THE BLURB: 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?
THE SCOOP: I almost quit reading after the first chapter, because the mother was so awful, but the story's focus is redemption, love, and growth, and it is absolutely heart-warming as only excellent middle grade can be.
Ada and Jamie remind me of Alf and Binnie in Connie Willis's Blackout/All Clear books, a bit. Their growth--especially Ada's, once she's given the chance to bloom--propels the story forward.
THE VERDICT: LOVE. I mean, LOVE. I'm suggesting it to my book club for next year.
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