Then

by Morris Gleitzman

Hardcover, 2011

Status

Available

Call number

T F GLE

Series

Publication

Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (2011), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 208 pages

Description

Then is the second story of Felix and Zelda. They escaped from the Nazis, but how long can they now survive when there are so many people ready to hand them over for a reward? Thanks to the courage of a kind, brave woman they are able to hide for a time in the open, but Felix knows he has a distinguishing feature that identifies him as a Jew and that it is only a matter of time before he is discovered, which will mean death for them all. Even though he promised Zelda he would never leave her, he knows he has to, before it is too late.

Media reviews

school
"Then" by Morris Gleitzman is the story that continues from "Once". Felix also known as Wilhelm and Zelda also recognised as Violeta, have escaped from a train heading towards a Jewish death camp now they're on the run for survival. Felix is ten years of age and Zelda is six. They're both Jewish
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and running from Nazi's hoping they will survive and not get killed. They're on their on with nothing but each other. Felix and Zelda pray to Richmal Crompton to save them. Their prayers are answered when a woman by the name of Genia and her friendly dog Leopold find them in the forrest, but that doesn't mean they'll live happily ever after. Can Felix and Zelda hide their true identities as Jewish Children from the Nazi's and the towns people?.Felix and Zelda come across many obsticles and challenges and meet some people along the way. Each day brings a new battle for survival. Felix tries his best to protect Zelda and Genia from being killed. He especially feels like its his responsibility to ensure Zelda is safe. He does anything he can for her, but is it enough?. "Then" uses the technique of first person perspective which helped me understand and feel the characters emotions in more depth. I enjoyed reading this narrative and reccomend it to anyone past the age of thirteen. There's always something new around the corner and you will not want to put it down. This narrative will have you bitting your finger nails ,putting you at the edge of your seat and eager to turn each page. Overall "Then" is a great book for almost any age. It's full of suprises and challenges which will test your faith. Although the story-line is quite serious, Morris Gleitzman has also added a touch of humor into the narrative. there's a wide variety of emotion depending on your characteristics and sense of humor.
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Barcode

1553

Awards

Sydney Taylor Book Award (Mass Import -- Pending Differentiation)
CBCA Book of the Year (Shortlist — Younger Readers — 2009)

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member pmhlearningcentre
Then is written by Morris Gleitzman and is a fictional story with the true background of World War 2. It is the second book to the best-selling Once.

In Once, the story was abruptly ended when Zelda and Felix escaped the train. Then continued this on.
In this book, Zelda and Felix make it up to the
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forest where they think they are secure from machine gunner trains. However, in the forest they spot a pile of dead people, Jewish orphans as he later finds out. They are spotted by Nazi's and as by instinct escape. As they are escaping, they are confronted by another Jewish hunting person. The reward for any capture was too hundred vloty and a bottle of vodka. They barely escape clutches from getting caught again and land straight into the hands of a farmer who takes them in as her own children. Felix and Zelda have trouble adjusting to the ways of the Polish. They are given fake passports and certificates. Felix meets a orphanage escapee, called Dov. They have regular meetings, one in which he Dov kills a Nazi. Zelda has regular outbursts in which she insult's Nazi's. Felix doesn't stop trying but in the end, he decides he has to do what his parents did, leave him alone. Felix makes a plan in which he decides to escape home for Zelda's own good. He decides to escape on the next morning but is stopped when it turns out to be that it is his own birthday. An opportunity wasted as he thinks. But it seems that he decided to escape too late. He goes out to give back Zelda's pendant with the image of her parents in it but does not get a chance. It turns out the Nazi's found out who she was and right infront of Felix's eyes, she gets hanged. Dov and Felix become human bombs and slip into the Adolf Hitler Youth house, a house for people who are too young to go in the army. He stops when he finds there are better things in life and he has to be Zelda's evidence-that he has to live.

This book has a mixture of emotions. Sometimes, it gets comedy as are Morris Gleitzman's ways. It has a touch of suspense when it happens that Zelda dies. This book is entertaining as one can not put down the book until he has finished reading it. Every page starts and ends a new chapter of the 179 page story. I feel that this book is worth reading since it has several good quotes too by many people. This changes many people's opinions about what happened in the World War 2 and helps us to look from different perspectives. One might think too that the blurb is trully exceptional and makes you pick up the book to read.

An advice for potential readers is that read this book when you have enough time on your hands. Once you start, it is almost impossible to put down the book.

"For all the children who have to hide"
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LibraryThing member jumpingjacks
Two kids flee Nazis in Poland. Very easy read; engrossing page-turner. Situations are too graphic and horrific for children, but it seems pitched to them.
"Then" in 1st paragraph of each chapter (past tense), but the rest is in present tense: works well as a devise.
LibraryThing member rata
brilliant, sad, but you want to continue reading
LibraryThing member smg-mschwab
Brilliant, sad of course but an amazing read and a fantastic sequel!
LibraryThing member smg-dmurdoch
Kind of depressing, about the holacost. Interesting . :(
LibraryThing member BethanyVeltman
The book I have chosen for my review is ‘Then’ by Morris Gleitzman which is a follow on of ‘Once’. ‘Then’ is a very exciting and captivating book filled with intense, sad and scary moments. The ‘Once’ serious have been the best books I have ever read. The characters are very well
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explained throughout the book because the author has continuously mentioned how they feel and have told us what they are thinking. As a reader I can only imagine what it would be like to go through something as horrendous as what Felix and Zelda have experienced. The book has been very easy to read as there are only about 9 pages per chapter.

Like the first book ‘Once’, the two lead characters, Felix and Zelda, continue to find themselves running from the Nazis during World War 2. Although life was hard during the extremely frightening times both Zelda and Felix managed to still make friends and feel like they were a part of a family. Even though the two characters had friends for support they were still trying to avoid being captured by dodging traps and hiding in dark deep holes. The dramatic experience has coursed both mental and physical scaring because both characters have witnessed death and have been in hiding for a long time without any exercise.

If you really love reading books that you can feel a part of, imagine the setting and feel like you’re really there then this is book you should defiantly be reading. I highly recommend this book to people of all ages.
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LibraryThing member STBA
Continuing where 2011 Honor Book Once left off, Felix tells how he and Zelda find refuge in a Polish farm village, but must still use quick thinking and imagination to survive the degradations of the Holocaust.
LibraryThing member Suthen
The second part of the book was about Felix and Zelda escaping from the Nazi, after one of their friends got shot. Felix and Zelda ran and ran and ran, until they hid in a farm. A woman named Genia, looked after them like her own children by changing their names. They have a home but danger was
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everywhere. Zelda and Genia (the farm wife) will be shot at the end of the book for helping a Jewish boy.
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LibraryThing member Librarian42
Wow!! For a children's book this took my breath away!! Reminded me of John Boyne's 'Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'. Seen through a child's perspective, very moving, very sad, but brilliant.
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Then continues the story started in Once, beginning with 10-year-old Felix and 6-year-old Zelda's escape from the trainload of Jews bound for a Polish death camp. Felix and Zelda find a place to hide and assume new identities (thanks to Felix's love of Richmal Crompton's books). Although Zelda
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isn't Jewish, Felix is, and his presence endangers both Zelda and the woman sheltering them both. Zelda's uncontrollable temper doesn't help matters. A Polish boy in the village becomes Felix's enemy, but Felix and Zelda find friends in unexpected places.

Just as every chapter of Once starts with the word “once”, every chapter of Then starts with the word “then”. “Once” brings to mind stories and fairy tales. “Then” just seems awkward. “Once” puts a comfortable distance between the story and the reader. “Then” makes the story more immediate and personal. Felix witnesses some horrible things, and it's difficult to read about them without the repetitive use of “once” that keeps some space between the the terrible events and the reader. Finally, it's missing a very important “then”. The book ends with Felix in hiding in the hole he dug earlier in Genia's barn. There's no “then the war was over, and Felix came out of hiding.” Readers don't know if Felix survived the war, or if he was discovered in his hiding place. Even though this book fell short of my expectations, I plan to continue the series to find out what happened next.
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LibraryThing member skstiles612
In the second book in this series Felix has taken Zelda under his wings. He has decided to help them find a new home and find his parents who he still thinks is alive. He holds on to this hope throughout. Zelda claims she is Jewish even though she isn’t. Her parents were actual Nazi supporters.
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As Felix and Zelda travel across Poland they witness the horrors of the Nazis. Felix does his best to shield her from a lot of this violence. He tells her stories to take her mind off of any troubles they may run into. As a ten-year-old he seems at times so much older. Zelda is only six and can definitely be annoying. Felix takes it all in stride. This is the second book in the series and the tension is just beginning to get really taught. I highly recommend this series.
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ISBN

0805090274 / 9780805090277
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