Once by Morris Gleitzman

It is set in Poland in World War 2 and is about a young boy called Felix. He was sent to an orphanage because he was a Jew and his parents were called to a death camp. This novel gives us a better insight into how young Jews during the war coped with it all. I think inside he knew what was going on but couldn’t bring himself to believe it. He ran away and soon found him self in a ghetto with a young friend called Zelda he had found along the way. He and Zelda struggled through the Ghetto and met many friends along the was until at the very end of the book when he and his friends were getting deported to a death camp, he makes a small hole in the side of the train and decides to risk it and jump.

When he asks who would want to come with him and risk it only two say they do, little Zelda and another 12 year old girl called Chaya  who he met at the ghetto. They jump and then run for their lives, Felix and Zelda make it but unfortunately Chaya does not. This book is written in the first person and uses all types of punctuation, it is the kind of book that pulls at your heartstrings and makes you realise that this all happened and even today some people are still suffering. The author also found useful ways to slip in little bits of information and facts so I learned a lot from this book. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Frances S2