The War that Saved my Life

Genre: Historical Fiction

Title: The War that Saved my Life

Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Awards: Newbery Honor Award, Schneider Family Book Award

Age Group: 9-11 years old

Summary: Ada lives with her younger brother, Jamie, and abusive mother in London. The mother favors Jamie and does not let Ada leave their apartment because she is ashamed of her. Ada and Jamie escape to the countryside when they evacuated all the children because of the war. They lived with Ms. Susan Smith who took great care of them. A few months went by with no word from their mother when all of a sudden she showed up at Susan's house to take back her children. The girl and boy went back to London with their mother, but Ada was not happy. In the end, Ada stood up to her mother, and that morning she and her brother were reunited with Susan.

Evaluation: I really enjoyed this book, but I am unsure if I would want to use this book in my class. My biggest worry is the abuse that Ada goes through with her mom may trigger some students that have gone through that or are going through that at home. That would be my one reason why I would not use the book. The book is definitely geared toward older students and I would say it is most appropriate for 5th-8th grade students. I would use this book to teach students about story elements. Also, I would teach students about character development and the difference between a protagonist and an antagonist then compare those characters from the story.

Comments

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