Holocaust

Good. ( )

Una vez supe que mi abuelo Félix tuvo una infancia terrible. Entonces descubrí lo que los nazis le hicieron a su mejor amiga Zelda. Ahora entiendo por qué Félix hace las cosas que hace. Al menos me tiene a mí. Yo también me llamo Zelda. Esta es nuestra historia.

In this third and final book of a series (Once and Then), Felix is a grandfather and respected member of the community. Painful childhood memories that he had buried, resurface when his granddaughter Zelda comes to stay, and together they must face a cataclysmic event.

The third book in Felix’s story finds Felix a retired doctor in Australia providing a home for his 11-year-old granddaughter. Zelda is named for Felix’s childhood friend who was his companion in hiding from the Nazis. Granddaughter Zelda is being bullied by older girls at her new school, but she is reluctant to confide in her grandfather. When disaster strikes, their shared danger and their love for each other bring grandfather and granddaughter even closer together.

Readers learn that Felix still has a caring nature, which he expressed through a successful career as a pediatric surgeon. He saved the lives of hundreds of children during his career. I just wish readers were told more about how Felix got from German-occupied Poland to caring for a grandchild. Who did he marry? How did he meet her? What kind of relationship does he have with his child? Originally this book was to have concluded a trilogy, but it seems that Felix had more to say and Gleitzman has obliged him. ( )