally saved Ada’s life. Watching her growth as a character amid the tension and intrigue of WWII was an utter delight.
I never considered middle grade fiction because YA is not for me. How wrong I was! This is right up there among the best. Highly recommended for all ages but for younger readers I would recommend reading and discussing the themes along with them.
Eleven-year-old Ada was born with a clubfoot and her abusive and cruel mother uses it as an excuse to keep her a prisoner in their one room apartment, often in a tiny closet as ‘punishment’ for minor infractions.
The family lives in England during WWII. To escape the war, Ada's mother prepares to evacuate her brother, Jamie, out to the countryside where families have agreed to take children in for the duration. But not Ada, since according to her mom, “no one would want her”, but Jamie is her life and Ada sneaks out with him anyway. They make their way to the countryside and are reluctantly taken in by Susan, a recluse who has issues of her own.
Ada, not surprisingly, struggles with navigating the outside world, and has anxiety and trust issues. “I wanted Mam to be like Susan. I didn’t really trust Susan not to be like Mam.” The author does a great job of realistically depicting Ada’s struggles without overplaying it.
How these three learn to live and heal together, along with the age-appropriate realistic depiction of WWII, made for a riveting read that was never juvenile, boring, or manipulative. I fell in love with all the characters, but I simply adored spunky, determined Ada. War is terrible, but this war literally saved Ada’s life. Watching her growth as a character amid the tension and intrigue of WWII was an utter delight.
I never considered middle grade fiction because YA is not for me. How wrong I was! This is right up there among the best. Highly recommended for all ages but for younger readers I would recommend reading and discussing the themes along with them.
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Reading Progress
October 23, 2020
–
Started Reading
October 24, 2020
–
Finished Reading
October 27, 2020
– Shelved
October 27, 2020
– Shelved as:
2020-reads
October 27, 2020
– Shelved as:
audiobook
October 29, 2020
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
October 29, 2020
– Shelved as:
middle-grade-fiction
Comments Showing 1-50 of 79 (79 new)
message 1:
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Diane
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Oct 27, 2020 11:52AM
Fantastic review, Jan ;)
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Diane wrote: "Fantastic review, Jan ;)"Thanks Diane 😊
Wow, sounds like a fantastic read! Both setting and character development sound great!
This sounds fantastic!! Excellent review, Jan!! 💖
Wow, fantastic review, Jan! I love that you tried something different and found a winner! 😊
And the great news is that there's a second book to move on to next! I hope you enjoy it just as much. I sure did.
Great review, Jan. You make me want to read this book, despite it being meant for middle school 💗
Fantastic review Jan, glad you enjoyed it.
Nice review Jan glad this was a good and surprising read ....... my dad was evacuated from London during the war, and used to speak of it often :)
Fab review, Jan! I have wanted to read this one for quite awhile now and even have it on my Kindle. But I keep pushing it to the side because of the fact it's a children's novel. If you enjoyed it this much, however, I need to quit shoving it off my radar.
What a terrific review for what sounds like a wonderful novel. A feel good novel that takes place during WWII. I'm sold, Jan.
p.s. Wow. I just looked up this book on Audible. I've never seen a book with so many high ratings. 2,800 people average 4.5 our of 5!
Awesome review, Jan! So glad to see that you had a terrific reading experience in the midst of a reading slump, and from an mostly-unfrequented genre. I'm glad you took a chance and it turned out to be a winner for you! Yay for all those stars! :)
Jennifer wrote: "Wow, sounds like a fantastic read! Both setting and character development sound great!"Thanks Jennifer, it was just what I needed to end the slump!
Julie wrote: "This sounds fantastic!! Excellent review, Jan!! 💖"Thanks Julie, it was such a surprise hit for me 💖
Michael wrote: "Wow, fantastic review, Jan! I love that you tried something different and found a winner! 😊"Thanks Michael, I think trying something different is just what is needed when a slump hits :)
Regina wrote: "And the great news is that there's a second book to move on to next! I hope you enjoy it just as much. I sure did."yay, I'll be downloading it soon! I'm glad to hear book #2 is just as good :) Thanks Regina!
marilyn wrote: "Great review, Jan. You make me want to read this book, despite it being meant for middle school 💗"haha, I know right? No one is more surprised than me at how much I enjoyed it!
Maureen wrote: "Fantastic review Jan, glad you enjoyed it."Thanks Maureen! 😊
Richard wrote: "Nice review Jan glad this was a good and surprising read ....... my dad was evacuated from London during the war, and used to speak of it often :)"What a time to live through and what stories he must have told. Thanks so much Richard!
Melissa wrote: "Fab review, Jan! I have wanted to read this one for quite awhile now and even have it on my Kindle. But I keep pushing it to the side because of the fact it's a children's novel. If you enjoyed it ..."Melissa, I'm so glad, I think you will be surprised at how good it is for a children's novel. It's a great story for all ages - enjoy!
Anne wrote: "p.s. Wow. I just looked up this book on Audible. I've never seen a book with so many high ratings. 2,800 people average 4.5 our of 5!"Anne wrote: "What a terrific review for what sounds like a wonderful novel. A feel good novel that takes place during WWII. I'm sold, Jan."
Thanks Anne. I'm not surprised at the reviews. I forgot to add it is a Newberry winner so those reviews are well-deserved. And now I know that to end a slump I need to mix things up. Color me surprised too :)
Yun wrote: "Awesome review, Jan! So glad to see that you had a terrific reading experience in the midst of a reading slump, and from an mostly-unfrequented genre. I'm glad you took a chance and it turned out t..."Thanks so much Yun. It was fresh and different, just what I needed!
Wonderful review, Jan! I agree with everything you said! What a fantastic book! Like you, I stay away from YA, so what a surprise. I read this to a 10-year-old and she loved it too. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of the second one in the series when the pandemic hit. At this point I'll have to start over (and not have my 10-year-old audience, alas). It's good, but I liked the first a bit more. Thanks for the shoutout!
Debbie wrote: "Wonderful review, Jan! I agree with everything you said! What a fantastic book! Like you, I stay away from YA, so what a surprise. I read this to a 10-year-old and she loved it too. Unfortunately, ..."Thanks for your excellent review which nudged me closer to this wonderful story. I will never again confuse middle grade fiction with YA! I'm sorry you no longer have your 10-year-old watch - her loss and yours. Damn pandemic!
Lovely review, Jan! Switching gears often helps me during a slump as well. I tend to enjoy middle grades fiction much more than YA. Glad you found this so satisfying :)
Sounds deep for middle grade fiction! Glad you enjoyed!
Beautiful review Jan. It makes a difference when you love the characters that drive the story. And I agree when it comes to YA. I never wanted to read it and my first reads started with not even knowing that a book was for YA. I simply was interested in the storyline and couldn't find a different book on the subject. And at the end, ended up loving those books. So now I don't have a problem to be reaching for those YA books :)
Fabulous review, Jan! Glad this one worked for you!
So glad this helped get you out of your reading slump, Jan! I wouldn't have guessed you'd like it either. It's nice to be proven wrong sometimes, when it means you find something new to enjoy!
Great review, Jan! I'm glad going outside your usual genres worked for you!
Fantastic review Jan! Good for you for stepping outside your reading bubble! Glad you enjoyed!💜
Both my kids have read this one. Seems like I need to get to it! I’m glad n a pretty big 2020 slump. Maybe I *need* this book.
Great review Jan, it's fun to step into a different genre once in a while :)
Hmm, I need to look into this one after seeing your 5 star review. Glad you found one to get you out of your slump, Jan!
Fantastic review, Jan! I am so glad that this book helped you out of your reading slump! I haven't read much middle grade fiction, but it sounds like I need to spend some time with this genre!
Jan, I’m not a big YA fan either and wouldn’t have thought to read any middle grade fiction, so I’m glad I read your wonderful review. I may have to try this.
So glad you read this..it's different and good!
Anne wrote: "So glad you are out of your slump.:))"Thanks Anne, me too :)
Candi wrote: "Lovely review, Jan! Switching gears often helps me during a slump as well. I tend to enjoy middle grades fiction much more than YA. Glad you found this so satisfying :)"Thanks Candi, I didn't know what I was missing. I'm much more open to trying middle-grade fiction now. And now I know how to end a slump! :)
Jayme wrote: "Sounds deep for middle grade fiction! Glad you enjoyed!"Jayme, it was such a surprise. Much deeper than YA 😉
Annette wrote: "Beautiful review Jan. It makes a difference when you love the characters that drive the story. And I agree when it comes to YA. I never wanted to read it and my first reads started with not even kn..."Thanks Annette, it's funny how we get ideas stuck in our head that we don't enjoy a certain genre and then discover than there are books for everyone within any genre :) I don't necessarily need to like my characters but when trying a new genre it definitely helped!
Debra wrote: "Fabulous review, Jan! Glad this one worked for you!"Thanks Debra!
Jenna wrote: "So glad this helped get you out of your reading slump, Jan! I wouldn't have guessed you'd like it either. It's nice to be proven wrong sometimes, when it means you find something new to enjoy!"Thanks Jenna. It's definitely not my usual type of read, and it's fun to discover I like something that I thought I didn't :)
Kristy wrote: "Great review, Jan! I'm glad going outside your usual genres worked for you!"Thanks Kristy, slumps are the worst and I'm glad mine has ended!
Kristy wrote: "Great review, Jan! I'm glad going outside your usual genres worked for you!"Thanks Kristy, now I know what to do the next time I hit a slump :)
Kaceey wrote: "Fantastic review Jan! Good for you for stepping outside your reading bubble! Glad you enjoyed!💜"Thanks so much Kaceey! :)
Kelli wrote: "Both my kids have read this one. Seems like I need to get to it! I’m glad n a pretty big 2020 slump. Maybe I *need* this book."Kelli, that's awesome your kids have read it. It would be a fun one to discuss with them when you finish. If you can do audio, listen! :)
Dorie - Cats&Books :) wrote: "Great review Jan, it's fun to step into a different genre once in a while :)"Thanks Dorie, it is!
