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melissafresch's review
5.0
The 3rd book in the "Once" series is just as great as the first two!!
•Felix is now a grandfather. He has achieved so much in his life and is admired by everyone in his community. He has tried to bury the painful memories of his past, but they come back when his grandaughter Zelda comes to stay with him. Together they face another scary event and must fight for survivial—depending on each other’s strength and love to help them! Through this ordeal Felix’s granddaughter learns more about the tragedies her grandpa went through during WWII.
This was a great way to wrap up the series...and I have to say, I'm going to miss Felix! 📚 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the Once Series by Morris Gleitzman @morris_gleitzman
•Felix is now a grandfather. He has achieved so much in his life and is admired by everyone in his community. He has tried to bury the painful memories of his past, but they come back when his grandaughter Zelda comes to stay with him. Together they face another scary event and must fight for survivial—depending on each other’s strength and love to help them! Through this ordeal Felix’s granddaughter learns more about the tragedies her grandpa went through during WWII.
This was a great way to wrap up the series...and I have to say, I'm going to miss Felix! 📚 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the Once Series by Morris Gleitzman @morris_gleitzman
stephwd's review
3.0
This is the third of Gleitzman’s ‘Once’ series (so there are spoilers here if you have not read the first two in the series). However, unlike the previous novels in the series, this takes us away from the story of Felix as a child and sees him as a grandfather of 80 now living in Australia with his granddaughter, Zelda. Having achieved great things has a children’s surgeon, Felix must now face another test to his courage and resilience as a bush fire sweeps across his hometown and threatens his family.
On the one hand, I did really enjoy this addition to the story and seeing Felix as an adult having not merely survived, but achieved so much with his life was engaging and moving. As an Australian himself, Gleitzman captured the Australian landscape superbly and conveyed the terror of the bushfire (its intense heat and dramatic speed) brilliantly for his young audience. The only Australian based novels I have read are the haunting ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ which equally captures the epic scale and terror of the Australian landscape and ‘The Slap’ which was appalling in every way (if anyone wants to recommend any other great Australian novels, I would be really interested!). It was obvious that Gleitzman was writing about something that he not merely knew, but had potentially experienced first hand as the depiction was so vivid. Yet at the same time, he was able to convey Felix’s continued grief and suffering so many years after the war with a real emotional intensity that continued to move the reader. The message underlying the novel was that enduring the Nazi occupation was not merely something Felix survived, but something he continued to endure. The original Zelda continues to haunt the novel beautifully as a figure that Felix, much like the reader, can never forget.
However, there were also some fundamental flaws in this novel: Firstly, it felt rather thin – a short story rather than a novel as unlike the rest of the ‘Once’ series which had a story propelling through them, this was far more of a stand alone narrative. Secondly, it did not really satisfy the reader’s need to discover what had actually happened to Felix as a child: ‘Then’ leaves Felix in the middle of the war and although ‘Now’ tells us he has survived, it does not reveal how so we are left with a narrative gap that is ultimately unsatisfying. Thankfully, there is still the fourth novel in the series ‘After’ which I am hoping will do just this. Thirdly, there is a fundamental flaw in the plot itself. The granddaughter Zelda is left to live with her grandfather because her parents have gone abroad as doctors to help children in Africa. However, this feels like a peculiar decision for a family whose patriarch has suffered as a result of not having a mother or father figure and who is 80 and perhaps in need of care himself. They thus seemed rather heartless and selfish despite their altruistic mission. It simply does not make sense for them to abandon her in this way and it was evidently simply a means of re-introducing Felix and placing him in a heroic role that would otherwise have been impossible. Lastly, as the story was not truly told from Felix’s point of view, he felt too distant from us. It is his story that we have come to love and be engaged with not Zelda and thus it felt as if something was missing.
This is a great children’s novel and certainly revealing in its depiction of the terror of Australian bush fires. Moreover, as in the other novels, there are some really disturbing depictions of the suffering that they bring, which are really harrowing (and certainly not appropriate for children under say 12). Gleitzman deals with even the most harrowing aspects of the tragedy associated with these disasters unflinchingly, but also in a really sensitive manner so we experience both the heartbreaking nature of the events as well as their true horror: there is no romanticism or dwelling on heroism only the stark reality.
This was a great novel and very revealing as I had not read anything before about the subject matter. However, ultimately, as part of the series, it left me wanting and it felt somewhat flawed. I wanted more of Felix, I wanted the end of his story and I wanted to get back into the heart of what ‘Once’ seemed to be about.
On the one hand, I did really enjoy this addition to the story and seeing Felix as an adult having not merely survived, but achieved so much with his life was engaging and moving. As an Australian himself, Gleitzman captured the Australian landscape superbly and conveyed the terror of the bushfire (its intense heat and dramatic speed) brilliantly for his young audience. The only Australian based novels I have read are the haunting ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ which equally captures the epic scale and terror of the Australian landscape and ‘The Slap’ which was appalling in every way (if anyone wants to recommend any other great Australian novels, I would be really interested!). It was obvious that Gleitzman was writing about something that he not merely knew, but had potentially experienced first hand as the depiction was so vivid. Yet at the same time, he was able to convey Felix’s continued grief and suffering so many years after the war with a real emotional intensity that continued to move the reader. The message underlying the novel was that enduring the Nazi occupation was not merely something Felix survived, but something he continued to endure. The original Zelda continues to haunt the novel beautifully as a figure that Felix, much like the reader, can never forget.
However, there were also some fundamental flaws in this novel: Firstly, it felt rather thin – a short story rather than a novel as unlike the rest of the ‘Once’ series which had a story propelling through them, this was far more of a stand alone narrative. Secondly, it did not really satisfy the reader’s need to discover what had actually happened to Felix as a child: ‘Then’ leaves Felix in the middle of the war and although ‘Now’ tells us he has survived, it does not reveal how so we are left with a narrative gap that is ultimately unsatisfying. Thankfully, there is still the fourth novel in the series ‘After’ which I am hoping will do just this. Thirdly, there is a fundamental flaw in the plot itself. The granddaughter Zelda is left to live with her grandfather because her parents have gone abroad as doctors to help children in Africa. However, this feels like a peculiar decision for a family whose patriarch has suffered as a result of not having a mother or father figure and who is 80 and perhaps in need of care himself. They thus seemed rather heartless and selfish despite their altruistic mission. It simply does not make sense for them to abandon her in this way and it was evidently simply a means of re-introducing Felix and placing him in a heroic role that would otherwise have been impossible. Lastly, as the story was not truly told from Felix’s point of view, he felt too distant from us. It is his story that we have come to love and be engaged with not Zelda and thus it felt as if something was missing.
This is a great children’s novel and certainly revealing in its depiction of the terror of Australian bush fires. Moreover, as in the other novels, there are some really disturbing depictions of the suffering that they bring, which are really harrowing (and certainly not appropriate for children under say 12). Gleitzman deals with even the most harrowing aspects of the tragedy associated with these disasters unflinchingly, but also in a really sensitive manner so we experience both the heartbreaking nature of the events as well as their true horror: there is no romanticism or dwelling on heroism only the stark reality.
This was a great novel and very revealing as I had not read anything before about the subject matter. However, ultimately, as part of the series, it left me wanting and it felt somewhat flawed. I wanted more of Felix, I wanted the end of his story and I wanted to get back into the heart of what ‘Once’ seemed to be about.
bookgirl1209's review
4.0
The third in the series that started with Once and Then.
I was wondering if the third book would hold up as it focuses on Felix, now a grandfather and his granddaughter, Zelda. There is not much on Felix's experiences during the war but the story was none the less touching and sad and heartwarming.
The weaving together of Zelda's bully problems and the behaviour of the Nazis during the warm didn't seem contrived at all.
I have done a lot of reading about the Holocaust over the years and this series really brought home the stories of the children. Sometimes things are so big that you can't see the forest for the trees. These books brought the World War 2 experience into sharp focus and I think they'll stick with me for quite a while.
During my extra reading on the subject I came upon this quote which I think is so very important to keep in mind.
"Dislike of the unlike is dangerous to all of us. If we allow intolerance toward one group of people today, any of us could be part of a group selected for destruction tomorrow." ~Yaffa Eliach
hiyya's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ducky1918's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mollypowley's review
5.0
Brilliant book. Love how it gives a different point of view and shows a older Felix and how is childhood has impacted his adult life.
roisin2002's review
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
annie_may_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
notquiterockstar's review
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
sam_hartwig's review
3.0
This isn't the end of this series, there is a fourth book which has just been released called "After" which I'm really looking forward to reading as it continues Felix's story when he defeats the Nazis. So instead of the final book being voiced through Felix, it's all from Felix's grand-daughter Zelda's point of view. I liked this book but not as much as the other two, mainly because I liked Felix as a character and didn't have that same feeling for Zelda. I also think it's because there was so much more I wanted to read about Felix's story and I didn't feel like it was over yet (but now I know there's more, that makes me happy). Zelda is living with her grandfather because her parents are doctors working overseas and during her stay with her grandfather we get glimpses of how Felix (which is what she calls him in the book, not pop or grand-father etc) has changed since the war and how he moved to Australia. The "event" that happens in this is also based on truth, it really did happen in Australia and that's what makes these books feel so real. The ending was really sweet and a little bit sad, but in a good way if there can be...
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