“Then I did what I should have done to start with. I taught myself to walk.”–Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
This book broke my heart as I read about the main character and her abusive mother. 10 year old Ada had never left her one bedroom apartment. Born with a club foot, her widowed mother is ashamed of her and won’t let her be seen in public. She also won’t let her try to walk or gain any sense of independence. As England braces for the German blitz, children from the city are put on trains to take them to the safely of the country. Ada’s younger brother, Jamie, is set to leave on the train, but her mother won’t let Ada go. With the help of Jamie and some other children, Ada escapes from her home and joins Jamie on the train.
Ada and Jamie are taken in by Susan Smith, a single woman who has to be talked in to taking the children. Ada slowly begins to trust Susan and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie but the children’s mother is still their mother and when she wants them to return to London, their new found peace is threatened.
This story takes a very different view of WWII–one where is was a good thing in an individual’s life. It also sheds light on the uncertain and sometimes terrible situations children found themselves in when they were shipped to the country without their parents. Not all children were as lucky as Ada and Jamie to be placed with a kind and loving person or family. If you enjoy this book, be sure to read the sequel, The War I Finally Won
Content Advisory: Child abuse, war violence