Once

Once
By Morris Gleitzman
Henry Holt, 2010. 163 pgs. Young Adult

Once, Felix enjoyed a happy life with his parents, who are booksellers. However, when business started to fail, they took him to a Catholic orphanage while they went out to try to solve the problems with their bookshop. Once, Felix ran away from the orphanage to try to find them...and instead found that maybe the problem wasn't with books but with their heritage. As Felix tries to find his family, he instead finds himself realizing the grave danger that he and other Jews are in as Nazi forces sweep across Poland.

Although Holocaust stories abound in YA literature, this one is a cut above most. Gleitzman takes 10-year-old Felix on a journey of loss and of hope. The events of the Holocaust, seen through the eyes of a child who is quickly losing his naiveté, are particularly piercing. This is a must read for fans of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

AE