From the publisher:
"Ten-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 fro 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?
Set during one of the most explosive periods in world history, this amazing story is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family, identity, and the fire of self-worth that can, when fed, burn brightly in all of us.
316 pages Ages 9-13 978-0803740815
Pacing: Moves well
Plot: Balance between character driven and Action
Tone: Painful turns to hopeful
Characters: self-reliant; finding their own strength
********** Ada lives a solitary life. She is never allowed out of her family’s small apartment because her mother is too ashamed of Ada’s club foot. Ada’s only information about the world outside comes from her little brother, Jaime, and from tidbits overheard at the window, such as news of the approaching war. When London plans an evacuation of the city’s children to safer areas in the countryside, Ada dares to escape her abusive mother and to join Jaime on the train out.
Thus begins a new chance for Ada, as well as for Susan Smith, the reclusive woman who takes in the two children. Little by little, Ada opens up and starts to trust people, and Susan learns to love again after years of loneliness. Ada’s confidence and abilities build, so that when the time comes for her to decide on a future, the decision can be hers.
