Like the classic heroines of Sarah, Plain and Tall and Little Women, Ada conquers the home front as her World War II journey continues in this sequel to the Newbery Honor-winning The War That Saved My Life.

When Ada's clubfoot is surgically fixed at last, she knows for certain that she's not what her mother said she was - damaged, deranged, crippled mentally as well as physically. She's not a daughter anymore, either. What is she?

World War II continues, and Ada and her brother, Jamie, are living with their loving legal guardian, Susan, in a borrowed cottage on the estate of the formidable Lady Thorton - along with Lady Thorton herself and her daughter, Maggie. Life in the crowded cottage is tense enough, and then, quite suddenly, Ruth, a Jewish girl from Germany, moves in. A German? The occupants of the house are horrified. But other impacts of the war become far more frightening. As death creeps closer to their door, life and morality during wartime grow more complex. Who is Ada now? How can she keep fighting? And who will she struggle to save?

Ada's first story, The War That Saved My Life, won a Newbery Honor, the Schneider Family Book Award, and the Josette Frank Award in addition to appearing on multiple best-of-the-year lists. This second marvelous volume continues Ada's powerful, uplifting story.

Listening Length

8 hours and 46 minutes
Author

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Narrator

Jayne Entwistle
Audible release date

October 3, 2017
Language

English
Publisher

Listening Library
ASIN

B074F4FCQW
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	8 hours and 46 minutes
Author	Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Narrator	Jayne Entwistle
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	October 03, 2017
Publisher	Listening Library
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B074F4FCQW
Best Sellers Rank	#10,532 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #22 in Historical Fiction for Children #28 in Children's European Historical Fiction (Books) #49 in Children's Books on Disabilities

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

1,308 global ratings

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2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Shannon Navin

Just as good as the first!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 11, 2019

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So my thoughts on the second book: equally rich, equally compelling. The War I Finally Won takes up Ada’s story from the time when she came to live permanently with Susan. Ada, Susan and Jamie have changed residences (for reasons that will become apparent when you read Saved My Life) and are now living with Lady Thornton (and Maggie when she is home from boarding school.) Susan has paid for foot surgery for Ada and the family is dealing with the war that is raging on their doorstep. Food rations, potato picking, fire watches and the like are all part of their daily lives as they try to survive in a world that is being torn apart by World War II.

Three major developments take place in this book: 1) A young German refugee named Ruth comes to live with Ada, Susan, Jamie and Lady Thornton, 2) A tragedy befalls the family as part of the war and 3) Susan becomes very ill and requires hospitalization. Throughout the book, the reader sees these three events folded together to bring the book to its eventual close…how they deal with Ruth, face their tragedy and learn about the depth of their love for one another in the face of Susan’s illness are the major themes that frame the second book overall.

Readers get to spend more time with Lady Thornton and her family members in this sequel and will get to know Ruth (and see the impact of the war on Germans who did not follow Hitler.) We also learn about suffering and strength and what it can do to people’s characters. Finally, we get to see Ada come to terms with her history and understand that she is lovable and that her mother’s assertions about her defectiveness were nothing more than the ravings of a women who was inherently ‘broken’ herself.

Jamie continues to provide comic relief in this second book and Ada continues to establish herself as a fighter…she faces adversity and her own fear with courage and aplomb. Perhaps most heartwarming within this second book is Susan’s story: we finally learn more about her past and come to understand her depression, her strength and her willingness and ability to love Ada and Jamie through their struggles. The combination of Ada’s and Susan’s characters, is, to my mind, one of the best pairings I have encountered in a book in a long time. They will tear at your heartstrings, have you in tears and leave you with warm laughter.

I can’t recommend these two books enough…they read like older books of the same style (think Anne of Green Gables or Little Women) but are somewhat more modern and forward thinking. There’s lots to learn about World War II and the state of affairs of that time in Europe but neither book reads as ‘educational’ (a curse to the 11 year old, I assure you!) There’s a lot to uncover in each book and I’m sure you could read each one repeatedly and find new and different topics to consider and discuss. Brubaker Bradley does an amazing job drawing this ‘family’ together and making the reader truly care about what happens as they build their story together! Read them in order, for sure…but definitely take the opportunity to read them. You won’t regret it!

24 people found this helpful

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Nana

Another spectacular book by this author

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 7, 2022

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Each book is better than the next and all are awesome . Highly recommend this author

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Karen Babb

A book of courage and love

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 3, 2019

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A young girl is abused and unloved because she was born with a deformity. One room with one window is her only view of the world. Then the War began and London children are evacuated to towns outside the city. A lonely spinster woman takes her and her younger brother in to live with her. She's never had children of her own, but decides to try to love these two. She has found a way to get the girl's feet operated on so they will be more normal. She finds them new clothes. The house they live in is very nice and they always have a bath, clean clothes and food. Before they know it they love each other. Ada, the young girl discovers a pony in the pasture, whose name is Butter. They become fast friends. As Ada and Butter go on journeys around town, she discovers the world is a much bigger place. Their mother never visits or inquires about them. They become the woman's adopted children. A lot of exciting things happen to them due to the war with Germany. In the first book, The War that Saved My life. It shows where good things can come from bad things. The second book The War that I Finally Won. Ada discovers the worth she has and that she is loveable to many people. She has learned she can also trust that love. Ada and little brother, Jamie now have a permanent and loving home!

10 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

I am Twelve years old and I strongly suggest you red this set.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

Firstly and foremost I want to thank Kimberly for writing this amazing set of books. Her hard work and ideas changed my love of reading from "Okay" to "WOW I've got to read atleast 3 books this length every week." This book is so touching including the first one. *SPOILER ALERT* I literally cried when Jonathan passed that'd how toching the book is. *END OF SPOILER* *BLUE SKY THINKING ALERT* I REALLY want this set to be a movie and that's probably not going to happen any time soon because that would be very hard to do while we are in the midde of a pandemic. *End of blue sky thinking* One last thanks to Kimberly and a thanks to you for reading this review I hope this satisfied you.

Helpful

Just read it, you'll love it!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 25, 2021

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I loved this book. I'm 43 and my nephew recommended it to me. I also got the sequel and I'm reading it now. Powerful stuff for a kid friendly story. A nice break from the normal overdose adults get of graphic this- and -that. And if you know anyone who has been through a childhood trauma, or might be experiencing one, this might be a gentle way to let them know they are not alone. The first person accounts of moments of disassociation and grappling with the effects of trauma on personal development are very real. Very healing story, the narrator doesn't dwell on the negative or go into unnecessary detail about the bad times. Lots of triumphant moments here. Read it!!!

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Dana D.

An amazing book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 16, 2022

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It is a book that truly makes you feel all the emotions the character does. It is amazingly written and a great book

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M. Fullerton

great read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 30, 2022

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Great conclusion to the series. Full of hope, love, hardship and joy. Finding out what we really need in the end.

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Kim Miller

Powerful story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 31, 2018

Verified Purchase

This story, set in WW2 London, was very compelling to me as an adult. I think older children (11+) will be easily immersed in the rich fabric of story that Bradley weaves together. I quickly found myself in a world of food rations, pig clubs, and blackout panels...learning things about life in a war-torn era that I did not know. Those who have had to work through issues of abuse or abandonment will find important truths in Ada's story. Sometimes as children, we make the wrong deductions about our experiences. As a reader, it was intriguing to walk through Ada's experiences and watch as she learned to see herself (and even her abusive mother) from a richer, more hopeful perspective than the one she had come to believe as a child. Everyone needs a Susan in their life who will challenge the false, destructive narratives we believe about our lives and others.

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Top reviews from other countries

Schneekloth

They are such amazing stories! They are both the type of book ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 13, 2017

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I am very surprised that this book (a New York Times bestseller) and its predecessor (The War That Saved My Life - a Newbery Medal Honor book) are still fairly unknown in the UK. They are such amazing stories! They are both the type of book you want to get through as quickly as possible to find out what happens, whilst trying to slow down to keep on reading forever.

I was a bit worried if I would like this book as much the The War That Saved My Life, but The War I Finally Won is a worthy successor. My daughters, aged 10 and 11, and I absolutely loved it! While TWTSML dealt more with trauma and its effects on a child, The War I Finally Won paints a vivid picture of life during WWII. Both stories are fascinating. We have had so many discussions about themes raised by the book, ranging from WWII to neglect, abuse, trauma, freedom, being disabled, Nazi Germany, poverty, non-traditional families, self-discovery and women during the war. I cannot recommend this book enough.

3 people found this helpful

Violet Preston

Oh this is a heart warming story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 28, 2021

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I recommend this book for adults, as well as older children. It isn't always an easy read, touching on child abuse and anti semitism, but there's so much that's good about the leading characters. It is incredibly well written and researched.

A fan

Fantastic, gripping story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 6, 2019

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This is a great story - warm, moving, thought provoking and facinating. I recommend it for adults and 10+ children (and especially for anyone who loves horses).

Kathryn Montague

Excellent continuation of the story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 21, 2020

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The first book was so brilliant and the second was just as good.

Kindle Customer

I liked it!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 31, 2020

Verified Purchase

Intersesting, well written, a nice light read. I would defo recommend this book because idk i just thought yet was pretty good. Im 12 years old so it's goods for that age but for a bit older and younger too. Enjoy! ❤😁

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