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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
WWII peril; some violence; Ada's physical suffering from her untreated clubfoot
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological weight of a childhood defined by abuse and confinement; Susan's grief; the war's anxiety throughout
What this book is about
Ada is nine years old with a clubfoot that her mother says makes her useless. She has never been outside their single-room London apartment. When the war starts and her brother Jamie is evacuated, Ada climbs out the window and goes with him. In Kent, they are placed with Susan Smith, a grieving, reluctant guardian who slowly becomes something more. Bradley's Newbery Honor novel is about the literal expansion of a child's world—physical, psychological, and emotional.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A mother's sustained emotional abuse of her disabled child
WWII peril including a bombing
Child neglect and its consequences depicted seriously
Reader Verification
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