Opening
The fragile peace of Ada Smith’s new life breaks when her mother, Mam, arrives and drags Ada and Jamie Smith back to London. These chapters collide Ada’s private battle with her mother and the public crisis of the Blitz, culminating in Susan Smith’s rescue and the triumph of The Meaning of Found Family.
What Happens
Chapter 41: "Coming in on a pony!"
Ada rides in on Butter, proud and straight, and Mam doesn’t even recognize her. The moment Ada names herself, Mam’s confusion turns to fury over Susan’s letter about surgery and a government notice demanding nineteen shillings a week for the children. Mam launches into a vicious tirade at Susan, spitting insults and accusing her of putting on airs, while Susan stays steady and calm—an unmistakable contrast that centers the power of chosen care and The Meaning of Found Family.
When Ada asks to put Butter away before leaving, Mam hits her between the shoulders—a brutal, familiar shock that reawakens the old terror and underscores Trauma, Abuse, and Healing. Susan pleads for the children—“I want you now”—and threatens to call the police, but Ada decides to go with Mam. She knows the police might let her stay, yet they would not remove Jamie, who was never locked up. To protect him, Ada chooses to leave. As they depart, Ada looks back to see Susan already tending Butter, quietly promising to care for what Ada loves.
Chapter 42: "Not for long, missy"
On the train, Mam takes a seat offered to Ada, sneering that Ada’s walking days are over. Back in London, Mam’s two-room flat has no cupboard to lock, but she imposes new rules: Ada may not leave the room and must use a bucket for a toilet. If Ada disobeys, Mam says she’ll hurt Jamie. The chapter tightens the grip of Freedom and Imprisonment as Mam tries to erase Ada’s newfound mobility and choice.
In the dark, Ada fights back the only way she can: in her mind. She lists her victories—riding, catching a spy, reading, writing, being loved by Susan and friends—and refuses to accept Mam’s shame. She understands that Mam wants her hobbled, not healed, and claims her Identity and Self-Worth. Ada names her reality with a single word—“War”—recognizing her personal conflict with Mam and its echo in the national crisis, an act that frames War as a Catalyst for Change.
Chapter 43: "I'll find you a bucket"
Morning brings more cruelty. Jamie wets the bed; Mam hits him. Ada discovers her crutches and shoes are gone. When Ada presses her, Mam admits she refused a corrective operation when Ada was a baby because she wouldn’t spend the money and didn’t trust doctors. While Mam takes Jamie out, Ada searches the flat like a spy and finds a box: her and Jamie’s birth certificates, her parents’ marriage certificate, and a clipping about her father’s death in a dock accident. For the first time, she learns her real birthday and confirms she is eleven, with a father’s name to hold.
Steeled by knowledge and a year of growth, Ada confronts Mam with deliberate calm. She makes Mam say the quiet part aloud: she never wanted children and only brought them back to avoid paying for their care. Ada offers a deal—let them go, and Ada will make sure Mam doesn’t have to pay. Mam smiles her old cabinet-stuffing smile and agrees, ending with a chilling “Is that a promise?” The question lands like a door slamming shut, devastating and liberating at once.
Chapter 44: "Whoop-WHOOP"
Ada and Jamie cry together, grieving a mother they never truly have. Then Ada acts. She tells Jamie they will go “home” to Susan in the morning, shares the documents and their father’s story, and charts a course forward with hard-won Courage and Resilience.
The air-raid sirens wail—“Whoop-WHOOP”—and London plunges into chaos. Without her crutches, Ada struggles down the dark, crowded stairwell. A bomb explodes nearby, knocking them to the ground and leaving Ada temporarily deaf. They stumble through smoke and shouting until strangers pull them into a basement shelter, where they are tended to and finally fall asleep amid the thunder of the Blitz.
Chapter 45: "Susan!"
They wake to an air-raid warden reporting spreading fires. Ada’s hearing returns. Outside, dawn reveals a street of shattered glass and smoking rubble—a city that looks like Ada’s past. Through the debris, a small, determined figure picks her way toward them.
Susan appears. Jamie screams her name and runs into her skirt; Ada follows, and Susan gathers them in with both arms, wool scratchy and embrace fierce. “What a miracle. You’re all right,” she says, tears and relief confirming her love. In the heart of devastation, Susan’s arrival is an act of true parenthood—choosing, seeking, rescuing—solidifying the found family and carrying Ada and Jamie out of both Mam’s cruelty and the city’s burning night.
Character Development
These chapters forge identities under pressure—exposing true motives, testing loyalties, and crystallizing what “home” means.
- Ada: Faces Mam without flinching, choosing Jamie’s safety over her own. Uses intelligence to uncover documents, negotiate freedom, and claim her birthday and name. Refuses the identity Mam assigns, asserts herself as a fighter, and recognizes Susan as her mother in all but blood.
- Susan: Speaks plainly—“I want you now”—and proves it by crossing a bombed city to find the children. Her steady action and tangible comfort complete her transformation into a parent.
- Mam: Reveals unvarnished motives—resentment, control, and financial self-interest. Her “Is that a promise?” seals her absolute rejection and positions her as the story’s true antagonist.
- Jamie: Clings to Ada through fear, then instinctively runs to Susan. His “Susan!” is a clear recognition of who his family is now.
Themes & Symbols
Ada’s biological past collides with her chosen future. Found family isn’t sentimental—it’s enacted in decisions and risks. Mam’s blood tie means nothing beside her neglect and abuse, while Susan’s care, search, and rescue define what family is: choice, commitment, and daily work. The Blitz doesn’t just mirror Ada’s inner war; it accelerates it. Crisis compresses time and forces truth to the surface, turning private resistance into decisive escape.
Freedom and imprisonment shift from physical to psychological terrain. Mam can take crutches and shoes; she can’t reclaim Ada’s sense of worth. By naming her situation—“War”—Ada reframes herself from captive to combatant, a crucial step in healing trauma and refusing inherited shame.
Symbols:
- Birth Certificates: Paper proof of identity and history. They undercut Mam’s narrative, anchoring Ada in facts she can claim—age, name, father—and empowering her negotiation.
- Bombed-Out Streets: Externalize the ruin Mam leaves inside her children. Susan’s appearance in that wasteland embodies hope: the promise to rebuild from rubble.
Key Quotes
“I want you now.”
Susan’s plain, urgent language makes her claim on the children explicit. It reframes love as action—offering safety, legal help, and a home—and marks the moment she fully steps into motherhood.
“Not for long, missy.”
Mam’s sneer collapses Ada’s progress into a threat. The line embodies imprisonment and control, revealing Mam’s need to undo Ada’s mobility and confidence.
“Is that a promise?”
Mam forces Ada to swear never to make her pay, weaponizing the children’s independence against themselves. The question is a final rejection—practical, cruel, and absolute—that frees Ada to stop hoping for a different mother.
“War.”
Ada’s single-word thought reframes her situation as a fight she can wage. Naming the conflict grants agency and aligns her inward resolve with the outer war.
“Whoop-WHOOP.”
The siren’s onomatopoeia fuses private crisis with national emergency. The Blitz accelerates Ada’s escape and underscores how catastrophe can catalyze decisive change.
“Susan!”
Jamie’s cry cuts through shock and rubble to locate home. The shout affirms their chosen family, turning reunion into recognition.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
This is the novel’s emotional and structural climax, where Ada confronts the source of her trauma and claims a future beyond it. Her negotiation with Mam breaks the last chain of obligation; the Blitz supplies the moment to act; Susan’s arrival proves that love shows up. Together, these chapters answer the central question—where does Ada belong?—by rooting her in the family she chooses and the self she builds, even as the world burns around her.