Soon is book 5 in the Felix and Zelda series created by Gleitzman in his attempt to "grasp the unimaginable."Every time that Gleitzman thinks that he has finished this series, Felix pops up with more to say.
Soon finds Felix and Gabriek eking out a life of sorts in an abandoned, bombed out building. The war is over, but now the Russian soldiers have arrived in Poland and street gangs rule what remains of the city.
Felix finds ways to practice his doctoring skills which leads him to new friends and connections.
However, in such a shambolic world, loyalty and friendship can be dangerous things. And hope can seem far away.
As with the other four books, Gleitzman doesn't shy away from difficult topics, but they're handled in such a way that is age appropriate for mature 10+ readers.
Soon touches on war crimes, rape and sadly, once again, death.
When I finished Soon my first wish was for another Felix story.
I think Gleitzman felt this too.
The ending of Soon leaves plenty of room for what could come next - Felix as a refugee perhaps?
How did Felix emigrate to Australia?
What happened to Gabriek?
Who did Felix marry? And how many children did they have?
I also started thinking of possible names for the next book - When, Since, Before, Next, Later...?
But for now, you can find my Once, Now and Then review here and my After review here.
#XmasinSummer
Every challenge begins with a first step...1 book down 16 to go!
ReplyDeleteFinishing letter "C" Carver's sstories a few at a time and started letter 'T'.
Biography of Tennessee Willams.
The series by Gleitzman is totally new for me. I'll google him today!