The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (part 1)

      Early this year I fell in love with The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. In March I read the book and immediately felt I needed to tell all my other reading friends about it. I read it with other teachers in our staff book club. (You can read all about that here.) I purchased a copy for each of my fourth graders, and we read it together before they graduated from Lincoln Elementary. We didn't understand how a mother could be so cruel to her daughter, Ada. We were touched by the growth Ada made when she was able to escape her mother's cruelty while facing the problems of World War II England. We were so disappointed when the story ended. There were so many questions related to the characters that were left unanswered.
      We were elated to hear that Kimberly Brubaker Bradley was releasing a sequel to The War that Saved My Life in October. Hopefully our questions would be answered. Would Ada receive surgery to repair her clubfoot? Would Ada's mom allow her and Jamie to remain with Susan? What would happen to Butter? How would the town survive WWII?
     Yesterday I was able to get my hands on The War I Finally Won. I am on page 11 of the book, and I have really mixed feelings. I can't wait to keep reading, but I have such strong feelings about how I think Ada's story should turn out. Will I be disappointed with the sequel? I really hope not.
     As a reader I'm suggesting you do two things-

• First, read The War that Saved My Life. Tell me what you think. 
• Second, follow up by reading The War I Finally Won, 

Happy Reading!!!