The War that Saved My Life

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, 316 pages.
A Mark Twain Award nominee from 2015, I heard about this from a patron who had lost and paid for two library copies of the book, but was still enthusiastically recommending it as we sorted everything out. The story is told by Ada, a young girl living in London with her mother and her younger brother at the start of WWII. Ada cannot walk, she stays inside all the time, and her mother is awful. Ada can't really imagine a different life for herself, but she teaches herself to painfully stand and to take a few steps. When Ada discovers that Jamie, her younger brother, will be evacuated to the countryside because of the anticipated bombing, Ada is determined to go with him. Ada and Jamie's transformation during the course of the book is inspiring and moving.