Books › The war that Saved my Life
The war that Saved my Life
352 pages
A deeply moving journey of a fiercely resilient girl discovering the world, her own worth, and the healing power of found family.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping out of a dark, cramped room into a wide, sunlit field. It is an emotionally gripping, deeply empathetic experience that balances the harsh realities of trauma with the profound warmth of healing. The narrative moves at a brisk, compelling pace, anchored by a fiercely resilient protagonist whose matter-of-fact voice makes her journey all the more heartbreaking and triumphant. The prose is unadorned but rich in sensory details, capturing the awe of a child experiencing grass, ponies, and kindness for the very first time. It is a story steeped in a bittersweet, rustic atmosphere that gradually thaws into genuine hope. Perfect for readers who crave stories of found family, quiet courage, and the stubborn, beautiful will to survive and thrive.
- Mood
- bittersweet
- rustic
- tense
- heartwarming
- Tone
- earnest
- unflinching
- matter-of-fact
- hopeful
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- found family · healing from trauma · disability and self-worth · wartime resilience · human-animal connection
- The writing
- Direct, unadorned, and deeply anchored in the sensory experience of a child discovering the world for the first time.
- The arc
- Moves from profound isolation and internalized worthlessness to hard-won trust, self-reliance, and the fierce embrace of a chosen family.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love emotionally resonant historical fiction about resilient children finding their place in the world.
Content notes
- child abuse
- ableism
- wartime peril
- trauma
About the book
Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. 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.
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. 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. 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?
Description from Open Library.
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