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 frIn 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....more
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