Now I understand why my fellow librarian's faces would light up whenever "The War That Saved My Life" was mentioned. It took me a while to get into it, which I think was due to some skepticism that this would be another "poor-children-taken-in-by-grumpy-adult-and-both-parties-are-changed-forever" story. In many ways it was just that, but I found it to be less formulaic and more realistic. Susan was a character I could actually believe in - grumpy was in her personality from beginning to end, but she was also a loving person from the start too. She had her flaws, which made me enjoy her even more. Jamie was just precious, I wanted to scoop him up. 
 Where the story really hit a homerun for me was Ada. She didn't magically turn into a happy young girl once she was with Susan for a week. Months later, she was still really messed up from the abuse from her mom, and she should have been. Her mom was a horrible horrible lady. As painful as it was to read through Ada's struggle to cope with what she went through, it felt way more realistic than if she transformed overnight. And once she did start making progress, it seemed that much more monumental. 
 And the ending! I was freaking out. It seemed a little rushed, but I still liked it. Readers and the characters alike were going through a whirlwind of events in just a couple chapters. And the final line was perfect. 
 Would recommend for 5th grade and up (the subject matter is a little heavy) and especially for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.