As a fairly voracious reader, I tend to go through quite a few books. I’ll finish one and be ready to move straight onto the next one. But once in a while, I’ll read a book that sticks with me, that I just keep thinking about. These books just stay in my mind and make me want to share them with everyone I talk to.
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is the most recent novel on my list. Even though it’s a children’s book (in fact, a recent Newbery Honor book), it covers some heavy topics and gives some great insight into the experiences of English children displaced during the Blitz. Young Ada has been confined to a one-room apartment her entire life because of her abusive mother’s embarrassment over Ada’s club foot. When her younger brother Jamie is set to be shipped out of London with his schoolmates, Ada escapes and joins them on a train taking everyone to safety in the countryside. Once there, Ada and Jamie are assigned to Susan Smith, a young woman fighting her own personal demons. Together, they try to form a bond that will help them survive through not only World War II but their own internal wars.
Here are some more great titles that kept me thinking:
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (and the whole Underland Chronicles series); Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein; Ready Player One by Ernest Cline; The Book Thief by Markus Zusak; Being Mortal by Atul Gawande; Stiff by Mary Roach
Connect with thought-provoking books at the Buda Public Library!
