Saturday, November 10, 2012

Gleitzman, Morris. Now.


Gleitzman, Morris.      Now.  Macmillan/Henry Holt    184p  $16.99     
978-0-8050-9378-0       ms/hs       VG-BN       Realistic fiction

In this novel, the third in his series of books about Felix (Once) and about Felix and Zelda (Then), Morris Gleitzman combines several techniques to present the themes of forgiveness, discovering one’s purpose in life, and survival.  To accomplish his goals in Now, Gleitzman uses the powerful imagery of a fire in the Australian bush, first-person point of view in the voice of Felix’s grandchild, and parallel-plot events that aptly draw the three books of the series together.  It is helpful if the reader has read the first two books, only because he or she will truly understand the horrors that Felix experienced years before, during the Holocaust, and will appreciate how resourceful he became while he was in hiding during the war.  In fact, the reader can begin with any of the books in the series, especially with Then, return to read Once, and not lose oneself in the sequence of events. 

To briefly summarize, the reader finds himself in the present day watching Felix and his granddaughter Zelda meet up in Australia because Zelda’s parents are in Africa practicing medicine.  Zelda becomes the victim of bullies at school when she brags about her family, and the bullying escalates in the early chapters.  Felix attempts to save her even though he was unable to save her predecessor (the original Zelda) in Then, this time from bullying, from missing her parents and finally, from a raging fire.  To tell more would be a disservice; readers need to read all three books for their message about life and survival, as well as about death and the destructive things that people do to each other.  This book brings the series full circle with a twist of events that is perfect.

Middle-school and high-school readers will find the journey through this trilogy to be worth the time.  In fact, readers of all ages will find life lessons here.
–- Martha Squaresky
Survival – Fiction, Grandfathers – Fiction, Realistic fiction    

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