| Title | : | Soon |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0670078875 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780670078875 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 |
| Publication | : | First published June 24, 2015 |
Soon continues the incredibly moving story of Felix, a Jewish boy still struggling to survive in the wake of the liberation of Poland after the end of World War Two.
Soon Reviews
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WWII is over and Felix is trying to stay alive in the jungle that Poland has become.
I read it in one sitting. What a wonderful series. -
A wonderful series of books. We read the first one for our adult book club and found it one of the most moving books I had read in a long time. Very good for children who are starting to learn about this period in history.
He is now 13, with a heart set of becoming a doctor and a conscience that keeps his values intact, despite his circumstances. This is the story of Felix taking more people into his trust and watching the growing yet moral boy not let the destruction and desperation around him drag him down.
We know from a previous book where Felix is destined to end up, but that doesn't stop this being tense, upsetting and surprising.
There are a couple of moments and scenes that may distress young children (to do with wartime / post-war atrocities), there is violence and racist references - so I would recommend ages 9 and above, if not older. -
‘Soon’ is the surprise (at least it was to me!) fifth book in Australian author Morris Gleitzman’s incredible ‘Once’ series of books for younger readers … though, as Gleitzman says in a letter to readers at the end, he prefers to think of these as a ‘family of books’ rather than a series, because they can be read out of order or stand-alone.
When we left young Felix in fourth book ‘After’ (way back in 2012) World War Two was drawing to a close. Our young Jewish protagonist had lost much to this war and the Nazi’s – his mother and father, dear friend and faithful companion Zelda and too many acquaintances along the way. When we meet up with Felix and his protector, Gabriek, again in ‘Soon’ the war is indeed over … but danger still looms for Poland.
I’m crazy about this series. I recommend it to everyone I know – young, old, teachers and reluctant readers – Morris Gleitzman’s ‘Once’ series is among this prolific author’s best work, which is really saying something when many of his books have been turned into stage plays and won countless prestigious awards. I know that all the primary school teachers in my family and friendship group (and there are a lot of them!) are particularly grateful to this series, for allowing them to tackle these incredibly difficult subjects in the classroom in a way that kids can both understand, be deeply affected by and still utterly consumed by the story.
Through Gleitzman’s books, these teachers have broached the subject of war, Holocaust, death, persecution and prejudice with very young children for whom this is the first they’re finding out how awful the world can be, and has been in humanity’s dark past. In all my dealings with youth literature, I find that I live by one rule above all others, which Morris Gleitzman said at Melbourne Writers Festival 2012 – “If it’s in the world, it’s for them.”
Because it’s important that kids know these stories, no matter how awful and tragic. I visited Japan last year, and when I went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum I found this amazing bookshop that sold picture books, graphic novels and chapter books for all ages, across many languages, aimed at children on the topics of World War Two and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in particular. Because children, even very young children, have to know these stories so that future generation don’t repeat mistakes of the past.
And that’s really what ‘Soon’ is about. The Soviet Red Army pushed out Nazi German forces from occupied Poland, and readers find Felix and Gabriek at the beginning of Soviet communist dominance at the end of the World War Two, over what had become the Polish People's Republic. Gleitzman is glimpsing the periods of social unrest in the country that was trying to heal the scars of war – and Felix starts to comprehend how nothing takes so long to heal as the horrors of war.
Readers have witnessed the traumas that shaped Felix into the strong, kind man of ‘Now’, and in ‘Soon’ we’re still witnessing that transformation unfold. For Felix in this book, it’s really a push-pull of doing the right thing and still struggling to survive.
‘You want to change the world,’ says Gabriek. ‘That’s natural at your age. But only dreamers try to change things when the world’s in this state. Sensible people know it’s as much as we can do to look after ourselves.’
I don’t argue.
I know how lucky we are, surviving this long. How lucky I am to have Gabriek’s protection.
‘How do you spot a sensible person?’ says Gabriek.
I sigh. Gabriek says this at least once a day.
‘They’re alive,’ says Gabriek. ‘Sensible people stay alive because they don’t get involved in other people’s business and they don’t take risks.’
And there is a lot of violence in this book - don't be fooled that just because the war is over, this is going to be any less a harrowing story. One event in particular happens concerning a woman, so teachers/parents out there may want to read this book so they can have conversations with children afterwards about what happened. I don't think that means children shouldn't read this book - and I'm not advising that "gatekeepers" keep it away from kids, not at all - it absolutely has place in the story because it is speaking to a very true history of war (past and present, sadly).
This book is Felix coming to the realisation of how wars get started in the first place, when good people who know better stand by and do nothing in the face of other’s suffering. And that’s such a big truth that Morris Gleitzman is presenting to young readers in the tender, beautiful ‘Soon’ that fits so perfectly into this family of books. -
It's 1945, the end ofthe second world war, and against literally all odds Felix (a Jewish boy in Poland) has managed to survive. His troubles aren't over yet, though, as Poland has descended into chaos. Somehow he manages to not let the misery and destruction around him rob him of his spirit.
This series has been amazing. I wrote the dissertation for my degree on the Holocaust, so I actually know a bit about this period in history, but fictional stories like this make the atrocities that were committed so much more real than textbook accounts. -
This was the one book in this family of books that I hadn't read. I love Felix and his unwavering courage and hope in a place and time that that was fearsome and horrible. You would think that with the war over things would be better, but in Poland it has still not settled. Morris Gleitzman's research of this time has enabled him to write an extraodinary, heart wrenching set of books.
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A heartbreaking yet beautiful series. This book deals with post WW2 Poland where there is still bloodshed to survive the aftermath of war. It still amazes me how simple the book is yet has a powerful impact!
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A guerra acabou. Félix sonha com um mundo melhor. É a chegada de um bebé na sua vida que lhe traz esperança. Este livro cruza passado e presente. Nele o jovem decide o seu destino e tenta seguir em frente. Mas as sombras e os traumas do passado não o deixem descansar...
Desejosa de descobrir com acaba esta encantadora saga! -
It's 1945 and the war is over but not the danger. Felix, now 13, and Gabriek are hiding out in a relatively safe albeit rather wrecked building, and have one simple rule - Stay quiet and out of sight. There are roving bands of men wearing badges that say Poland for the Poles and never hesitate to shoot anyone who is Polish, and that includes Felix, who is Polish, but he's also Jewish.
The war was hard on Gabriek and Felix who lost quite a few people they loved very much, and now Gabriek spends most of his time sleeping off the cabbage vodka he makes in his still, when not doing repair work to get food for the two of them.
Felix, who wants to become a doctor, goes how on the streets with his "medical bag" and the skills he learned from Doctor Zajak, when he and Gabriek joined the partisans before the war ended. While out looking for people to help, Felix runs into two people - Anya, a mysterious girl wearing a filthy pink coat and carrying a gun, and Dimmi, who threatens the lives of Felix and Gabriek because the lock they fixed for him has broken.
Felix isn't out on the street long before he is kidnapped by the Poland for the Poles thugs who require his "medical services." Luckily, Felix escapes and back on the street, a woman throws her baby to him just before she is shot to death. Felix is immediately smitten by the baby and brings him home to an unhappy Gabriek.
It turns out that Anya is living in an orphanage with other kids under the care of Dr. Lipzyk, who invites Felix to visit his medical library anytime he wants to. But things happen that make Felix uncomfortable about the doctor. First, nothing seems to be done about Anya constant vomiting, then, Felix makes a deal with Anya for an endless supply of powdered milk and other baby needs for Pavlo (yes, Felix and Gabriek name the baby a nice Ukrainian name, since his mother was from the Ukraine), and lastly, the doctor cold attitude toward him when he sees Felix without pants on.
In the post-war danger and chaos in Poland, where hate and bigotry still seem to rule the day, will Felix be able to retain his hopeful spirit that the world will someday be a safe and happy place?
I wasn't expecting a 5th book and I may have jumped the gun a little in my need to find out more about Felix's experiences during World War II when I ordered it from The Book Depository. It's out in Australia, New Zealand and Britain, but I don't know when or if it will be published in the US. But is is do worth reading, even though I didn't get any sense of closure when I finished it - but perhaps that is as it should.
Soon is an action packed novel, partly because Felix is able to go out among people in a way that he hasn't been about to for a long, long time. And amazingly, Gleitzman has managed to keep Felix a consistent character in Once, Then, After, and now Soon even as he matures, and despite some of the horrific things he has witnessed (I don't count Now because it is about Felix at 80 year old and not told from his point of view). Felix is a character who seems to understand human behavior instinctively even if he does still read some behaviors incorrectly at first, but that is just because he is an optimist. And readers can't help but care about what happens to him.
Soon can be read as a stand alone book, but it would be a much richer experience if readers at least read the first three books. And like all of the Felix and Zelda family of books there is violence, but not sex or bad language.
Once again, Gleitzman has explored themes of family and friendship in the worst of times and written a powerful, appealing novel and now I would really like to know what happens to Felix next, but I have a feeling it's not going to happen this time.
This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was purchased for my personal library
This review was originally posted on
The Children's War -
He did it to me again. Tears as I was driving, listening. Should have been more prepared by now.
I've read each of Felix's 'Once' stories with increasing admiration, and was thrilled to see a new episode, set in an era that is rarely, if ever covered in children's books - post-war Europe. There is a wealth of WWII fiction, but the dark period just after is, in my mind, not somewhere authors visit.
And it's a shocking place to view. Our Felix, who we have seen survive chaos, brutality and deprivation has made it through the war and is still struggling, working as a team with a friend, avoiding those who blame Jews and non-Poles for Poland's problems.
He is now 13, with a heart set of becoming a doctor and a conscience that keeps his values intact, despite his circumstances. This is the story of Felix taking more people into his trust and watching the growing yet moral boy not let the destruction and desperation around him drag him down.
We know from a previous book where Felix is destined to end up, but that doesn't stop this being tense, upsetting and surprising.
There are a couple of moments and scenes that may distress young children (to do with wartime / post-war atrocities), there is violence and racist references - so I would recommend ages 9 and above, if not older.
Gleitzman narrates the audiobook himself, and does it well. The music at the end of each chapter is evocative, the 'Soon I hope...' that begins each is powerful.
There are some wonderful characters here, some that remind me of Zelda, some you really really hope have a happy ending.
And there is hope at the end, a bittersweet ending. This at be the last Felix story and this did, for me, make it feel complete. A very sad and moving saga, beautifully composed and suitable for a primary audience. -
The war has ended but there's still lots of cruelty and fighting for food going on. This book shows that even though the war is over, the fight for survival isn't.
In this book Felix has to look after a little baby, when the mother hands the baby to him shortly before she is killed. I adore Felix, he is such a sweet soul even when the world around him is full of evil and horrible people. Even after all he's been through he is still so kind and caring.
I was so excited when I find out that Morris Gleitzman had written another book in the series. These books have been so emotional, but I didn't get that same feeling with this book. There are a couple of truly horrible things that happen in the book, but they seemed brushed over and didn't affect me as much as they should have. Or maybe I'm just heartless. I will continue to love this series, hopefully Morris Gleitzman keeps writing them. -
The war is over now but the fighting and killing carries on, day to day life is still a fight to stay alive. We follow a now more mature but just as wonderful 13 yr old Felix. It's rational to think that after a war has ended things will get better, this book shows all the violence, disorder, starvation and lawlessness of a country in turmoil. By the time I had read this book I felt I had been on a long journey with Felix, starting with that carrot in his soup back in book 1. Much as I was sad to leave him and do hope there will be another book I felt a relief to leave the constant threat and disaster that Felix has endured during his life. This book is more distressing than the others and personally feel they are not suitable for the 8 -12 age range they say they are aimed at.
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I enjoyed this book, the most recent in the 'Once' series but not as much as I enjoyed 'Once', 'Then' and 'After'. It does, however, give a good perspective on life after the war.
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"Just because civilisation is in ruins, doesn't mean we can't be considerate of other people."
Soon, when the war has ended, things will get better. But no. Now, with Nazi's gone, lives didn't get smoothly all of sudden. There were 'patriots' who chasing non Polish, just like Nazi. Food were scarce, and people still living in a hideout, included Felix and Gabriek. But Felix, who had a dream to be a doctor, couldn't stay still. He would sneak out and tried to help people. But most of the day, it only brought bad luck to him. For he had to face the 'patriot' and a girl with a gun.
Reading Gleitzman books is hard. It's a dilemma. You really want to read it, but you are too scared to know what will happen. And war never brought happiness nor good things. Some people were bad, and some were dying. And Once series is full of both.
I kept trying to remember the things mentioned in
Now, but failed. The series is coming to an end and I'm not ready to break my heart (again and again).
This book, though not bringing an onion cry, succeeded in making my eyes watery. That's Gleitzman for you.
Lovely book, lovely characters, and of course, Gabriek. It's a wonder someone could still be kind and generous when he had nothing left anymore.
Can't wait to read the next book! Or can I? -
Válka skončila, válka o přežití ale pokračuje dál. Felix dospívá, bylo mu už třináct, prožité válečné časy přidaly jeho myšlení roky. Stále je to ale on, spravedlivý a úžasný Felix, jehož posláním je ochraňovat a zachraňovat. Alespoň když to jde. Rád by, aby to šlo bez potíží, ale těm se nelze jen tak jednoduše vyhnout. Doba není vyrovnaná, na světě zbylo spousta dětí bez rodičů, které si teď musejí poradit. Zároveň ale zbylo dost dospělých, kterým sice jde o dobro, ale leckdy jen to vlastní, někdy možná i o to společenské - jenže ve společnosti pořád z jejich pohledu zůstávají tací, co tam nemají co dělat.
A mezi tím kličkuje Felix a potkává ve všech těch vedlejších uličkách dal��í postavy, zlé i dobré. Ty, které vypadají, že moc dobré nejsou, ale v jádru třeba ano. A naopak, ty hodné, co v jádru... kdo ví. Brzy se to ukáže. Brzy by mohla být pohádka, ale není, běžný život nekončí vždy dobrým koncem. Ale i běžný život v těžkých dobách může mít naději. -
Just when you think these books can't get any darker, Gleitzman hits you with another story of heartbreak, which is all the more poignant when you're reading the words and the true stories of the Holocaust survivors keep popping up in your head. I should caveat this to say the books are not gratuitously dark, but they reflect dark times.
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The fifth Story in the once series Soon, in my opinion is as good as once. Felix is older and more capable now and soon takes place just after the war has ended showing how men and women coped with life with crime and desperation. The concept is extremely interesting and the story itself is perfect.
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I really like this 'family of books' (that's what Morris Gleitzman calls it).
Morris's writing is amazing and all of his war books are amazing and he needs to write more.
I also like the subtle humour. And Felix is just such a great character.
I think these books are a great way for young people to learn about World War 2. I still enjoyed it eventhough I think they are written for kids a little younger than me. -
It was pretty interesting as I read the previous series.
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Read the entire thing in one go. Couldn't put it down. So deep and heavy and heartbreaking, but light and full of innocence all at once.
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4.5
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4.5
gag twist omg
rip baby pavlo
anya u little icon u deserve everything -
This book talks about Felix's life after the war that is still not safe. I enjoyed reading this book a lot it is one of the many favorite books that I like in the Once series.
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4.7 Stars✨
Felix has gripped my heart once again in this whirlwind of a book. I’ve honestly missed Felix, and was so happy when I found out two more books had been made!
This book needs little saying about it, other than Gleitzman has produced another wonderfully uplifting, honest and heartbreaking book. Because of the nature in which this book is written, it is hard to not feel emotion for all the characters❤️
A real gem of a book, and a great addition to the family of books Gleitzman has created x -
945. Felix, um adolescente judeu, sobrevive numa Polónia devastada pela guerra, onde as casas estão destruídas, a fome campeia e os gangues matam e roubam. Um dia entregam-lhe um recém-nascido órfão e sente-se obrigado a cuidar dele; na procura de comida, vem a conhecer Anya, de quem se torna amigo, mas também Lipzyk, um médico nazi criminoso e ladrão de arte. A sobrevivência e a crença num futuro melhor marcam o final da narrativa.
[Resumo da responsabilidade do Plano Nacional de Leitura 2027]
ISBN:
978-989-668-852-3
CDU:
087.5-053.6
821.111-31
Livro recomendado PNL2027 - 2020 1.º Sem. - Literatura - dos 12-14 anos - dos 15-18 anos - maiores 18 anos - Fluente -
"Children have limited power to shape their own lives, but when they can experiment with possibilities through books, their optimism can be recharged and kept alive."
-Morris Gleizman
When I was eight I picked up Once, a chilling and daunting book about a young boy who tries to understand and escape WW2. I was fascinated, I had never read a book so... truthful and along with Felix I felt confused and puzzled to why people would be so cruel to one another. I felt a strong connection with him, a lover of books, a day dreamer, a healer, a writer he was only 10 years and I was 8. Together we tried to understand where humanity had gone. Morris Gleizman's novels Once, Then and After books really traumatised me as a kid, but thanks to them I understand the places reading could get me and the morals I could learn from stories. To this day I still try to understand why people go to violence to solve problems. I ask questions about how much humanity people are willing to lose to gain it back again?
A couple of years ago I saw Soon on the library shelf and I wasn't brave enough to pick it up because war stories really have a way of burrowing inside my head and I can't sleep. I picked up Soon a couple of days ago, and because it's a middle-grade book, I finished it in one day. It's strange now because unlike when I read the previous books I can now understand what is happening in the story and why it is happening. It is sad because I feel like Felix is starting to as well, and it upsets me how we have both come to accept that.
Once, Then, After and Soon are four small novels about Felix's journey through trauma, hope, loss, understanding and survival. Although its been years since I have read the previous novels they still to this day impact my perspectives of ww2 and humanity. -
Luckily, the librarian who handed me this text placed a post-it note on the cover, so I didn't see the plot spoiler revealed in the illustration.
In this instalment, Zelda still infiltrates Felix's thoughts as you'd expect. The plot delves into another historical aspect of the war and it's still sad: "People's friendliness and manners are as wrecked as these streets." "In this city, fresh milk is rarer than full sets of parents." The subtle structural inclusion of "soon" still impresses and Gleitzman makes several references to a chandelier reflecting Felix's changing opinions and feelings.
I was hoping to find out how our hero became a doctor but there are only indicators: "When you are educating yourself to be a doctor, you need all the practice you can get." "Around here, medical books are scarcer than walls." "My body is a library too." "I know usually a doctor should wait until a patient asks for treatment, it's called medical ethics."
Felix continues to show his big heart, feeling compassion, despite the trouble he brings to himself and Gabriek. He shows compassion even for his enemies. "I know he's a killer, but I feel sorry for him because there is worse to come." -
3.5 stars. I was ridiculously excited when I found out about this book because Once, Then and After all gave me ENORMOUS doses of feels, and I was really interested in seeing where Felix's story went next. I loved the fact that Gleitzman so clearly demonstrated that the end of a war doesn't mean that life immediately goes back to normal. I mean, DUH. Everything is bombed to shit, the infrastructure is a total disaster, and food production has been in the toilet for years so obviously life isn't immediately fixed. And I appreciated the fact that he included the hunt for high level Nazis in the story.
But.
Despite what Felix experiences in this book, it didn't have the emotional impact of some of the earlier books. I mean, so it SHOULD have slammed me in the feels. And yet because this is a middle grade book, those events are almost...too quick and too matter of fact to have much of an impact on the reader.
A solid addition to the series, but not quite as good as I'd hoped. -
I have given this book a poor rating because it is inappropriately marketed to 8 to 12 year olds. My 10 year old bought it at a school book festival. It was one of the few books she has brought home that I decided to read first. Many of the reviews make it sound like one of those Boys Own Adventures when in fact it is a very dark story about the life of a Jewish boy in the aftermath of WWII.
I was aghast to find that it was extremely violent. The dialogue was also at times unrealistic for a 13 year old boy of the 1940s. The violence is not graphically described but remains a frequent occurrence as would be expected given the book's time and place. One of the central themes was wartime rape and consequences of same which were closely woven into the narrative, although this is described by the characters at one point as "having sex". Well, might I point out for a start that rape is not "sex", it is violence, and secondly, how can a 10 year old appreciate or understand such nuanced themes? More importantly, why does a 10 year old need to read about this?
This is a good book for 16+ but for kids, absolutely not.
