The War That Saved My Life

In this heart-wrenching, pulse-pounding story of a brother and sister evacuated from London to the countryside during World War II, Bradley's storytelling is pitch-perfect: she reveals Ada's feelings, as she masters her physical disability and battles with the complex emotions she has about her abusive mother, in a way that is intense but understandable for middle readers, and her exploration of the larger war around her is serious but always suspenseful. There's also humor and uplift, but thankfully no sentimentality. It's an ideal book for any young horse lover, junior WWII buff, or budding Anglophile. And don't be scared away by the difficult topics. Kids never are. (Age 9 to 12—and up)