Once, Then, and Now

My good friend Ms. G agreed to blog about what sounds like a fascinating trilogy by author Morris Gleitzman.  In fact, she read the last two books in one day!  That's a sure sign of a gripping story.  Here is some background information about the books followed by Ms. G's review:

Author's description: "Now is the third book about Felix.  In Once and Then, Felix is a ten-year-old boy struggling to survive in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1942.  He and his dearest friend, six-year-old Zelda, are caught up in that terrible time we call the Holocaust." 

The front and back covers of Once read:

"Everybody

deserves

to have

something good in their life.

At least

Once."

"Once I escaped from an 

orphanage to find Mum and Dad.

Once I saved a girl called 

Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi

with a toothache laugh."

The cover of Then reads:

"I had a plan for me and Zelda:

Pretend to be someone else.

Find new parents.

Be safe forever.

Then the Nazis came."

The cover of Now reads:

"Once I didn't know about my grandfather Felix's scary childhood.

Then I found out what the Nazi's did to his best friend Zelda.

Now I understand why Felix does the things he does.

At least he's got me.

My name is Zelda too.

This is our story."

Here is what Ms. G had to say:

My mother introduced me to Once this winter - after finishing it in one sitting, I pre-ordered Then.  Last week my aunt who was visiting from Australia, brought Now.  I was sitting on my porch finishing the final pages of Then, when company returned from outings and I refused to talk to anyone as I read the final pages with tears streaming down my face.  After dinner, I stayed up until 3:30 with Now.  It is fair to say that all Holocaust stories are disturbing, so fair warning that Once and especially Then tell of those horrors, but there are laugh-out-loud moments too.  

Now is different.  It is set in modern day Australia, outside of the city of Melbourne.  While Felix narrates Once and Then, his granddaughter, Zelda, tells their story in Now.  I found all three books engaging throughout, but if you only have time for one, Then   is the best - the most heart wrenching, but the best none the less.